We enjoyed our stay in Bermuda immensely. Even though we had a short time there we managed to experience quite a bit of St Georges and Hamilton.
We had docked Troskala in Captain Smokes Marina in St Georges. I don’t think you can really call this a marina as there are no pontoons, just a high wall. You are supposed to line the bow of your yacht with a crosswind to the wall and then pick up a mooring at your stern whilst trying to throw bow-lines to the dock in order to stop your yacht crashing into the side of other boats. We had several goes at this as I was tired and not thinking too straight. I think that even if I was well rested this would have still been a challenge in Troskala with er unpredictable behaviour in reversing.
Although Captain Smokes Marina was disappointing the owners were friendly, they had WIFI and the facilities were clean. It was superbly located though but I think if I came again I would choose to dock alongside the harbour wall in the centre of St Georges.
Once we had settled in and cleaned Troskala we rested awaiting the arrival of Will who would join us for the next leg to the Azores. Will arrived shortly after and we decided to walk around the small town of St Georges.
We enjoyed strolling the clean and neat streets, reading about the history of the British Navy who settled here in the early days. The place reminded me of St Barths but on a larger scale. They did however seem to have a fondness for signs and especially loved the ‘No Loitering’ signs that were displayed every where.
I have to say that I did not find Bermuda as expensive as people had warned. Sure, there was one place we visited in Hamilton that managed to charge us $9 for a pint of beer but this was an exception. Eating out was similar to London and much cheaper than Tortola or other Caribbean islands we had visited.
We needed to repair our broken anchor locker that had sheered away from its hinge in the bad weather had on our way up. This job was completed for free. This leads me to another point. The people in Bermuda are so friendly. I experienced a fantastic welcome via Bermuda Radio and an exceptional experience from customs. Throughout our stay the local people were friendly, attentive and helpful.
We spent an evening exploring Hamilton but this side of Bermuda had very little to offer and it certainly did not have the same ambiance of St Georges. We walked around but found no heart. We went to the Cathedral but everything was shut. With slight disappointment we ate dinner and headed back to St Georges stopping for a quick beer The Swizzle Inn, a popular sailors retreat.
Our time here was short and as the 1st of June approached it was time to say goodbye to Jovita, who turned out to be an exceptional crew member and friend. Thank you Jovita for putting up with us all and assisting in the safe passage from the BVI;s to Bermuda.
I do hope to return to Bermuda at some point. I enjoyed every minute of it.
magneticdeviation 