Saba : Profile

Facts

Saba is now part of the Kingdom of The Netherlands and was originally settled by small groups of Dutch, Scottish and English people, together with a few from Africa.
This small Caribbean island lies about 25nm NW of Statia.
An extinct volcano only 2 miles (3 km) in diameter, Saba rises sheer out of the sea up to 3084 ft (940 m). There are well-protected anchorages at Well's Bay and Ladder Bay on the west coast, while the entry formalities have to be completed at Fort Bay, which is on the SW point of the island. Fort Bay offers better protection in strong NE winds, while the previous anchorages are to be preferred in SE winds.
Saba is unique in that its entire coast is a protected marine park.
There are no beaches but the underwater scenery is remarkable.
The construction of the airport, the road to the harbour in Fort Bay, and later a pier, has brought in tourism on a small scale. Saba is a duty-free area like Sint Maarten.

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.