Arrival into Bermuda
Flinns
Terry/ Nicola Flinn
Mon 21 May 2007 16:55
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32:22.76N 64:40.07W St Georges Bermuda
After 8 days at sea, we finally arrived in Bermuda
on Friday, 16th May. For 3 days we battled with near gale-force winds virtually
on the nose, which meant we had to beat into wind; at one stage we were 75 miles
off track and not even pointing at Bermuda. . We were all quite fatigued
because it was difficult to relax in these conditions, with lots of breaking
waves hitting the boat, the relentless noise of the wind and, even though we
were carrying little sail, the boat was well heeled over. Fortunately the wind
veered sufficiently to allow us to aim at Bermuda.
The arrival in St Georges harbour was especially
difficult due to the strong wind which made mooring the boat at the Customs Dock
and then again in the marina, a very risky business; we were fortunate not to
damage the boat or collide with those already in the marina.
It was a great consolation to be able to enjoy the
facilities ashore, including a nice clubhouse and bar, a decent laundry, free
internet access and the ability to eat food off a table rather than out of a
bowl balanced on our knees!
Those boats that had departed from Antigua, had a
much easier passage than us, while those poor folks who departed from Florida
had weather worse than ours and had to endure an extra 2 days at
sea.
To add insult to injury, the weather proceeded to
get even worse and we had a full day of torrential rain, which
limited our plans to explore Bermuda.
Our stalwart crewmember Steve has now returned home
and is replaced by 2 colleagues Hamish and Tony, who will help us get the
boat back home, via the Azores.
Our attention is now fully focused in preparing the
boat for the next 18 day passage to Horta in the Azores. We need to complete a
major engine service, do lots of laundry and cleaning as well as buying and
storing sufficient supplies for the next leg of our journey.
The pictures below are from Nassau and also shows
our largest dorado landed so far.
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