Chaguaramas - General Info
Description:
Lying about 129 kms (80 miles) south of Grenada, Chaguaramas is a sheltered bay. It lies on the extreme western end of Trinidad’s northern coast, about 10NM from Port-of-Spain.
Cruiser Highlights:
The majority of boatyards and marine services are located in Chaguaramas.
Cruising guides, apps and happy-hour chitchat can all be good sources of information for sailors in the Caribbean. Tune into the Trinidad Cruiser Net at 08:00 on VHF Channel 68, daily.
Pot Luck BBQ – Thursdays – everyone welcome!
In Trinidad, Jesse James of YSATT and Maxi Taxi Service is a huge help to cruisers.
jessejamesmembersonly@yahoo.com
001 868 6333486
Entrance Notes or Cautions:
The approach is via the narrow Boca (be aware of strong currents). Once clear of the Boca and turning to port, you will see the confusing view of Chaguaramas Bay opening up. While it often seems totally blocked by ships, easy passage is made to the head of the bay.
Beware of a sunken barge at Latitude 10-40.465N, Longitude 61-38.319W. It is in 70ft of water but can snag anchors. Other sunken vessels have been reported in this anchorage.
Safety & Security
In the past much has been reported about crime and theft towards yachties in Chaguaramas. While unemployment has triggered an increase in theft from yachts in the Chaguaramas area over the past few years, one must note that Trinidad has the highest concentration of boats for hurricane season in the Caribbean. Co-operation between the local marine business community, the cruising community and the authorities have improved the situation considerably. Security patrols at night have helped to reduce the number of thefts from boats here, this is IN ADDITION to the security service that each and every yard and marina has, however thefts do still occur.
In recent incidents, thieves were caught on a marina’s video surveillance cameras stealing a locked dinghy while a yacht at anchor off Chaguaramas only lost a fuel line when thieves were thwarted trying to steal a lifted and well secured dinghy. See Piracy and Security reports for more information.
Position:
10°40.71’N, 61°38.17’W (marinas in the main harbour)
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Related to following destinations: Chaguaramas, Trinidad, Trinidad & Tobago
Port Navigation
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We did a haul out of our sailboat at Peake Yacht Services. Spent two weeks doing maintenance mostly ourselves. we did have the yard guys clean the hull and sand for painting.
The workers in this yard were busy all the time. I did not note any slackers. The onsite hotel and restaurant were great (Zanzibar). I suggest staying at the hotel vs renting an AC unit. We felt safe the whole time in Trinidad. We did not do too much touristing but did rent a car to go into Port of Spain on a few days to collect parts.
The anchorage is a bit crowded and confusing because there is a cross current that leaves the vessels pointing in all different directions vs the wind. Some vessels are moored some on anchor…scope is all over the range. Also, there are at least two sunk boats in the anchorage, we watched one go down last week. So don’t plan to spend too much time anchored there. All said I am glad we went to Trinidad and recommend it to all.
About Coral Cove Marina
We did like the intimacy of this boatyard, they are friendly, helpful with all the paperwork, there is a little pool and it was the cheapest. So we chose to be hauled out with our boat at Coral Cove.
But (now) we really regret our choice.
There is almost no water available. If this was for a day or two then this would not have been a problem. But this problem hasn’t been solved in the last two weeks. They do not charge us for the water, but working on your boat without having water to clean after for example sanding, is not workable. So working on the boat takes longer then it should. Also taking a shower or flushing the toilet most of the time is not possible.
We would not recommend this yard to others if you want to work on your boat as long as the water problem is not solved. It is not about that they do not want to help you. They just do not/cannot fix the problem.
Internet by Coral Cove is only available in a special room between 08.00-16.00. The Internet is fast and the room has soft chairs and is air-conditioned. There is no WiFi in the boatyard.
Leaving the boat on the hard when you fly out? Make sure you have an extra alarm set on your boat.