CHARLOTTEVILLE, TOBAGO

CHARLOTTEVILLE, TOBAGO

MARCH 24-27, 2017 

We dropped anchor (11-19.805' N; 060-33.156' W) in Charlotteville at 1330 (UTC-4) hrs on March 24^th, 2017 after a 1933 nm passage from Fernando de Noronha.  Charlotteville is tucked away on the NE corner of Tobago.  It is a small village with brightly painted pastel colored houses.  The locals are friendly and welcoming.  They enjoy the laid back, easy going pace of the village.  There are a few restaurants and bars in the town but not much else.  We saw a Diving Shop and local fishermen will take tourists out for a fishing trip.  The village is made up of local fishermen that can catch big tuna not too far offshore.  There is a fish market that processes them for shipping elsewhere.  The clear in/out procedure with Customs and Immigration is easy: US$23.  My guess would be that there are less than 300 people living in the surrounding area.  The total population of Tobago was given as 54,000 by their census bureau. The best restaurant in Charlotteville is “The Suck Hole”.  There is another small organic restaurant called “Lucille’s”.  We didn’t eat there but, I believe, it is very good.  On Friday evenings, the Pentecostals/Baptists take over the public square and organize a religious gathering with a Band and boom boxes. It appears to be an old time revival gathering that lasts until late at night.

We rented a car with our cruising friends from “Norsa” –Norman & Sara- and toured the island.  The northern leeward side of the island is densely forested, mountainous and very green.  There are a few places where one could safely anchor overnight.  Along the way, there were a few coves and sandy beaches with restaurants.  Stone Haven would be the next best place after Charlotteville for an extended stay.  Along this stretch of coast is where the endangered Leatherback, Hawksbill and Green turtles come to lay their eggs.  The locals protect their nesting sites.

The southern windward side of Tobago is more populated than the leeward side.  Scarborough is the capital and main shopping center.  From what we have seen, it would not be a good place to anchor and check in.  Most yachts go around to Stone Haven or Charlotteville.  It is cooler and drier on this side of the island with the wind blowing from the ESE-E.  There are many small towns starting from Scarborough to Charlotteville.  Transportation is by minivan and prices based on distance.  We paid about US$6 for a one way trip to Scarborough.  It’s a long narrow winding road and takes about one hour fifteen minutes to go 45 km.  The drivers we had were skillful.

While we were in Charlotteville, a beautiful five masted sailing vessel, “Sea Cloud”, came in and anchored:  Stunningly beautiful with a full set of canvas for sailing.  After that, a cruise liner anchored for a day.  They provide some income for the town but, I believe, that most are carted off to tour other places on the island.

Tobago is a good stopover to somewhere else.  It is quiet, beautiful and welcoming.  If one likes hiking, snorkeling, diving and fishing, it is a great place to spend some time. We found that the town of Speyside, about 5 km from Charlotteville, had a few good restaurants.

We set sail from Charlotteville to Prickly Bay, Grenada at 1742( UTC-4) hrs on March 27, 2017.  It’s only 84 nm away so we planned an overnight sail with morning arrival at Prickly Bay.