Yacht Delivery Blog

We said our goodbyes to Trinidad a little after sunrise yesterday, fuel tanks full and spirits high. Trinidad itself is an interesting mix – everyone seems to be in a perpetual state of "waiting to party" with a laid-back island charm. Everyone we encountered was incredibly friendly, and the atmosphere crackled with the potential for a spontaneous dance party at any moment. It also meant not much happened. Unfortunately, the lack of available marina berths forced us to anchor, making dinghy logistics a bit of a challenge, especially given the climate. Our quest for cash, fuel, and a local SIM card turned into a bit of an unexpected chore that very surprisingly took a day and a half. It seems the location where we anchored has a dual personality – TTYA (Trinidad and Tobago Yachting Association) and TTSA (Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association). To add another layer of confusion, there's another TTYA a few miles away. Imagine the taxi odyssey that followed! A planned one-h...

The finish line is getting closer! With less than 500 nautical miles to go, I can practically hear the steel drums playing a welcome song to Trinidad. We've already sent all our clearance documents over to "Junior," and hopefully, he'll have everything ready for a smooth arrival process. My mental image of "Junior" is a bit outlandish – a towering figure over 2 meters tall with a massive beard and a weight to match. It'll be interesting to see how close reality gets to this picture! Cruising through hurricane alley at a leisurely 6 knots isn't exactly the most relaxing way to travel, so there's been a lot of reading happening on board. Yesterday, we came across some interesting information about the red dust I've been complaining about. Turns out, it might actually be a blessing in disguise! These Saharan dust storms blowing across the Atlantic are a common occurrence at this time of year. And here's the good news: the dust disrupts hurri...

The tropics decided to skip today. The sun is gone, replaced by a sky full of dark grey clouds and even some rain. Not exactly tropical. The wind is also acting up, fluctuating wildly between 5 and 25 knots. Despite the weather's best efforts to dampen our spirits, there's good news,. We're well over halfway to Trinidad with around 800nm to go, and our estimated arrival date is looking like Saturday. I even managed to get in touch with "Junior" who's going to help us with customs clearance. From what I hear it's going to be a bureaucratic adventure involving carbon paper and triplicate forms – a whole different kind of challenge. And definitly not something i enjoy. Adding another layer of complexity is the marina situation in Trinidad. Apparently, thanks to hundreds of boats that rushed to get south before the hurricane, there are no berths left. The place is even more crowded than usual! Luckily, we only plan to stay for a few days – just enough time to ...