The Mountainous & Rugged Northern Coast of Trinidad

After leaving Chaguaramas we planned to stop at all the bays on the way up the coast but the rules state that we had to get a permit from customs. Then they wanted to know exactly where we were going and what bays we would stop in. Since we did not know it made the conversation very difficult. In the end, they agreed we could stop where we needed to on the way to Tobago and then check into Tobago for a permit to cruise around Tobago – more on this in the next blog. We decided we would just stop for an overnight when we found a nice bay, which we did.

Rugged Coast

As soon as you depart the channel the size and isolation of the terrain on the north side of the island is obvious and very beautiful. The following are just some of the photos we took to give you an idea of the size of the country which is huge, rugged, and undisturbed. The area reminded us of Fiordland although a little warmer. We did not find many other cruising boats as most just head north from Chaguaramas straight up to Grenada.

La Vache Bay

We stopped in La Vache Bay for the night, this was a huge bay with only two other fishing boats there and only a few rock fishermen.

Maracas Bay and Beach

Maracas Bay is one of the most famous beaches in Trinidad and is situated on a spit at the end of a river gulley below some spectacular hills. From the distance, there appears to be little housing but it is all nestled in the bush and only obvious closer in. There is a huge circular bay with the main beach to the southeast of the entrance and then several smaller beaches abound the edges of the bay with the main fisherman village to the South western end. It we had had more time we could have stayed and had a look around – maybe next time.

Also seen along the coast are all the coastal monitoring stations. North Coast Radio covers the area up to Grenada which includes the gas and oil rigs in the area.

Birds

There were many places along the coast where we watched the Pelicans and Frigate Birds – sometimes in competition with each other. Below are a few passing shots

Sailing across to Tobago meant motoring up the North Coast until we could get a good wind angle across Galleon Passage to Tobago. A distance of only 30 miles but we needed to avoid a large reef Drew Bank and Wasp Shoal at the Tobago end which were notorious for shipwrecks in the past. The charts showed depths of 6 meters with notes that considerably less water had been reported including breaking shoals – avoid the area! This area is littered with old sailing shipwrecks and legend has it many of them Spanish Galleons laden with treasure returning to Europe.

We had a great sail across with 15-20 knots of breeze on a tight reach, our first real sail for some months, it was good to blow out some cobwebs. We passed just north of the reefs and yes did see breaking water, a trap for the unwary as they are right on the rumb line from Trinidad to Tobago.

Next Blog: Tobago