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Old 12-03-2011, 06:04   #16
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pirate Re: St Croix to St Maarten Passage

can anyone recommend a secure marina in trinidad?
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Old 12-03-2011, 06:16   #17
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Re: St Croix to St Maarten Passage

Crew's Inn is the nicest and probably the most secure...It is where we would stay if we ever returned!

Crews Inn Hotel and Yachting Centre
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Old 12-03-2011, 07:32   #18
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Re: St Croix to St Maarten Passage

Quote:
Originally Posted by s/v Moondancer View Post
Trinidad is a place of mixed blessings. Safe from hurricanes but security is getting worse. Be sure to takes Jessie James's tours he is great. The turtle beach tour was one of our most marvelous experiences in 3 yrs of cruising!

The Caribbean Safety Net most recent

Shows 33 incidents in an 8 month period of 2010, mostly dinghies and engines.

We spent 3 months and Crews Inn 2-3 yrs ago and felt safe but the above report shows 5 incidents there with 2 forced entries.

There have been boat invasions at sea between Grenada and Trinidad. We did the trip well to the east of Venezuela and I am told by friends that they are now buddy boating for that leg.

We will NEVER return and we now pay an extra insurance premium and spend hurricane season in the ABC's. The extra $900 is money well spent.
Agreed!

In Trinidad... If one gets safely locked in a marina, and uses Jessie James' taxi service to get about, you can minimize the risk a bit. In our case we were anchored out (legally), and got regularly harnessed by the coastguard and/or the customs. We had a major project going as well, and being on a budget, took the Maxi Taxi's every day. It was a perfect set up for a daily abuse scenario! WE WILL NEVER RETURN TO TRINIDAD! Grenada was much nicer.
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Old 12-03-2011, 15:48   #19
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Re: St Croix to St Maarten Passage

Trinidad is not as bad as the previous posters allude to. Currently there is a new government headed by an Indian woman and she has made it job-one to get things straightened out in Chagauramas Bay. Customs and Immigration are changing from officially disliking cruisers to mild politeness and trending towards the normal treatment and procedures currently in the rest of the eastern Caribbean. However, it isn't going to happen overnight.
- - Any of the marinas and the TTSA anchorage are fine and about equal in security issues. My favorite has always been Coral Cove Marina which I have been staying at for the last 7 years whenever I sailed down from Grenada. We used to go there as much as twice a year for a month or two and thoroughly enjoyed Trinidad each and every time.
- - However, Trinidad is not a "Caribbean" island - it is a South American major industrial and gas/oil producing country. There are about 18 people on Trinidad for every one person on Grenada. So numerically, crime and all the other ills of a major city are more noticeable. It is more like being in Chicago rather than St Charles, Mo. So you need to adjust your "attitude" and thinking to "big industrial" city rather than "country village." And your behavior and common sense precautions should shift to "big city" mode.
- - Then you will have a great time there as we have had over the last 7 years, every year we go there. Trinidad has much more to offer such as a great Zoo, Botanical Gardens, fabulous downtown shopping, and tons of specialized shops and supply houses for those out of the ordinary things you need for your boat.
- - Of course, Jesse James' tours and shopping trips are a don't miss item. Tar Pits, Swamp tours, mountain waterfalls, Turtle egg laying watches and a dozen other fabulous experiences await you if you take the time and trouble to join in.
- - People go down there expecting to find another idyllic Caribbean Paradise island and are disappointed and shocked to find out that they are now back in the middle of a major industrial, high population city-state. So don't go to Trinidad if all you want is to lay back and soak up the Caribbean "Paradise" island environment - stay in Grenada for the H-season where you can sail to the Grenadines and other fabulous bays around Grenada/Grenadines. But if you are needing or wanting a "big-city fix" and need "North American-style" supplies and equipment, Trinidad fits the bill. They even have Tony Romas' and TGIFridays and Beni-Hanna's and several mega shopping Malls and 10 screen movie theater complexes, which you are not going to find in the islands up north.
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