Man o’ War Bay, Tobago

This morning’s breakfast buffet was enhanced by the arrival of Sea Cloud II into our anchorage for the day, Man o’ War Cove, on the north-eastern end of Tobago. The little town of Charlottesville could be seen nestled amongst the luxuriant forested hillsides and along the completely unspoiled beaches.

The setting was also apt for our presentation of the day “The Real Pirates of the Caribbean” in which our shipboard historian Steve revealed the history and many secrets and curiosities of pirates, pirating and the goings-on in the Caribbean in the early days of its development by Europeans.

After the talk we were given the opportunity of swimming in the calm waters of the beautiful sheltered cove. The ship’s crew had lowered the dive platform and secured an area of water alongside the ship in which we could safely swim, splash and generally ‘noodle around’ – and to think that this is late December! Very refreshing.

The afternoon’s activities consisted of three options – an opportunity to study the underwater flora and fauna of a tropical reef from a glass bottomed boat, a chance to take a hike and stretch our legs with Helen en-route to Pirate’s Bay for some beach swimming or snorkeling, and another specially requested option for some bird-watching. As it happened we were more or less evenly divided into the three groups and we all set off after lunch for our choice of activity.

We learned even more about life in the Caribbean from our on board experts during recap and then, following dinner, we gathered in the lounge to watch an old favourite among aficionados of sailing – Around Cape Horn, brought alive by our recent experiences with square-rigger sailing. A great way to round-off a wonderful day.