It doesn’t get more Caribbean than listening to steel drums on a tropical island way, way down the island chain.

Trinidad is the last port of call for Caribbean sailors. A large, verdant island, Trinidad spans most of the latitude between the tenth and eleventh parallels and is the bookend of the Windward Island chain. It is also one of the most intriguing landfalls in the tropical Atlantic. It’s the land where the steel drum was accidentally invented, where a rambunctious Carnival rivals the festivities in New Orleans and Rio, and where ethnic diversity has spawned its own brand of island-brewed creativity. It’s the birthplace of Nobel Laureate, novelist V.S. Naipaul, who describes the people of his island as a “simmering tropical stew.” The population of more than a million is about equally divided between Africans and East Indians with a smattering of Chinese, British, French and Middle Easterners spicing up the ethnic calaloo.

Yet, despite Trinidad’s juju the island remained off the cruising radar screen until the early 1990s. I first visited Trinidad in 1987 while delivering a 44-foot ketch back from Brazil and there was something mysterious and little daunting about the place, but I liked it. In those days the island nation, which includes the smaller Tobago to the north, had an edge, an uneasy current ran through the villages lining the Western Main Road from Chaguaramas to Port of Spain. The island had oil and industry and the locals were not in desperate pursuit of the almighty tourist dollar, it was refreshing, but everybody didn’t see it that way. In fact, the 1990 edition of Hart and Stone’s cruising guide stated bluntly, “we cannot find any reason to recommend Trinidad as a cruising destination, it ‘s only advantage being it lies south of hurricane paths.”

For years Caribbean cruisers headed to Venezuela during hurricane season, taking advantage of its latitude and labor rates. However, political unrest, a few well-publicized incidents of piracy, and the realization that the English-speaking island just a few miles to the east was also hurricane free, spelled trouble for Venezuela’s marine industry. In 1990 there wasn’t a single travel lift in Trinidad. When the insurance companies became nervous about Venezuela, the marine business exploded in Trinidad, which was considered politically stable. Today, the island can be considered a major crossroads for sailors from all over the world, and you’ll find boats from 20 to more than 100 feet. This summer, somewhere around 3,000 boats will spend hurricane season on the hard and another 1,000 boats will hang around in marinas, on moorings or at anchor. And although hurricane season officially ends December 1, many of the boats will stay through Carnival, which in 2006 will take place on February 28 and 29.

As a boat approaches Trinidad, the rise of the South American Continental Shelf and a north setting current can make life aboard a bit bumpy.

I have sailed to Trinidad several times during the past five years. Earlier this year I headed south from Antigua, a 300-mile passage that is usually a ripping reach, at least until you near Trinidad. I left my Kaufman 47 cutter, Quetzal, on the hard for a couple of months and commissioned a local contractor to paint the topsides while I returned home. Although it’s just 80 miles south of Grenada and the winds are often favorable, you don’t cast off for Trinidad casually. A one-to-three knot current sets to the north and as you pass from the steely blue Caribbean waters onto the greenish gray edge of the South American Continental Shelf, the waters are notoriously rough. Also, as you near the island, the winds almost always veer to the south making for a sloppy beat. On the return trip to Ft. Lauderdale last month, my crew was definitely feeling the effects of the choppy seas, pronounced easterly swell and rolling motion as we ambled before fickle south winds. They didn’t find their sea legs until we reached deep water and the seas leveled out as the trades returned.

From a distance, the north shore of Trinidad and Venezuela appear as single landmass, a dark, shadowy line on the hazy horizon. However, as you close the coast the Dragon’s Mouth opens and several passes into the Golfo do Paria become apparent. Most boats steer for the eastern most, a narrow but deep and obstruction free cut that slices between the sheer rocks of Monos Island and the lush northwest tip of Trinidad. Once through the pass, it’s just a short hook to port into Chaguaramas Bay, the sailing epicenter of the island. Steer for the forests of masts ahead and to port, you’ll be amazed how many boats are hauled out.

A former US Naval Base, Chaguaramas does not offer much natural protection and the anchorage can be rolly. However, the bay is lined with boat yards and marine businesses of every kind. According to YSATT (Yachting Services Association of Trinidad and Tobago, www.ysatt.org) there are more than 500 in the water slips, space for many more on the hard and more than 100 registered marine contractors. Major boatyards include: Peakes Yacht Services, which is capable of hauling any size boat, Power Boat Mutual, probably the most popular with cruising sailors, IMS, Caribbean Yacht Works and Coral Cove, where I had Quetzal painted.

Make your arrangements for hauling early, especially this year as most yards are filled with damaged boats that were in Grenada during last year’s devastating hurricane Ivan. Several barges ferried boats that were deemed worth repairing south to Trinidad. In addition to my own boat, I have delivered several boats to Trinidad in June and July and advised the owners to take advantage of the reasonable yard rates and skilled work force. Summer projects for these boats have ranged from topsides painting, to bottom and blister jobs, to carpentry and engine overhauls. The range of services is impressive and with the right contractors, the quality can be first rate. It’s tempting to have the work done in absentia but unless you have established a solid relationship with the contractors who will be doing the work, you’ll have better results if you personally supervise the work. At the very least you should drop by every couple of days. And if you do stay with the boat during the steamy summer season, you’ll encounter a lively live-aboard community.

Many activities are coordinated through TTSA, Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association. The club, located just east of Chaguramas in Carenage Bay, has a small marina and expansive mooring field. Cruisers are social animals and when I was there earlier this year they had organized a bridge club, Spanish classes and even Soca and Salsa lessons! VHF and SSB nets keep everybody posted. There is also plenty to do ashore, and the best way to get around is by car. The winding road along the north shore offers spectacular views and if you visit the Caroni Bird Sanctuary you can glimpse Trinidad’s national bird, the scarlet ibis.

Relatively cheap labor rates, good services below the hurricane belt and English speaking natives have helped make Trinidad something of a cruising mecca.

But hey, you have a boat, you are a sailor and unless you are having repairs done, you should explore the Golf of Paria and beyond--you can dance and play bridge at home. I met an interesting couple doing just that. They have lived aboard their Morgan 41 Out Island Ketch for 15 years and supported themselves by performing jazz concerts along the way. Recently they have taken to leading flotillas of fellow cruisers up jungle-lined rivers. Two summers ago they took a flotilla up the Orinoco River for more than 100 miles. This year they were preparing to sail south of Trinidad, through the Serpent’s Mouth, along the Venezuelan coast to Guyana. They were leading a group of ten boats up the Essequibo River. And they were not coming back. While I had never heard of the Essequibo River, to them it was paradise. They have purchased acreage thirty miles upstream and are planning to build their dream house. Yikes, what a way to swallow the anchor.

Of course Carnival is the main attraction for cruisers and islanders alike and Trinidad’s festival is like no other. Calypso, which originated on the island, is an essential ingredient of Carnival. From Boxing Day to the weekend before Ash Wednesday, Calypso bands compete to have their lead singers chosen as Calypso King and Queen. J’Ouvert, or Carnival Monday is when things get crazy and people take to the streets covered with mud and grease. Shrove Tuesday is the big day and everybody, locals, sailors, and tourists alike, pours into Port of Spain, the capitol. Once you join the party there is no turning back, it’s loud, it’s raucous, it’s fun, be prepared to soca until you drop, or at least until the sun comes up. Maybe that’s what happened? After a party like that, the wilds of Guyana might just seem like paradise.

Trinidad Resources:

Yacht Services Association of Trinidad and Tobago www.ysatt.org

Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association www.ttsailing.org

Boat Yards:

Caribbean Yacht Works www.southernyachtworks.cm

Powerboats Mutual www.powerboats.co.tt

Peakes Yacht Services www.peakeyacht.com

IMS www.imsyachts.com

Coral Cove www.coralcovemarina.com