After a drizzly morning yesterday, which incidentally washed down all of the boats nicely, the weather has continued to improve to the sunny Bermuda we all love. It is hard to descibe the colours of the water, the sea and the houses - everything here stands out! Even the rally yachts stand out, taking over the Town Docks and the Dinghy Club dock and bringing some festivity to St.George's harbour. Nearly all of the fleet that sailed north from the BVI are here now, however with the winds coming in from the north now the last few are having to beat to windward for the last 100 miles or so.
Up until the wind shift so many boats have commented on the great sailing conditions, aside from the confused sea, and were setting records for daily runs - many approaching the magic 200 miles a day mark. These long offshore passages are made that much better when you can put in those kinds of miles a day, especially in the right direction! Other reports coming in are that of fouled propellors, around 4 or 5 yachts have each sailed over some fishing gear, line, net, rope and fouled their props and had to 'volunteer' a crew member (or even the skipper on Zera) to dive under and cut free what was holding them up.
The boats still to arrive will be guided into the harbour by the ever watchful Bermuda Radio at which point they contact Rally Control that meets them on the Customs Dock to complete entry formalities. Once officially here the cold Dark N Stormies, courtesy of Gosling's Rum, go down particularly well - even at 8am!
Today we have seen many crews setting off on scooters, buses and ferries to explore all that Bermuda has to offer. Hamilton, home of the next Americas Cup in 2017, is not too far away with the historic Naval Dockyard much further to the south. For those around a little later the balcony of the Dingy Club is a great spot for Happy Hour. Ahead on the programme is duty free refuelling where rally boats benefit from around a 20% discount, a welcome pirate costume party, 'Maiden Voyage' presentation by Tania Aebi and of course Prizegiving on Sunday.