We have been anchored in St Georges, Bermuda, for a week now and have thoroughly enjoyed the island, and its cooler weather after the heat of the West Indies.
We spent a week in English Harbor, Antigua, where we were able to complete a few boat projects and do a little sightseeing. The Nelson Dockyard and museum provided an interesting look at the history of Antigua as a British colony, and English Harbor as an important harbor for the Royal Navy at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. We enjoyed swimming and diving (especially a night dive) at the mouth of the harbor, and the the hikes around its headlands which led to several 19th century forts and batteries with excellent views up and down the coast. A front with SW winds forced us out of English Harbor and around to Nonsuch Bay on the NE coast. The topography was much flatter on that side of the island and we were a little disappointed to find much of the coral dead from the damage of fish traps and bleached from the 90 degree surface water temperatures.
On May 30 we had a pleasant 32 mile daysail to Barbuda, flying the spinnaker the whole way. The water was beautifully clear, but unfortunately the coral was also dead and supported few fish. We cleared out at the small town the next day, and set sail for Bermuda on June 1.
Our passage to Bermuda went very well for the first seven days: light to moderate breezes on our quarter with sunny skies and progressively cooler weather. We had several Great Shearwaters follow the boat for days on end, and often spotted White-tailed Tropic birds. Since we were passing through the Sargasso Sea, we hauled up seaweed in a bucket and found the Sargassum crab, a brown pelagic crab. On the night of June 8, we sailed right into the middle of a low pressure that brought strong headwinds and relatively large chop. Tacking against wind and sea, we made little progress that night. When the sun came up and we were in view of the island, the wind died but the chop remained, so we gave up and motor-sailed the last 35 miles. We arrived on the afternoon of June 9, and were happy to see that our South African friends aboard Thiswan had also arrived.
Since our arrival, we have thoroughly explored the town of St Georges. Its 19th century pastel-colored buildings are set along narrow winding streets, and everything one could need is within walking distance. The harbor is picturesque, scattered with little islands and inlets. Views from the hills and British forts around town take in much of the island and lagoon. We have also visited the city of Hamilton, and Bermuda’s aquarium and natural history museum which have good information about the island’s volcanic formation 100 million years ago, and its flora and fauna. We did two dives on wrecks outside the barrier reef: the Kate (1878) had little remaining except its frame and propeller, but its coral and fish life were beautiful and very healthy; the Rita Zovetta (1924) had much more of its structure intact, but less coral growing on it. We have also enjoyed catching up with friends and making new friends on the other yachts here.
We expect to depart tomorrow for our last run –800 miles up to Maine– where we shall complete the global circumnavigation.
Cheers,
Ellen and Seth
