Saltwhistle III: Rach & Tony
 Bermuda Hello again from not quite so sunny Bermuda. We had a good first few days with lovely sunshine but the current wind and spitty rain seems to be part of Tropical Storm Alberta that is sweeping down the US East Coast. Time to break out the jeans and rugby jerseys unfortunately and Tony is currently de-carbonising the heating system’s fuel injector in preparation for our further trip north - cue more smothered cursing from the engine bay. I’ve bought a new sailing jacket to replace my rather decrepit old one that is no longer very water-proof. This doesn’t sound like blue-water cruising fun at all does it? Make hay whilst the sun shines, as they say, and we had great fun hooning around the island on our hired mopeds. Just like riding a bike only so much funner! Bermuda is approximately 30km long by road and we traversed from east end’s Fort St Catherine to west end’s Royal Naval Dockyard via various sounds, bridges and beaches, and back again. This island is truly beautiful in a manicured seaside chic way. The southern shoreline is stunning with reefs and rolling surf, plus hidden swimming holes made by nature in the worn through cliffs. We found a great biker-bar (okay, moped-bar) for lunch and generally had an excellent time exceeding the speed limit along with everyone else. There is also a good ferry service if mopeds don’t appeal. On Wednesday we watched the ARC Europe boats sailing around the harbour before attacking the start line in two separate divisions. Handily we were anchored at one end of the line to wave and take photos of the fleet, feeling a little sad that we were not part of the rally fun. We wish them a good trip to the Azores. Hopefully the Italian entrant manages to keep a better look-out than they did for the start – as part of Group B they came out early to watch the start of Group A, taking photos and impeding the start line, incurring the wrath of a couple of other boats. Oh dear, the racing Group A always take things a bit more seriously then cruising Group B. On Saturday we headed to the sports bar and watched the Champion’s League final – well done Chelsea. I had a hilarious conversation with a confused American about why a Chelsea win would be deemed good for Arsenal. As a price-check: 500ml Strongbow is US$8 in a bar and a loaf of bread is US$6.80. Nearly everything is imported. BTW – doesn’t St Georges look very Scandinavian in the attached photo? All the roofs are lime washed by law to create purifying trickle-down into the water system. Various boats are arriving every day in Bermuda and some are part of an informal Ocean Cruising Club rally to Newport Rhode Island – the Salty Seadog Rally. Whilst waiting for the delivery of a new phone SIM and US pilot book we hope to make contact with some of the rally participants and share weather info - they have Chris Parker providing some forecasting and an indication of the best time to leave. Tony bumped into Tony Dimont (ex Blue Water Rally organiser) yesterday who has kept his Najad on the US East Coast for seven years, he warned us about the fog banks we will encounter. Oh, joy. I’ll try to blog again before we leave.
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Diary Photos
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Achilles Beach |
 Fort St Catherine |
 Sand & Reefs |
 Hidden swimming pools |
 Hamilton city hall |
 St Georges at dusk |
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