Tobago Cays (Part 1)

Looking north towards Canouan Island   

The cut between Petit Rameau and Petit Bateau islands is rather shallow and our charts aren’t too definite on the depths available. There are also a good number of moorings in the channel, most of which were occupied with large catamarans when we were there, reducing manoeuvring space markedly. To reduce the risk of running aground during our short repositioning jaunt, we took BV around the north of Petit Rameau. The seas here were a beautiful turquoise colour and we had clear views north towards Canouan Island.

Lots of masts inside Horseshoe Reef (top) and our new anchorage beside Baradel Island   

Turning south inside Horseshoe Reef we could see a mass of yacht masts. It’s a justifiably popular place and so we were never going to have the anchorage to ourselves, but we were lucky enough to find a space right beside Baradel Island which is where you can often see turtles. There was actually one right where we wanted to drop our anchor which slowed our arrival a bit but eventually it swam clear and we were able to sort ourselves out in a pretty good place with some shelter from Baradel.

Looking west towards Petit Bateau Island   

Looking west towards Petit Bateau Island we could see the beach we had walked across to and from where we had set off snorkelling the previous day.

BV (centre of picture) anchored off Baradel Island along with lots of other yachts   

There were 2 reasons for moving locations but the main one was to get close to Horseshoe Reef so that we could do some snorkelling there and so that became our priority after we had set the anchor.

We took the dinghy right up to the reef and left it tied to one of the dinghy buoys. It was perfect positioning for hopping over the side to enjoy the coral reefs around and below.

The waters of the Tobago Cays are very clear and to protect the reef the area has been declared a marine park by the St Vincent Government. As well as paying our fee for anchoring in the park, we had to comply with the regulations but they were all pretty obvious rules geared around preserving the delicate coral reefs.

It’s all very shallow and so snorkelling is the best way to see it. The shallow depths are also advantageous in that you can still see colours of the coral. Go much deeper and the reds get filtered out so everything becomes much browner and bluer.

There were lots of soft and hard corals to see…

.. and the place was teeming with fish, many of which had fluorescent blue fins. We also saw a reef shark from a distance which I tried to chase to get a photo but it wasn’t interested in us and swam off far too quickly for me to catch up.

We moved the dinghy to several different buoys which allowed us to see a lot of the reef. It was certainly some of the best snorkelling we have done; an amazing place to explore.

Tobago Cays, St Vincent Grenadines