Tobago Cays - The Perfect Caribbean Anchorage

Tobago Cays is a special place. A horseshoe shaped reef separates the Atlantic ocean from the Caribbean sea and provides a magical anchorage. Lizzy and I, along with our friends Mark and Laura, have been lucky enough to travel to Tobago Cays twice, first in January, 2006 and last February.

The reef is almost two miles wide at its opening. There are four deserted islands inside the reef, and one island on the Atlantic side of the reef. We entered the reef by motoring between Petit Rameau and Petit Bateau and finding a spot to anchor or tie to a mooring buoy by the Turtle nesting ground along Baradel. Between 2006 and last year, the Tobago Cays Marine Park (TCMP) increased the number of mooring buoys. Being only an occasional sailor, I always sleep better when tied to a buoy, without the fear of the anchor slipping. This is especially true at the Cays. While the reef protects you from the surf, there is nothing stopping the wind as it blows across the Atlantic.

Snorkeling is one of the main attractions at the Cays. Depending on how hard the wind is blowing, diving at the reef can range from fair to spectacular. But what is really fun is swimming with the turtles. Many Sea Turtles nest within the reef and are at ease with the snorkelers. If you are patient and still, a turtle may even swim up to you.

The Cays are the quintessential Caribbean destination where your cares seem far away and where relaxation comes most naturally.

The Tobago Cays are also famous for its “Boat Boys” who travel each in their brightly painted speed boats from Union Island or Mayreau. Walter, in his boat Free Spirit 2, is available early in the morning to sell you fresh bread, baked by his wife Lola, for your breakfast.

Sydney has been working in the Cays for over 20 years. If you take a few minutes to get to know him a little, you’ll quickly learn that Sydney’s world is much broader than the horseshoe reef. This is certainly a combination of his everyday interactions with scores of people from all corners of the earth and from taking time to travel during the slower seasons. During the depth of the recession, Sydney offered a surprising perspective. “America needs to pull back and take care of its own back yard, even if it means that other places go down; or else there will be severe consequences.” Sydney is also happy to discuss his family. He has 12 children, two are in Germany; two are in Maryland; and the rest are in the Caribbean His oldest daughter is studying at the University of Cologne. He is quick to point out that this means that he has lots of responsibilities as he proceeds to show you his inventory of creative and well made tee shirts.

Romeo stopped by later in the day offering to sell us lobster. We asked if he had any fish, but Romeo told us that it is too rough for the fisherman to go out. He said he’d rather not be out with the wind blowing so hard, but that he “has bills to pay and customers to serve.” We asked to see the lobster which was a beautiful four-pounder. When I protested that he shouldn’t be selling lobsters with roe (eggs), he told me that I should eat the roe since it will give me stamina. Lizzy asked Romeo if his girlfriend was named Juliet, Romeo responded without missing a beat (obviously not the first time he had been asked this question) that his girlfriend was named Julia. (A few days later I ran into Romeo and Julia on Union Island. Sure enough, Julia was even more beautiful than the heartbreaker from Verona.)

I did buy Romeo’s lobster and created an original Tobago Cays recipe which I have dubbed Lobster Romeo. We had a wonderful dinner under the stars while sharing a bottle of champagne.

One of the great things about cruising is meeting other cruisers. We met an especially colorful group when we were exploring Petit Bateau one afternoon. I don’t remember any of their names, but the captain had been sailing around the Caribbean for the last several years. His son and one of his son’s friends had been along for the ride for the last year or so, and his wife would occasionally join them, while on vacation from her job in Florida. They had a bottle of rum (we had a cooler of beer and some snacks). The young man thought it would be a good idea to have Pina Coladas, so he shimmied up the tree to grab a bunch of coconuts. The captain used a machete to slice off the tops of the coconuts and added a healthy ration of rum for each of us. We shared the impromptu cocktails, told stories, laughed at jokes as the sun set on another perfect day in the Caribbean.

Carnival in Carriacou

During our short cruise from St. Vincent to Grenada, we had successfully lost track of time. We innocently sailed into the Hillsborough harbor and dropped an anchor just before noon. We knew we needed to dinghy over to the Customs' dock and check into the the nation of Grenada (Carriacou is part of Grenada). What we didn't know was that we had arrived in Carriacou just in time for Carnival (Mardi Gras).

The check-in process is a bit cumbersome. First a stop at Customs, then Immigration, and finally with the Harbor Master. They were all in good moods and seemed anxious to move the process along so that everyone could get back to the festivities at hand.

Carnival in Carriacou is an all day affair. Early in the day is the Shakespeare Mas. Revelers take turns reciting the various parts of Shakespeare's Julius Caeser. If one misses a line, then he is playfully beaten. We tried to find out the background behind this part of the festival, and especially about the emphasis on Julius Caeser. We were simply (and proudly) told that "it is part of our culture."

Knowing that the festivities would be going on through the night, we headed back to the We Two and motored the two miles or so over to Sandy Island.

Sandy Island is a small strip of perfect beach with coral reefs on either end. We dropped anchor in about 10 feet of crystal clear water just in time for a light lunch.

We spent the afternoon relaxing and taking turns snorkeling over to Sandy Island to explore the island and the reefs. The waters were complete with beautiful corals, stunning fish and even a pair of green turtles. The beach was complete with a nude sunbather (French of course, but friendly, even if she was chain-smoking!)

As the afternoon started to wane, we accepted that we needed to pull anchor and head over to Tyrell Bay. Tyrell Bay is a well-protected harbor popular with both cruisers and working fisherman. In fact, there is a "Hurricane Hole" -- a lagoon surrounded by mangroves -- that is used by hundreds of boats during large storms.

Up to this point, we had managed to overnight on a mooring, and had even tied up to the end of the dock in Union Island. While the wind had settled down, it was still gusting well above 20 knots. I was nervous about the anchor holding, especially with the number of beautiful boats close by that we would collide with in the middle of the night if our anchor started to slip. It took us three times, but finally the captain was happy that we had securely anchored far enough from other boats to sleep through the night. But first we had plans for the evening.

We got cleaned up and loaded into the dinghy. After puttering around Tyrell Bay, we ended up at the main ferry dock. This was fortuitous, since just as we were securing the dinghy, a Dollar Bus pulled up onto the dock and asked if we wanted to ride to Hillsborough. (At some point, I'll do a posting about the Dollar Buses, but for now let's just say it was only a few lively minutes before we were deposited just back outside of Carriacou's main town.) Carnival was in full swing.

Everyone at Carnival seemed to be enjoying themselves (although some of the younger revelers looked pain exhausted even though it was still early in the evening.) This women was really enjoying being costumed and getting lots of attention. As is evident in the photo, the audience was also getting a kick out of her .

What you don't get from the picture is the sense of the lively and loud Caribbean music.








After enjoying the festivities for a while, we walked through town to the Green Roof Inn. The Green Roof Inn is a small guesthouse and restaurant a mile or so North of Hillsborough. Except for the faint pounding of the amplified music wafting across the harbor, it could have been in a different world.

We had a wonderful meal on the veranda overlooking the harbor. At one point, just before they were ready to serve our entree, the electricity in the restaurant cut out. We could tell that power was fine in the rest of the Island since we could still see the lights on in Hillsborough and hear the deep bass of the Carnival bands rumble across the water. The friendly staff at the Green Roof Inn never missed a beat. They brought out a few extra candles and served an exquisite meal.

After such a luxurious meal, we were not ready to crowd into a Dollar Bus, and asked the restaurant to call us a cab. We were happy when we got back to Tyrell Bay and found that We Two's anchor was still holding!