TOBAGO CAYS
The marvellous Tobago Cays are the ultimate destination for a cruise in the Grenadines, where everyone should go and anchor at least once in their lives. A magical place, with a wild and unique beauty…
Formalities : Entry and exit formalities are compulsory when changing islands or groups of islands. To carry out ‘clearance’, the boat’s skipper must have each passenger’s passport, (valid for at least 6 months), the boats papers and must hoist the courtesy flag of the country visited. These formalities can be carried out in Kingston and Wallilabou (St Vincent), Admiralty Bay (Bequia) and Clifton Harbour (Union) for the Saint Vincent Grenadines; for the Grenada Grenadines at Hillsborough (Carriacou) and St. George (Grenada).
Weather : Tourist season from December to April. But sailing is very pleasant until the end of July. August and September are much wetter (lots of rain) and above all, this is the period when the hurricane risk is very high.
Buoyage : You will be sailing in zone ‘B’ (green buoys to port, entering the harbour). Buoyage remains random and the lights do not always work. In any case, night sailing is extremely inadvisable and even forbidden by the charter companies.
Note : All fishing is prohibited in the Tobago Cays (underwater fishing as well as fishing with trailing lines or rods, non-commercially). Buying crayfish is prohibited from 1st May to 30th September (buying a crayfish carrying eggs is prohibited at any time). Since December 2006, anchoring in the Tobago Cays costs 10 $EC (around 3 euros) per adult per day, payable to the National Park Marine Rangers.
Money : The money in the Grenadines is the EC dollar (1 euro = 3 $EC)
Sailing Guides : In the West Indies, the ‘Guide des Antilles’ by Jacques Patuelli is a MUST.
