Flying Fish ArticlesPort St Charles - Barbados – 13°15.00'N, 59°38.00'W
[color=#ff0000]Please note the date of this report and treat with CAUTION[/color]
1) Information Submitted by Michael Moore – Rosita John McKinney
2) [color=#ff0000]Date 2001,2002[/color]
3) Harbour or Area Covered Include Lat & Long Port St Charles, Barbados End of Breakwater 13°15’.769 N, 59°38’.685 W
4) Suitability and Attraction for Yachts The centre is manned 24 hours a day, (contrary to rumours) the fees for checking in and out are identical to the fees at the Deep Water Harbour. It is a fancy condominium development with boat slips. A private marina really.
5) Marinas, Berthing or Anchorage PSC Law Enforcement Centre is the official name for it! After checking in you are expected to anchor either off PSC or in Carlisle Bay. If you wish to anchor anywhere else please tell Customs when checking in and obtain a "cruising permit", there is no charge for this. This is a great improvement on the facilities in the commercial harbour, unfortunately not many people know about it, as the centre was only opened last December.
6) Entry Ports Port St Charles
7) Formal Requirements for Yachts Entering/Departing:
b) from/to abroad You can clear in by tying up at the fuel dock and then go on down to Carlisle Bay to anchor or wherever they permit you to go on the west side. The place is heavily staffed and they come to the boat. It is certainly easier than clearing in at Bridgetown.
8) Location/Existence of:
a) harbour master The dockmaster is Derek Innis dockmaster@portstcharles.com.bb.
b) customs/immigration The breakwater to the marina
c) health authorities The breakwater to the marina
12) Sailing Directions or Charts The facility is in the south end of Six Mens Bay, which is on the Imray chart at least. For arrival from the east during daylight: When approaching the north end of Barbados head for Waypoint A 13.21 north, 59.38.5 west and continue west until the lights on the end of Arawak (Cement Plant) Jetty line up with the light on the end of Port St. Charles Marina. Then run in on this line of bearing. This will keep you well clear of Harrison Reefs and the coral heads off Harrison Point.
There is a shoal area north of Maycock 's Bay (the Maycock 's Bank) which is just north of the cement plant, and which can break a fair distance offshore when the winter swells are running. It is not advisable to enter the marina at night for the first time - it is wiser to anchor offshore and wait for daylight. Approach to PSC from the north after dark:
Thomas Herbert (General Manager at Port St. Charles) has made many night approaches from the North. The Arawak Cement Plant north of PSC has a (approx.) 200 ft. tall smoke stack, which is much more visible than the Harrison 's Point Light, but the factory doesn 't always work 24 hours and they turn the lights off when they are not working! The rule for the approach at night, is to continue West until you are sure that you are more than a mile West of any land and then turn SE towards the first cluster of lights on the West Coast ( PSC, Almond Beach Hotel and Speightstown).The Harrison Point light is obscured to as far as 200degrees by some of the buildings at the Cement Works . At this bearing, the flashing red and green lights on the end of the cement plant jetty are easily visible from about 4 miles away. All of the lights of Port St. Charles are working.
The Customs Building is well lit on the breakwater and is more visible than PSC navigation lights which are more for channel marking, as the ambient light in the area is quite high from street lights, houses, etc. for the red and green flashes to stand out from more than a half mile or so.
14) Port Radio Services Call Port St. Charles on VHF channels 16, 12 or 77 when you get into range and BEFORE you arrive, please and they will tell you where they want you to tie up.
17) Other Facilities: They have the usual utilities.
drinking water fuel The breakwater to the marina
19) Other Information – please include here general impressions, opinions, comments or any other matter which might be of use to those visiting.
The dockmaster is Derek Innis dockmaster@portstcharles.com.bb. He has a plan of the facility with a waypoint that he can email as an attachment. We have spent the past week on a slip on the breakwater. The fixed concrete piers are rather high for us, as the breakwater is aimed at docking megayachts, but the rise and fall is little enough that we have sat here quite comfortably. Not cheap but very convenient as we were visiting cousins in Speightstown. Just thought the Atlantic Crossing Guide rewrite might want to mention this place, as it puts Barbados back on the milk run map to a degree, although there is not an excess of dock space. The facility is in the south end of Six Mens Bay, which is on the Imray chart at least.