Caribbean Pod Notes
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B6 Grenada to Tobago and Trinidad Imray-Iolair e CHARTS FOR THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN ABOUT THIS CHART Compiled by DM Street Jnr This chart has been compiled by D M Street Jr using official sources and additional information acquired during more than 50 years of cruising, racing, exploring, chartering and charting the eastern Caribbean on his 46’ engineless yawl Iolaire, built 1905. He is the author of many yachting books and articles, first of which was ‘ Going South’ Yachting, 1964. His Cruising Guide to the Lesser Antilles is regarded as ‘the IMPORTANT book that opened the Caribbean to the cruising yachtsman and made bare boat chartering possible’. It is worth reading for its nostalgic view of the Caribbean in the For the latest chart 1950s and ‘60s. Over the years it has been expanded to cover the entire eastern corrections visit Caribbean, from the western end of Puerto Rico east and south through the islands to www.imray.com Trinidad, then westwards along the Venezuelan coast and offshore islands to Aruba. Use Street’s Guides for interisland sailing directions, harbour piloting directions and interesting anecdotes about people, places and history. They are the only guides that The information shown on charts is cover all the anchorages in the eastern Caribbean. Patience Wales, editor of Sail , once liable to constant change; Imray said, ‘Circle in red all the anchorages that Street describes that are not in the other ensures that every chart is correct to guides and you will have a quiet anchorage’. the printing date shown below. Street has also been in the marine insurance business, placing insurance for yachts of all sizes and ages sailing in all parts of the world with Lloyds, since 1966. Visit www.street-iolaire.com. Email [email protected]. Corrections received after this date The author and publishers believe that this chart is the most accurate and up to date may be downloaded from available of the area it covers. It can, however, only remain so if mariners notify the www.imray.com as Correction publishers of any inaccuracy or need for correction of which they may be aware. Notices. These are regularly updated The pilotage information on this chart is taken from Street’s Guide: Martinique to and the website should be checked. Trinidad to which page numbers refer. It may be ordered from: Bluewater Books and Charts www.bluewaterweb.com Smartphone users Landfall Navigation www.landfallnavigation.com can link directly to Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd www.imray.com the Corrections Notice for this chart Five popular sailing videos made in the late 1980s/early 1990s featuring D M Street Jr are now available as DVDs. The most popular, Transatlantic with Street , the story of using the QR code. Iolaire’s 1985 transatlantic via Vigo, Madeira, Canaries, Cape Verdes has been highly recommended by Herb McCormick and Tom Cunliffe. TheSailingChannel.TV offers all five videos in one digital package, The Complete Street , at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thecompletestreet Imray Laurie Norie & Wilson Ltd Wych House The Broadway Grenada St Ives St Georges Cambridgeshire PE27 5BT England ✆ +44(0)1480 462114 Fax +44(0)1480 496109 www.imray.com C a r i b b e a n Tobago S e a Edition date: 2009 Port of Spain Trinidad Golfo de Paria North Electronic versions of this chart Atlantic Imray charts are also available as apps for iPad Ocean and iPhone in raster format in the Imray Chart Navigator series. The series also includes chart sets from official hydrographic offices. Search ‘Marine Imray Charts’ on the App Store. 1 north, the tides are diurnal, one tide a day. Pilotage notes by However, if you check very accurate tidal 1 gauges you will discover two tides, one DM Street, Jr Hr ZENITH major, a second one so small to be barely T EAST IDE noticeable, thus the tide tables refer to it as diurnal. 1 Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands area is Hr further complicated by the fact that on the W south side of Puerto Rico and St Thomas, E E D I S T T there is one tide a day, while on the north T T S I side of both islands there are two tides a day; D E E B6 - Grenada to W east coast of Puerto Rico, Vieques and Culebra have two tides a day. 1 Tobago and Hr At one part of the year, the highest tide is during the day, at other times of the year the Trinidad EA highest tide is during the night. Schomberg, ST TIDE the Danish naturalist, explained that during NADIR GENERAL CAUTIONS 1 the equinox, September and October, March Hr Yachtsmen navigating this area are and April, the evening tide is the highest, the reminded that whilst most of the region has rest of the year the daytime tide is the been resurveyed in the last 50 years much of highest. the data is of 19th-century origin. Since then, In periods of spring tides especially if the trades have not been blowing hard, the topography above and below the water may It is extremely important to allow for the flood tide will overcome the Equatorial well have been altered by natural causes set of the current which is made up of the current and give an easterly set. In normal such as volcanic eruptions, movement of easterly wind blown Equatorial current, circumstances in the passages the tide runs sandbanks, the growth of coral etc. This reinforced by the ebb tide or partially (and eight hours west, four east. However within chart must therefore be used with caution. occasionally completely) negated by the the Virgin Islands in Pillsbury Sound and Inshore navigation should only be flood tide. Taking advantage of a weather- Drakes Passage which are largely sheltered undertaken in good light when the sun is going current can change a passage from from the Equatorial current, the tide ebb high. Navigational aids (buoys, beacons and being a real hard slog, to a glorious reach. and flood is six hours each direction. lights) are notable for their absence and/or With tide and current setting you to unreliability. leeward, you will have to sail 010° to 015° Warning It is important to read the sailing and pilot above the rhumb line, but if it is setting you directions for the area concerned the night to windward you will be able to sail a course The Caribbean is 0.4m to 0.6m lower in May, before, in order to plan the next day's run, 010° to 015° to leeward of the rhumb line. June, July and early August than it is in and to calculate your departure in time to This makes a difference of 020° to 030° often winter this was noted in the 1867 Norie and guarantee arrival at the next anchorage changing a dead beat to an easy close reach. Wilson Sailing Directions in these months while the sun is still high. This often makes the difference between shoal channels into various harbours should It is also important on interisland passages slamming into it, or an eased sheet reach, be used with caution. Nanny Cay - Tortola, to allow for the set of the current. Stay to really flying. This is particularly true from St Manuel Reef marina, Wickhams Cay, Fat windward of the rhumb line. Take back Vincent to St Lucia, Martinique to Dominica, Hog/East End Bay, Jolly Harbour Antigua bearings until you can see the island ahead. Deshaies (Guadeloupe) to English Harbour Rodney Bay Marina, Blue Lagoon - St Take GPS readings every half hour and plot (Antigua). Vincent, do not have tide gauges and require them on the chart, make sure you stay to If you plan your passages so that you have particular care. Yachts are increasing in size windward of the rhumb line between your the flood tide helping you it can make a whilst shoal channels can be used safely in starting point and your anchorage. All large difference to your sailing time. The winter, in summer, at low water springs; courses given in the text are rhumb lines. difference from setting off on a lee-going there have been incidents when large yachts have grounded completely blocking the Do not enter strange harbours at night. tide to a weather-going tide is generally channel for others. The author has Many lights are unreliable. 020°, often as much as 030°. There is a brief rule of thumb method. The tide starts campaigned for many years for gauges to be Norie and Wilson Sailing Directions to the introduced to prevent these incidents. Caribbean (1817) state, ‘When passing to running to the east soon after moonrise, leeward of the high islands stay within two continues to run east until about an hour HIGH WATER FULL AND CHANGE pistol shots distance of shore or seven after the moon reaches its zenith (overhead) The time of High Water at each location leagues (21 miles) off.’ Still as true today as then it runs westward, reinforcing the during full and new moons (full & change) it was in 1817. westerly current. Then as the moon sets, the tide starts running again to the east, turning occurs at a set time after the meridian Tides and Currents westwards again about an hour after the passage of the moon for each location. (see als o Street’s Transatlantic Crossing moon passes its nadir (directly underneath), The time of the meridian passage for each Guide ) see sketch. day can be found in Nautical Almanac , and In the Eastern Caribbean during the in Compass magazine.