Bermuda

Stella
Alan & Mary Phypers
Mon 30 May 2011 13:23

32:22.76N 64:40.72W

 

Monday 30th May 2011

 

We have now been in Bermuda for two weeks waiting for the wind, but we can’t complain too much as it is a fabulous place to be stuck.  The island is absolutely beautiful and lack of the right wind for sailing has meant the weather here has been lovely  - cooler and less humid than is usual for this time of year.  Loads of our sailing friends are here plus Alan’s old university friend Stephen and family who live on the island so it has been very sociable and we have been out nearly every night.  We have also taken rather a liking to rum and ginger beer, the local drink known as a ‘dark and stormy’.

 

Here are a few photos since our last update

 

St Martin:  Taking on extra fuel for the passage up to Bermuda which fortunately we didn’t need as the we sailed most of the way.

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An emptying marina in St Maarten – it’s definitely time to leave the Caribbean.

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Anguilla:  Our last night in the Caribbean at Elvis Bar

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Sailing to Bermuda:  The calm before the wind.  We had to motor for the first day and half.

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Mary reading ‘Roots’ en route

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Land Ahoy:  Our arrival into Bermuda

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Bermuda:  Moored up with Indra and Bavarian Spirit before moving out to the anchorage

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St Georges anchorage:  Busy with yachts en route to The Azores and USA at the end of the Caribbean season

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Views of St Georges:  As you can see it is rather lovely so we have stayed here for two weeks and explored the island by bus, car and jet ski.  Below is Ordnance Island in St Georges

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The church in St Georges

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The J Class Valsheda stopped for a couple of days enroute to Newport.

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Bermuda Radio:  Bermuda radio call all vessels up on their approach to the island to make sure they know how to enter safely through the extensive reefs.  Stephen knew the guys so we paid them a visit to see how they monitor all the yachts.

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Bermuda Roofs:  There is no mains water on the island so all the houses in Bermuda have white roofs to collect rain water which is stored in large water tanks built into or under each house.  Everyone has to be very careful with water usage.

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Bermuda is made up of many smaller islands the larger of which are joined by bridges

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Bermuda also has many beautiful beaches

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Alan & Stephen on Horseshoe Bay beach.

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Stephen and Kathy’s House:  Stephen is an old university friend of Alan’s who has been a fantastic host and delighted in showing us around the island.  They live in the most amazing house with a fantatic view over Devonshire Bay.  We stayed there for a couple of nights, our first time in a land bed for seven months.  It did make us miss the home comforts for a while but we are over that now and happy to be back on Stella.

 

Stephen & Kathy’s house

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The view from Stephens balcony.

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Bermuda Shorts:  In summer for the men formal work dress is shorts, knee socks and loafers.

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Stephen taking us on a jet ski tour of the island.  On a later trip we also did some great snorkelling

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Morgan and Will:  Stephen’s children on their new inflatable water slide

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Essential Boat Repairs:  The main sheet track came loose during the trip up so we needed to remove the headlining to tighten the bolts from below.  Fortunataly Graham from Indra who built his own Bowman was on hand to assist.

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Drinking In Bars

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Bermuda Day Dinghy Racing:  We were lucky to be here for Bermuda Day on May 24th when one of the events is the annual race of the old Bermudian ‘Fitted Dinghies’.  The class rules allow unlimited sail area and if the wind is light some of the crew jump over the side to lighten the load.   Or if the wind is strong, as it was this year one crew member is permantly bailing on the leeward side to frantically prevent the boat from sinking!

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They also capsize!

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Town Cut:  The entrance to St Georges Harbour

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Cruise Ships moored in Dockyard:  Fortunately for us they are now too big to come to St Georges so are moored at the other end of the island in Dockyard.

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The Old Naval Dockyard is now a museum

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More updates on the exciting change of plan to follow......