Statement from the Ag President of YSATT (Yacht Services Association of T@T)
Regarding the capture of 5 Trinidadian fishermen in Venezuela:

These 5 men left from Morne Diablo on the South coast of Trinidad, some 100 miles away from Chaguaramas. The more important fact is that they went fishing up the Manosa River IN Venezuela where they were captured. There is a question being asked as to what they were actually doing up the river. So this happened inside Venezuela and not even in open waters let alone Trinidadian waters, actually not even in Venezuela waters as they were up to the river so they were really IN Venezuela.

This is not new to Trinidad and Venezuela. There was a flourishing legal and contraband trade from the 60s onwards adapting to whatever was in demand facilitating trade both ways. The coasts, which are just 6 miles apart, are now occupied by married Spanish and Trini families living in harmony on both coasts.

However, a loud voice can change this perception. This current incident is an isolated case involving these 5 “fishermen”. Pics on social media recently show Venezuelans with basic commodities like toilet paper, waiting in Trinidad to go back to Venezuela. All kinds of stores have popped up in the area offering a wide range of goods for Venezuelan consumption.

So don’t let this interfere with your plans to visit Trinidad, come to have some Rum, Roti and a Red soft drink and enjoy the warmth of Trini hospitality.

We have just left Chaguaramas, where our boat was stored at Peake for 8 weeks. We spent our time in Europe. When we got back the work that Peake was supposed to do on the boat was not done. They were supposed to grind off all the filler under the keel bulb, refill, fair, apply 2 coats of primer and antifoul. All that they had done was slap some filler onto the “old Filler” and gone over it with some sandpaper.

A long, long shot from what was promised and certainly not worth the $560 US. In the end, we faired, applied the primer (our own) and applied the antifouling. Peak charged us the US $480 for approx 1 hour bodging! I complained bitterly and got a discount of US $95! They had us over a barrel as our boat was in the travel lift waiting to go into the water as they presented us with the bill. Also, the 6 gallons of antifouling was charged to us at the US $495 per Gallon! this is over the US $100 per gallon over the price elsewhere for the same paint!

When we were at peaks, we were very surprised that 90% of all the work being done on boats was through “outside” contractors, I was told the reason was that Peake workers were not good and much more expensive. I can vouch for this and can only warn people to not have anything done by Peake, unless they have an itemized and thorough costing, in writing. And very important- only when you are standing by all the time to check what is done.

We had 4 young guys standing around smoking and joking but certainly not working, luckily we had a fixed price, otherwise, they would have billed us for 4 hours at the US $35 for these guys. Peake is fine for storage, everybody is friendly and helpful, but never again would I let them do anything on our boat.

ATTN: Cruisers with Pets

We are planning to arrive in Trinidad August 2018 with our dog aboard and subsequently fly him out for the summer season. I began to follow the recommendations as posted here.

I have since learned that Trinidad has a new “in transit” procedure for this situation. Until the regulations are clear, I encourage anyone wishing to sail to Trinidad with a pet to contact Jesse James at jessejamesmembersonly@yahoo.com, mobile number +1 868 6835202. Jesse will guide you according to your personal situation!

Kristiann Gips
s/v Allende

Sargassum hits Tobago:
Reported by Joan Conover 10 August 2017.
Tobago has its beaches full of Sargassum weed. There is currently no solution to this problem. An online site to track Sargassum weed via satellite images is in development – lots of discussions right now about what to do about this problem.
Search “Sargassum” on noonsite for latest news items.

Update on Trinidad from SY Keyif 24-28/2/2017

Keyif was in Crews Inn Marina for the Trinidad Carnival. We thought this to be the perfect ending to our five-year circumnavigation. We would like to thank Mr Jesse James for taking unbelievably good care of us during our stay and making sure we had a fantastic time. Without him, we could never have experienced the Carnival so intensely, so easily and so safely.

However, the Carnival was a disappointment for those of us searching for the authentic experience. It has become a big touristic attraction, full of paying guests from the US and Europe who do not know how to dance, in fact, the outsiders in some bands outnumber locals, and there are no show but clothes.

Crews Inn Marina has an excellent, rather inexpensive do it yourself laundry, good pool, very efficient and helpful dockmaster, OK wifi. Beware the mosquitos and the secretarial staff. Especially the lady supervisor is extremely rude and unpleasant.

The customs in Trinidad are on the marina premises in Crews Inn, and they are very helpful. However, it costs a lot to check in and out after hours. Even if you finish your check out the procedure within working hours, you still must pay if your actual leaving time is after 16:00.

The immigration officer played an unpleasant trick and made us wait for half an hour until it was 16:05, then made us pay for overtime. In total, we paid nearly 350$ for a five-person crew, three of which joined us in Trinidad, an exorbitant amount when you compare with the other islands of the Caribbean.

Apart from hauling out for the hurricane season, there is nothing in Trinidad that appeals to a long distance cruiser. Then there is the biggest drawback to hauling out there, the hassles with immigration and customs! So no more Trini for Keyif and crew.

Posted on behalf of Captain Peter:

Few tips to sailors approaching or leaving Trinidad. Don’t use the south entrance into the Gulf of Paria if you’re coming from East, come in between Tobago and Trinidad, then enter the first most Easterly Bocas and head into Chaguaramas. If you’re coming from North ( Grenada ) keep east so you can enter the East Bocas, don’t let the current push your boat West so you end up entering the Bocas having border to Venezuela.

Our experience with officials in Scarborough was the opposite. We arrived in Store bay after an overnight from Trinidad and took a bus to Scarborough where we found out that we were not legally allowed to be there, having cleared from Trinidad for Granada, not Tobago.

We explained that it was our mistake, a misunderstanding of the rules, and after several immigration and customs officials discussed it, they accepted our explanations and allowed us to clear it up by checking in and out, or something I am not sure what, with a few papers and a lot of passport stamping, but at no cost to us, and we were fine.

They were understanding and patient with us. So I guess it just depends on who you talk to and what attitude everyone present is having that day. We loved Tobago and spent a couple of weeks there, stopping in many of the bays. Charlotteville was our favourite even though it rained a lot and I ruined my phone by jumping out of the dingy at the beach just as a wave came in. Oh Well. At least the rain allowed us to fill our tanks.

There is a great resource for cruisers in Trinidad named Jesse James. Jesse has been assisting cruisers in Trinidad for many years and is the SSCA Station Host in Trinidad as well.
Jesse may be contacted at jessejamesmembersonly[at]yahoo[dot]com

Update for Australian visitors to Tobago.

We arrived from Grenada yesterday and went to Immigration at the port in Scarborough. On presenting our Australian passports we were advised that Australians require visas (TTD$400 or USD$67).

We questioned this as we had visited last year and didn’t have to pay anything even though I had read up that Australians require a visa. However, I had queried this with various Australian friends and no -one had come across this.

The Immigration Officer went to confirm this and came back with the information that CREW on yachts are NOT required to have a visa! But tourists entering by plane or ferry DO require visas!
Lynne Sands, SV Amarula