 Trinidad & Tobago : Profile
Trinidad & Tobago is a republic within the British Commonwealth and its wealth derives from oil, petrochemicals and natural gas, as well as tourism. Its rich culture and many festivals refect the ethnic diversity of the population. These islands are a useful base for yachts since most insurance companies now require boats to spend the hurricane season south of latitude 12°40'N, (i.e. Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela). Although hurricanes have hit these countries very rarely, they are still subject to strong tropical disturbances during the period June to November. Tobago is the quieter island and the one for cruising, although there are some excellent facilities for yachts here also. Cruisers come to Trinidad for hurricane storage and service facilities with its enormous concentration of yards and people to work on boats. Yachting facilities are now among the best in the Eastern Caribbean, and Chaguaramas is where the majority of marine services and boatyards are concentrated. As with anywhere else in the world, a written estimate should be agreed upon before committing to any major repair work. Docking facilities have improved with the opening of a number of new marinas. The Trinidad Carnival, held in the middle of Feburary, is one of the best in the world. If wishing to visit then, advance booking may be necessary to obtain a berth.
The limited state of emergency implemented 21 August 2011 due to escalating gang and drug crime in Trinidad, oficially ended on 5 December 2011.
During hurricane season, up to 1000 yachts base themselves in Chaguaramas and theft from yachts can be a problem. Sensible preventive measures should be taken at all times by skippers and crew. New security patrols have been put in place locally, however thefts do still occur. 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 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.
Equatorial climate within the trade wind belt. Rainy season June to November. Almost out of the hurricane zone.
Trinidad and Tobago Weather Forecast.
Tobago: Charlotteville
*
, Scarborough
*
, Store Bay
Trinidad: Chaguaramas
*
, Port of Spain
*
*Indicates a port of entry.
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Related ReportsHurricane Season in Tobago (17 Jan 2012) Chris Doyle: Good Week in Tobago (23 Nov 2011) Tobago: Englishmans Bay - Armed Boarding, Assault & Robbery (27 Oct 2011) Tobago: Plymouth, Great Courland Bay - Daytime robbery/break-in (04 Sep 2011) New Free Caribbean Cruising Guide - A Thinking Mans Guide to Voyages South (23 Jul 2011) Jet Skis to be Banned in Store Bay, Tobago (14 Jul 2011) Four Months in Trinidad (27 Apr 2011) Report on Chagaraumas, Trinidad (03 Jan 2011) Tobago Update (22 Nov 2010) Trinidad: Security Update November 2010 (13 Nov 2010) Chaguaramus Security Update (21 Sep 2010) Cruising Notes for Chaguaramas, Trinidad (30 Aug 2010) Cruising Notes from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Trinidad, West Indies (17 Aug 2010) Trinidad/Grenada: Piracy - Armed Robbery en route from Trinidad to Grenada (19 Apr 2010) Trinidad and Tobago Carnival: February 15/16, 2010 (21 Jan 2010) Important Notice about Propane/Cooking Gas in Trinidad (19 Jan 2010) Crew's Inn, Chaguramas, Trinidad (28 Sep 2009) Security in Trinidad - Comments from Cruisers (18 May 2009) An Atlantic crossing from Gomera (Canary Islands) to Tobago (Caribbean) (05 May 2009) Jet Skis in Tobago (24 Apr 2009) Caribbean, Trinidad - Escalating Crime Situation (21 Jan 2009) Caribbean: Reported Crime Incidents Against Yachts, 2005-2008 (26 Aug 2008) USA, New York Delaware to Trinidad (25 Jul 2008) Cruising from St. Lucia Southwards (02 Jul 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) Customs and Immigration Update - Tobago, September 2007 (15 Oct 2007) Trinidad Crime Updates (29 Aug 2007) Where is safe in the Caribbean in Hurricane season? (19 Mar 2007) Results of Trinidad and Tobago US Embassy/Cruiser Meeting In August (14 Sep 2006) Pets And Air Travel In The Caribbean (05 Aug 2006) News From Trinidad & Tobago November 2004 (02 Dec 2004) Caribbean Island Updates 2003 (23 Jun 2004) Cruiser’s Guide to Trinidad and Tobago’s Value Added Tax (VAT) (19 Apr 2003) Cruising Tobago (02 Aug 2001) Chaguaramas Repair Facilities (02 Aug 2001) Related News2011 - Security & Piracy Round-Up (30 Jan 2012) Trinidad & Tobago: State of Emergency Comes to an End (07 Dec 2011) Trinidad & Tobago: The Latest on the State of Emergency (10 Nov 2011) Trinidad & Tobago - Limited State of Emergency Update (21 Sep 2011) Tobago: Local Reaction to Latest Crime Against Yachts (16 Sep 2011) Tobago: 2nd Security Incident Against Yachts this Month (16 Sep 2011) Trinidad & Tobago still open for business despite " Limited State of Emergency" & Curfew in Trinidad - Update (05 Sep 2011) Caribbean, Tobago: Diving from your own boat (06 Jul 2011) Tobago, Store Bay: A Ban on Jet Skis (06 Jul 2011) Caribbean Free Cruising Guides (22 Jun 2011) Caribbean: Sea Rescue off Grenada on Mothers Day (11 Jun 2011) Trinidad: Free Cruising Guide Now Published (28 Oct 2010) New Webcast Service for Caribbean Weather (20 Oct 2010) Security Precaution for Passage between Trinidad and Grenada (25 Mar 2010) Missing Single-Handed British Yachtsman Washed Up in Trinidad (06 Feb 2009) Fuel Crisis for Foreign Yachts in Trinidad (06 Sep 2008) Sailing Boat Shot At Between Venezuela and Trinidad. (06 Apr 2008) Trinidad Fund To Help Those Affected By Hurricane (20 Sep 2004) Cruising News from the southern Caribbean (03 Nov 2003)
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