Position 32:23N 64:39W

PASSEPARTOUT
Christopher & Nirit Slaney
Sun 8 May 2011 19:57
It's great to be able to go for a voyage like the one we just made from Tortola. Nirit and I love being out on the ocean. But it's oh so lovely, that moment of arrival. St George's Habour, Bermuda was one of those arrivals which I just know will stay with me forever. The final day had a little bit of everything; glorious sailing in the morning, calm afternoon, new breeze from an ideal direction just before nightfall and then thunderstorms, 40 knot gusts and wild seas at the end. Neither of us slept.
 
We were aiming for the lighthouse on St David's and arrived just before dawn. Bermuda Radio told us a cruise ship, Dawn Princess, was expected at the same position and would be transferring a hospital case to the pilot's launch. Together with three other yachts we were  told to stand off and wait for further instructions. We were wet, it was cold and the yacht didn't want to stand off, a lively sea was constantly pushing us downwind. We watched the pilot's launch head back to shore and were then told to proceed.
 
Lyall from World Cruising Club was waiting at the customs dock and shepherded us through a quick and painless border check. I love some of the forms we fill out when arriving by sea. Questions like, "Was there an unusually high mortality rate among the rats on board which might indicate plague?", really make me feel I'm carrying on a sea faring tradition. In some Turkish ports they also have the questions, "How many passengers died on voyage?", "How many burials at sea?" and "How many dead bodies on board?" Now where did I put that list...
 
Our friend Karel from TEHANI-LI appeared at the customs dock and there was a rush of hugs and comparing of notes from the intervening six weeks since we last met. We soon spotted Rorie Dean whose husband David had to turn back to Tortola after a rigging failure, she anyway had the tickets and was treating her mother to a weekend on Bermuda.
Nirit plots our approach
 
 
After tying up alongside an American yacht just arrived from St. Maarten and a quick celebratory G&T, we hit the sack and fell into a deep, dreamless coma. Bermuda looks fantastic - lighthouses, stone built churches and lots of prosperity. Tomorrow we shall explore.