Slow boat to Bermuda – Arrived, refreshed and ready to party

by S.V.Taipan on 20 May 2016 This was a motor boat trip. Six and a half days to do 750nm. The sails spent the last few days in the bag. The big blue briny was a rolling, heaving expanse of dunes. We rendezvoused with Safari Njema at 900 am on Monday ninth (day four) at a predetermined location. It had calmed enough to drop 55 lt in Jerrys for them to retrieve thus enabling them to motor the remaining 300 nm to Bermuda. The forecast showed very light to calm for the next four to five days.

The transfer was accomplished smoothly, at first pass. We threw them a monkeys fist attached to a long floating line with the three jugs tied onto it at about three meter intervals. Sven got the line and David dumped the jugs. We turned away, they stopped and hauled the fuel aboard. Teamwork. Taipan carries about 1200nm of fuel. We had extra tankage installed in Phuket before we re-engined. The old engine used more fuel so now we often have too much but we keep them full nonetheless. You just never know if you will need it. Worst case would be broken rig.

Little to say about the rest of the trip save that we caught a nice fish and one day the boat was looking like a Chinese laundry with all the washing drying on deck in lieu of sails. We made lots of water, did baking and arrived in Bermuda at dawn on Thursday, refreshed and ready to party.

The entrance to the harbor is narrow but the channel is deep and well lit. Clearance was simple with no talk of removing any meat, fresh fruit or vegetables, despite info received to the contrary. We tied up right at the Customs building on the St Georges Town waterfront. Bermuda Radio monitors arrivals and departures and can be heard on VHF up to 150nm out. They are very organized and happy to provide information. We filled in an online arrival form and sent it before departure from the Bahamas so they had all our details at their fingertips. This made it unnecessary to provide passport and other personal information over the radio.

The first yachts on the ARC Rally from West to East was just starting to arrive so most of the walls were booked. Around 30 rally yachts are meeting in Bermuda from Tortola BVIs and Norfolk US to continue as a fleet to the Mediterranean. We prefer to anchor and the anchorage is expansive, well protected and beautiful. Dingy access is free, as is rubbish disposal. The dingy dock is right in the center of St Georges Town, just meters from the town square where there is also free wifi. A very good supermarket, Irish pub and tourist information is just 50 or so meters from the dingy dock. All frightfully civilized!!

We had heard some reports that prices were huge!. This may be the impression of those sailors who arrive directly from the US. Certainly it is dearer than the US but not dearer than the Bahamas for grocery. Fuel is dearer but not much dearer than Australia.

There are no hire cars on Bermuda but mopeds are available. We chose to use the very efficient and regular bus service. There is also a good ferry service.

Our first recognizance was to Hamilton, the capital city. Bermuda has a population of around 66 thousand but this number swells with foreign tourists and employees of big global financial and insurance companies.

Hamilton is set on a hillside overlooking a beautiful bay of islands. A mix of old and new has been tastefully accomplished giving the city a peaceful but efficient feel. Its easy to see there are a lot of wealthy visitors. There are many lovely shops displaying very fine quality goods, clothing and jewelry. Its only about five blocks square so its manageable walking distance.

Birthdays come and go on passage but Davids birthday was celebrated here in Bermuda. We spent the day enjoying the historic trail around the northern end of St Georges which showcases a number of the 40 old forts on Bermuda. The most notable is St Catherine's, a 400 year old fort which is well restored and is an interesting stop. It has well preserved Canon on original carriages from the period.

DHL strikes again. Our small parcel was on the island.for 9 days before we managed to get hold of it... Many excuses and long phone calls later the Customs boss lady intervened and our diodes were delivered. DHL repeatedly fails to provide service despite advertised promises. Use FEDEX! Now we will be able to resuscitate the generator. Fingers crossed.

Our plan is to sail the 17 or so miles around to Hamilton and anchor there to further explore the islands snorkeling and the Naval Dockyard tourist precinct and home of the Americas Cup in 2017. The weather is dirty for the next couple of days so we will stay put and dust off a couple of jobs between forays ashore in St Georges Town.