We had a successful sail across the start line on 5th May and immediately put the donkey on as the weather was beautiful, sunny but without wind. The total time taken to complete the journey was five days plus half an hour and we motored for half of that. We were getting weather from Herb and Chris Parker and ARC and were assured that once we hit 27 degree north we would pick up the breeze and sure enough we did. With five sails up - mizzen, mizzen staysail, main sail, staysail and genoa we made nice progress. The wind veered and backed over the next day or so but we were still pushing hard to try to catch A Lady. The last night out we had the full mizzen, full main and no. 1 up in 25 to 30 knots of breeze averaging between 9 and 10 knots. However at about 1am on Thursday morning we decided to back off for fear of breaking the boat with still a long way to go back to Ireland.
So at about 1330 we crossed the finish line and got clearance from Bermuda radio to enter the town cut into St Georges harbour (it might be handy to google the "St Georges Town Cut" when you read this to see what we are talking about. It is literally a cut in the coastline and at one time cruise ships entered here so we were assured that there was plenty of room for all sailing boats). The Bermudan customs and immigration were very efficient and dealt with the formalities very quickly which was appreciated by all the boats.
The ARC provided duty free refuelling and so we then proceeded to the old cruise ship dock to replenish our tanks. The refuelling process was challenging as there was a very strong onshore breeze and we felt that even though could get alongside it would be difficult to get off given the conditions and challenges in handling a long keeled yacht. So instead we chose to drop our anchor slightly upwind of the dock and let the boat rest on its anchor chain 5 to 10 feet from the dock wall. We were then able to take on board the refuelling hose and top up the tanks.
Fully refuelled we dropped anchor for some welcome beers.
The trip up had been very enjoyable with all the crew getting along very well. We had single 2 hour watches when the weather was good and then went to 2up 3 hour watches when the weather turned. So the opportunity for sleep was there even if the boat movement and noise sometimes prevented even the most exhausted from getting some shut-eye!
We had an onboard fishing competition with Billy and Brian both having lines out. The skipper won convincingly with three caught - tuna, a bull dophin fish (a mahi mahi): these were both eaten and then the third, a female mahi mahi, we released back to the sea. Unfortunately Billy, despite his enthusiasm and expertise, only managed a wahoo but this again was much appreciated by the crew at dinner that night. The fish have the most beautiful vivid colours and are really beautiful to look at. This combined with their wonderful taste really makes them negate the old saying "beauty is only skin deep".
The mornings were good sociable hours with most of us up and chatting. Then meal times were good crack too with most people trying to get a bit of downtime in the afternoon and once dinner was over. Happy hour was between five and six and despite the weather we enjoyed a beer or two most nights. Hopefully the weather on the next trip will not impede ritual too much.
Speaking of the weather - after arriving on Thursday in the dry, Friday brought torrential rain, thunder, lightening and wind. So it was a quiet day on the boat - time to restock fridges, find all the bits that created noise that kept us awake on the trip and put in preventative measures, and time to chill. Saturday brought the sun.
Bermuda is stunning. Very English, historic and quaint. We spent the day ashore on Saturday and enjoyed walking through the narrow streets. There was a reinactment of a "ducking" - women were not treated very well nor appreciated in the 16th/17th centuries here - asking your husband to do chores more than once was deemed to be nagging and for that you were tried in front of a "fair" jury of three men. Naturally you can imagine the outcome - women were then "ducked" - put on the chair and unceremoniously put into the water at the town quay. I must say the lady who participated was very good - they had engaged the services of some tourists to work the "ducking chair" and they were very enthusiastic about their duties as I think she went into the water about six times. It is lovely to see history being appreciated and "come alive" - it makes it more interesting for everyone and I think you learn more than you would by just reading about the events.
There was a town market with many jewellery stalls and we wandered through the streets and then enjoyed a mouth watering lunch at The Tavern on the Sea. We visited St Peter's church which is the oldest Anglican church outside of the UK having been originally built in 1612. The atmosphere is one of calm and peace - a good place to regroup your thoughts.
We are now getting ready for the Awards Dinner so watch this space to see how Asteroid did on the first leg!