Arrested in Trinidad...........nearly

Alia Vita
Rob & Frances Lythgoe
Sun 18 Jan 2015 15:27
10:40.77N 61:38.15W

We had a great sail down from Grenada to Trinidad and made good time.
We actually left 15mins later than another Catana catamaran, just two
feet smaller than ours, but considered to be in the 'racing snake'
category with narrower hulls, and the owners, who we now know and are
really nice, were most put out to see us disappear off ahead of them.
Nothing like a bit of competition to make us sail faster.

We got checked in at customs and immigration and moved out to the
anchorage just as it went dark. I arrived to do the formalities in a
pair of camouflage coloured shorts that used to belong to Tom but I
recycled from his bin a few years ago as they were like new and fitted
perfectly. In customs we were welcomed by a large sign pointing out in
no uncertain terms that it is illegal to import, possess, wear, or do
anything associated with camouflage coloured clothing and that doing
so would result in arrest, seizure of the offending items and a fine.
We pretended not to notice and completed formalities.

When we had finished a very official looking customs chap in a very
smart uniform took me to one side to point out the error of my ways. I
asked if he was going to seize my shorts there and then or might it be
better if I just went back to the boat and got changed. He agreed that
would be a more sensible resolution and we left tail between our legs.

Trinidad is a busy place for yachts in the summer months as it sits
below the recognised hurricane belt so boats come here during that
season (June to November). We still have a few outstanding jobs to do
on the boat so will try and do those here during our forced wait for
our US Visas. Trinidad has been a surprise, far more developed and
affluent than the other islands we have seen so far, but we have only
seen this northern tip called Chaguaramas. We will report more fully
once we have explored a bit.