Barbados?....

melandnick

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So, 2 more months of work and we are off.....well after another month of prepping the boat.
When we head across, where do we stop first?
I know we asked a similar question ages ago and got some great comments but now we have done a bit more research I am concerned that Barbados might not be the best place to make landfall as there seems to be little in the way of safe anchorages and harbours.
Any comments please?

Nick
 

Juniperskip

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The anchorages are limited especially if the swell comes in from the North and it is not cheap. I would keep going and use St Lucia as my destination. Check out yacht Andromeda903799 on the mailasail blog who are there now due to dismasting. Good view of the place today.
 

majdrew

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I made Bridgetown Barbados my landfall and was glad I did. I thought it was one of the nicer islands in the Carib. The people are very friendly, the city itself is nice and the countryside reminded me of my home county of Devon.
The large bay was nice to anchor in I thought and didn't find it too rolly. The beach is nice and lots to do there. I'd go again.
 

Bajansailor

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Melandnick, will you be pottering southwards slowly, and then crossing next winter?
General consensus seems to be to wait until after Christmas before setting off from the Canaries or Cape Verdes, to allow the trades some time to settle in - they are certainly blowing lustily now!
I have met many folk who say 'We were not going to come to Barbados, because we heard so many bad reports about the place - but we have been here 1/2/3/4 weeks now, and love it - so much to see and do here'.

Re 'expensive' to check in, for many years the rate was US$25 in and out, but I think it has gone up - I shall try to find out the current rates tomoz.
I'll phone Andrew and Susan on Andromeda, and see what they paid to check in here.
http://blog.mailasail.com/andromeda903799
The Andromedas have been here for about 2 months now, waiting for their new mast, rigging and assorted bits to arrive, and I think they are quite enjoying life here..... they were entered in the ARC (destination St Lucia) but haven't made it there yet.

Re when the swells are coming in from the north (like it was on Friday, quite lumpy all along the west coast), it is usually fairly sheltered in Carlisle Bay. Some American pals were going sailing and exploring on their wee C & C built Trapper 27 yesterday, and I suggested that they could trying sailing up the south coast to Oistins and spending a night there, especially as they wanted to go to the Friday night Fish Fry there. It is pretty calm there when the wind is north of east, and makes a nice change from Carlisle Bay (with its very noisy night club on the beach) or being anchored off Port St Charles on the NW side of the island.

Re Barbados being 'not cheap' or 'expensive' - everything is relative. As we have no public marinas here, you save a fortune by not paying to stay in one of them, and anchoring everywhere is free.......
And the water is clear and warm, hence you can just fling yourself over the side whenever you fancy a swim - I would not want to try this in Rodney Bay marina in St Lucia...... :)

Food costs here are probably on average about the same as the UK - basics are cheaper, but anything imported (from the UK) is more expensive. You can get a good variety of stuff from Waitrose and other English foodstuffs in the Super Centre supermarkets here.
I saw a classic today though - a packet of 99p (it was marked on the packet) fish fingers for about GBP 4.....
But why buy tasteless fish fingers when you can buy freshly filletted flying fish in the market for 30p each, or slabs of fresh mahi - mahi (aka dorado, or dolphin locally) for about GBP 1.50 a pound?
If you go out to 'tourist' bars and restaurants, expect to pay tourist prices - you can easily pay GBP 50 a head in some places for dinner.
Conversely, if you eat and drink at nosh stops and watering holes (eg 'rum shops') frequented by local folk, you might be pleasantly surprised by how you can get a very good plate of food for perhaps GBP 4 or 5, and a bottle of Banks beer to wash it down would be about a pound.
There is a wee food caravan outside the Cruising Club (http://www.barbadoscruisingclub.org/ which welcomes visiting yachties) on Carlisle Bay run by a chap called 'Cuz', and he makes the best fish (either steak fish or flying fish) 'cutters' (baps) around - a massive bap for about GBP 2.

There is some info about Barbados in my signature link below, but if anybody has any questions, please do scribble them here, and I shall try to answer them.
 

melandnick

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Thanks for the replies so far:

phantomlady - insightful and helpful, thanks

Juniperskip - thanks, will read up andromeda’s blog.

majdrew - thanks for comments, good to hear from someone with firsthand knowledge.

Bajansailor - Always a helpful and positive post from you. really appreciate it. Is there somewhere to haul out if I need to after the crossing?
We are probably heading across mid to end December this year so are taking it nice and easy through Spain, Portugal, Madeira, Canaries.
The main reason that I started to doubt stopping there was looking at the charts and pilots. The coast looks so flat and I seem to remember the pilots saying that the swell works its way round the island.
Our plan was always to get down to Grenada as soon as poss and then work our way North during the season but to make that a 1st stop seems to add a couple of days to the crossing and we may have to play that bit by ear and see how we feel.
My mouth is already watering though at the thought of the food there ( plus I have a real taste for rum! ).
We will definitely catch up with you if we do stop off there.

Nick
 

Bajansailor

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Hello Mel and Nick,

Re haul out yards here, there is only one, and it is not very large - in the past it was always totally chokka full in the summer, and fairly empty in the winter, but now it is pretty full all through the winter.
But if you just want to haul out for (say) a few days or even a week to do bottom painting and basic maintenance, then they can usually manage to find space (they are not too keen on long term storage of yachts, as the yard is so small, and they already have quite a few 'residents' that they can't get rid of).
Re their rates, for a 35' boat I think it is approx US$ 500 - 600 for haul out and splash, with a week ashore and the bottom pressure washed.

The west (ie leeward, usually) coast of Barbados is fairly exposed to northerly swells, as there are no sheltered bays - the coast is pretty straight the whole way from Harrison Point lighthouse (which doesnt work any more) south to the Bridgetown harbour.
But if northerly swells come in, Carlisle Bay is reasonably well protected from the north.
And Oistins on the south coast is then an interesting alternative anchorage to visit.

Re customs and immigration fees, I telephoned the Andromedas to ask how much they had to pay, and they haven't paid anything yet...... I eventually found out that there is now a flat fee of BDS$ 100 (approx US$ 50) for clearance in and out, and this apparently includes the formerly separate anchoring fee (which Chris Doyle had mentioned as being about $8.44 or something like that).
And there appears to be no limit to the length of time you can stay here.
Even though the Andromedas have been here a couple of months, they will probably just have to pay the US$50 when they check out.

Grenada is a nice sail from here, and it is a lovely island to visit, but it can be quite a slog from Grenada up to Carriacou when you are heading north - you will be hard on the wind, and probably find a vicious west going current when you get past the north end of Grenada.
 

jonic

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If you are going to Barbados, don't do what we did which was sail to it FROM St Lucia. (We decided to sail to the States and it was the only place to get US Visas). Having endured the trip to windward out into the Atlantic we enjoyed our visit.

We checked in at the Marina in the NW. (Port St Charles) Easy to do and very friendly officials.

The anchorage is a bit rolly sometimes but the Island was very interesting and Bajansailor will be sure to come visit and give you the lowdown.

Harrisons caves are worth a visit and the eastern coast is spectacular, especially Bathsheba where the Atlantic rolls in. Bridgetown is like England in the 1950's and the people are great.

If you are passing it's worth a stop.
 

capnsensible

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Another vote for visiting Barbados. Did it on our first time, was fantastic. 16 days from Cape Verdes, ideal landfall.

Reccommend it!
 

Tradewinds

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Another vote for visiting Barbados. Did it on our first time, was fantastic. 16 days from Cape Verdes, ideal landfall.

Reccommend it!
I agree completely. Same route only 14 days :rolleyes:

We stayed a month taking in Xmas. People are terrific. Take the local bus about the island.

Barbados is an ideal jumping off point for Tobago - another great stop (hire a car & do an island tour taking in one of the plantation-type houses).
 
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