Nov 23 - A quick trip to Scarborough

It’s been windy, squally, and rolly here at Store Bay. Finding the dinghy landing was a bit exciting. You motor around a rock breakwater, leave a black buoy to port, avoid any swimmers in the water, and hope the tide’s out a bit so you can beach the dinghy. Then, lock the dinghy thru a chain link fence around a post and there you are. When the surf’s rolling, it’s impossible, as one of the French catamaran’s captain explained to us as he stopped by looking for an alternate landing place. He was thoroughly soaked, but didn’t realize we were first-timers here, so unable to give him any better suggestions. Once ashore, trash bins are around, and a short walk up to the road allows you to point your hand downwards, thereby signaling to any “share a ride” vehicle that you need a ride to wherever; in our case, Scarborough. The ride cost 7TT each, one way, the radio is loud, but the view and company pleasant enough. We cleared in, and out, with Customs and Immigration, had a quick snack at the Ciao Coffee shop up the hill near the Customs office, bought some fresh fruit, stopped at one of the local grocery stores, and did the entire find a ride thing in reverse. We don’t really trust any moorings, as maintenance is always the issue; with the wind gusts hitting over 25 knots we were glad to be back aboard. Our plan is to move further north along the coast tomorrow morning. Tobago is set up in two distinct districts, so checking in and out in Scarborough, then Charlotteville, is necessary should you be coming this way and planning on seeing a bit of the island before pushing off.
Pic: Map of Tobago, approximately 7 miles wide, 22 miles long. We're in the SW corner by the airport. We'll travel the north coast eastward.

No comments: