So now we hit cruising paydirt, the Caribbean islands. Tobago, the first to be reached when coming from the south, is the lesser part of the republic of Trinidad and Tobago, a hilly, jungly island about 25 miles long. Of all the islands in the Lesser Antillies chain – and we have now visited most of them - Tobago is perhaps our favourite. For this reason we went twice, first in June then again in October after our lay-up in Trinidad, to meet our friends Ruth and Simon Micheson for a week's holiday.

What makes it special? It seems to have everything one would expect of Caribbean island, yet is quiet and uncrowded. The deserted palm fringed golden beaches

are just that much more palm fringed and golden. The coral reefs in the clear azure sea are just that much more snorklable. And the rain forest interior is just that much more exotic. Part of it has been a protected reserve since as long ago as 1764, so unusually it is virgin forest: no logging, no overgrown plantations; and as the island is rarely touched by hurricanes, no periodic destruction. There are numerous waterfalls. Just one road circles the island, winding up the hills past houses perched precariously on stilts on the steep slopes, and down again to little fishing villages in the bays.

There’s another reason too. We have begun to find that we are more comfortable visiting relatively well-off countries, and thanks to Trinidad’s enormous mineral wealth this has the highest per capita GDP in the Caribbean. Poverty becomes dispiriting. We resent the constant hassling and begging in poor countries but at the same time feel guilty we are unable to do more to help. In Tobago, the friendly attitude of the locals can be taken at face value. Many people have at some time visited Europe or the USA, and it is easy to chat and get along. Wealth means tourism has been sensitively developed. The south-west corner of the island close to the airport at Crown Point is given over to a concentrated but discrete tourist area with hotels, restaurants, managed beaches etc while the greater part of the island is kept undeveloped. In fact the majority of tourists on Tobago are holidaymakers from Trinidad.

Rainbow Falls. Spot the heads!
(Roll mouse over pic.)

Parlatuvier Bay.

The big surprise is how few cruising yachts visit the island, specially as all the other islands in the Lesser Antillies are now totally overrun with yachts. We were amazed to find no more than 30 around the entire island on our first visit in June, and just half that number in October. At the same time there were probably ten times as many cruising around the similar sized Grenada just 70 miles away.

Yet the island has a lot to offer as a cruising destination. There are a dozen or so pristine bays for anchoring, complete with the deserted palm fringed golden sandy beaches, coral reefs in the clear azure sea etc etc. However there are no special facilities for yachts. There is no marina on the island, no yacht services of any kind, no charter-yacht base, and all the anchorages are exposed from one direction so nowhere that a yacht can be safely left. Also, unless coming from the south, it is off the beaten track, upwind and upstream of the other islands. Perhaps for these reasons it lacks appeal to the less adventurous.

Pigeon Point, with Sentinel at anchor.

In the rain-forest.