The Port Authority of T&T (PATT) included additional sailings on the sea bridge yesterday to accommodate passengers who had been stranded on the sister isle as a result of the passage of Hurricane Beryl.
More sailings are scheduled for today. According to PATT officials, the urgent demand by people to return to Trinidad and the backlog created by the cancelled sailings on Sunday should be cleared by then.
Hundreds of passengers flocked to the port in Scarborough yesterday, hoping to be accommodated.
Affected people reportedly began lining up at midnight on Monday as they competed to get on one of the three vessels added to the schedule.
Several sailings were cancelled on June 31 as Hurricane Beryl approached the Windward Islands. The cancellation saw confirmed ticket holders left out in the cold, with many forced to dig deeper into their pockets to afford the additional days.
On Monday, the Port Authority indicated the ATP James, the Buccoo Reef, and the Galleons Passage would be added to the sailing line-up as they sought to get people back to Trinidad.
Rubbing away the sleep from his eyes as the sun came up while he stood in the line along the Esplanade, Scarborough, yesterday, Valmiki Suchit of Maraval said, “I am just hoping to go home.”
Suchit arrived in Tobago on Sunday, and while he had a confirmed ticket to return to Trinidad yesterday, he opted to line up at the port at 3 am after learning that the PATT would be operating on a first come, first served basis.
A passenger who had been stuck on the island and identified himself only as Ash, smiled broadly as he told Guardian Media, “I am very excited to be able to leave the island.”
“I was really tired knowing we had to stay back an extra day. I missed a lot of things I was supposed to do, but this is exciting news for me and I am very happy to go home.”
He said despite the initial anxiety, he had not been scared. Rees Ferreira said he, too, was excited and refreshed to be able to return to Trinidad. Glad the island had been spared the level of destruction and devastation a category four hurricane packed, he admitted, “To be honest, I am quite tired of Tobago now! I am just ready to go home.”
He said besides the steady rainfall, there had been much thunder and lightning, but the place where he stayed was fortified and secure enough to ensure the occupants were not in any danger.
Malika Rahamut revealed she initially panicked as her parents were in Trinidad when the news broke.
She said, “I am so relieved to go back home, especially because it’s been a long week and we didn’t expect this hurricane to come upon us. But thank God we got through everything quickly and easily and we stayed together.”
Dominic Ross of Grenada said he was worried the entire time about his family back home, as he had not been able to contact them at all.
“That left me in a state of panic,” he said. “After being able to reconnect with my mom and everybody, it was fine.”
Jonathon Borde and his party were scheduled to depart Tobago yesterday, so they were not adversely affected in terms of accommodation. Like a true Trinidadian, he said, “We stayed up whole night and waited for it to come, and then we ended up going and sleep. When we woke up, everything was fine. It was hot sun.”
Borde said he and his friends were not disappointed, as they had been able to “party and soak up the ‘Bago vibes’” all weekend before returning to Trinidad yesterday.
