Once were officially cleared to come ashore, we moved to the dock to begin the boat chores (e. g., washing off the salt that had accumulated from 5 days at sea).
We are in St. George’s Bermuda which is a small town about 20 miles north of the “capital” of Hamilton. We checked into Customs early on Wednesday morning, May 15th and met by the “yellow shirts!” This is the 4 person team that handles all of the logistics for the rally – schedules, communication, social events, weather briefings, customs, etc.
Once the chores were done (and after a long nap) we set off to do some “touristy things” including a a visit to Fantasy Cave where we descended 140 feet to see world to see beautiful crystal formations that surrounded a clear lake 55 feet deep.
The history of the island is fascinating and I saw it up close when I attended church at St. Peter’s Anglican – the oldest Anglican Church outside the British Isles and the oldest Protestant church in continuous use in the New World
“Bermuda is an island of many colors….the buildings are a mixture of pastels with white limestone ‘stepped’ roofs. They are stepped because they have to capture the rainwater so they have water for home use. There are no freshwater lakes or streams so rainwater is used for household chores, laundry etc. The island does have desalination plants so they are able to make fresh water from the Atlantic that surrounds it.
Pirate Night
The “social activities” included a few “crew dinners” where the participating boats got together for a meal or Happy Hour. One night was “pirate night”, so we wore pirate bandanas with the Colorado State flag logo.
There are 35ish boats total that will make the treck from here to the Azores. It’s a great opportunity to meet people from the other boats and swap sailing tales. The sailing community is warm and welcoming to all. It’s one of my favorite parts about this lifestyle.
The last night (Sunday, May 19th) was a performance by the local Gombey dancers. It was a colorful, loud, and rhythmic cultural dance that reflects the blend of African, West Indian, Native American and British culture and you can read more about it on their website.
We spent the next 2 days taking long walks, provisioning in Hamilton, checking the weather, and waiting…. RACE DAY is Wed, May 22nd.
We also had “the last supper” – our last meal on shore for ~12 days.
The next leg – to the Azores is ~1800 NM. However, we’ll probably sail ~1950 NM and be “wind hunting” because the forecast doesn’t look that great. Two ways to follow us if you would like:
Download the YB Races app for the App Store, add the race “ARCEurope2024”, select and then choose the Bermuda to Azores leg.
Go to the World Cruising website, “ARC Europe”, then click “Fleet Tracker” at the top left, and the USA Bermuda leg.
