 Barbados : Profile
Barbados is the easternmost island of the Lesser Antilles, the nearest landfall for yachts crossing the Atlantic on the trade wind route. Being to windward of the other Lesser Antilles few yachts beat their way against the prevailing trade winds to visit Barbados. The cruising yachts that call in Barbados usually arrive after a long passage either from the Canaries or Cape Verdes across the North Atlantic or when sailing up from Brazil and the South Atlantic and make a stop before sailing on elsewhere. Tourism is very developed but yachting facilities in Carlisle Bay, the main anchorage, are very basic; repair facilities however are good. There is a new marine facility at Port St Charles on the NW coast of the island. Centred around a man-made lagoon, this is a deluxe development catering primarily for super-yachts, but yachts can clear here who find the approach to Barbados much better around the north end. The only cruising area is along the sheltered west coast; the east coast is rocky and exposed to the Atlantic breakers and should be given a wide berth. Most boats make their landfall on the SE coast of Barbados, which is easily detectable at night by the strong loom of the airport lights.
Based on reports to noonsite from cruisers, petty theft from yachts is on the rise in the Caribbean in general. Cruisers should take basic safety precautions and use common sense when leaving the boat or going ashore at night. Dinghy thieves operate throughout the Caribbean and best advice is to place your dinghy on deck and chain it overnight.
Check the Noonsite Piracy Pages and the Caribbean Safety & Security Net for information on the current island situation.
The Caribbean Safety and Security Net
(safetyandsecuritynet@gmail.com)
gather information by anchorage or by island, so sailors can plan their
cruising in the Caribbean with an eye to appropriate behaviour and
precautions wherever they decide to go. Should you have information about
a security incident, as well as contacting Noonsite please also forward
details to the Caribbean Safety and Security Net, as theirs is the most
comprehensive source of Caribbean security incidents against sailors on
the net. Please be sure to include boat name, date of incident and
anchorage/port where the incident took place.
Barbados has a tropical climate, although as the island is further south, it rarely is hit by hurricanes. June to January is the rainy and humid season.
Bridgetown
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, Port St Charles
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*Indicates a port of entry.
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Related ReportsNew Free Caribbean Cruising Guide - A Thinking Mans Guide to Voyages South (23 Jul 2011) Turkey to Barbados in One Season (30 Apr 2010) Caribbean: Reported Crime Incidents Against Yachts, 2005-2008 (26 Aug 2008) Grenada to the Virgin Islands, A Cruising Guide to the Lesser Antilles: Book Review (23 May 2008) Credit Card Fraud In Caribbean Alert (29 Apr 2008) Related NewsNew Webcast Service for Caribbean Weather (20 Oct 2010)
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