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Starblazer - 18/05/2017 – Bermuda



My apologies if I have already posted some of this information already.
Unfortunately we had a minor crisis when the computer couldn’t start up
yesterday as we were getting ready to pull up the anchor. No computer would
mean no e-mail, no weather forecasts, no GRIB files and no blogs! When it
couldn’t restart the computer offered to try to mend itself (clever
computer) but warned that we would lose recently added programmes. What it
didn’t mention was that recently added files would also disappear. I have
lost all the blogs written on the computer since the day we arrived back in
Nanny Cay last November. Grrrr!

Shortly after we anchored in St George’s Harbour, Bermuda we were hit by
winds of up to 45 knots, not fun especially as we had to re-anchor in
possibly the worst of it. In the afternoon, when the winds had subsided
somewhat, we were allowed to dinghy to the Customs Dock to clear in. This
was a special arrangement because there were about 12 boats waiting to
clear, normally they insist that you moor alongside the Customs House. By
the evening, when it was time to go to the Dinghy Club for a Welcome Party,
the wind had dropped further and the water was fairly calm, though all
things are relative!

Saturday was refuelling day; we worked on the boat all morning, putting
things away, effecting repairs etc. until we were called to the wharf to get
our fuel just after I’d prepared lunch. Once refuelled, we went back to the
anchorage, re-anchored then went ashore for a walk. Much of St George is a
UNESCO World Heritage site or perhaps, more accurately ‘many of the
buildings are….’ The Somers Wharf area appears to have been recently
developed into a pretty shopping area. It was hot, we needed wi-fi to catch
up with the world so we stopped at a waterfront bar for a beer. The wi-fi
was good, the beer was good but $18 for two pints was rather expensive! The
Bermudian dollar is based on the US$, both notes and coins are used
interchangeably.

Sunday was ‘Rum Tasting’ in the evening followed by the Rally Dinner and
Prize Giving. Starblazer won 1st place in cruising group C, our first ever
First Place! The prize was a wall plaque and a bottle of Goslings Family
Extra Old Rum in a champagne style bottle, a rather special rum.

No trip to Bermuda this year would be complete without a visit to the Royal
Dockyard to try to see the America’s Cup competitors practising. We had
been to the Dockyards in 2010 by motor scooter, this time we went by fast
ferry. We saw one boat being rigged and Groupama, the French entry, setting
off from the harbour into Great Sound. Though it was quite a way away, you
could just about make out the boat lifting on to its foils. Altogether we
spotted four of the six boats practising. Great Sound is a large body of
water within the protecting reef, enclosed partly by the curving southwest
corner of Bermuda where the Royal Dockyard is. The marked fairway to the
dockyard for cruise ships etc. is to the western side of the Sound.

Tuesday we spent getting the boat ready to leave, including buying and
replacing a drive belt on the engine and shopping. We also managed to catch
the re-enactment on the quayside where a woman is ‘ducked’ on the ducking
stool for ‘gossiping and nagging’! It was very well done, very entertaining
and she got very wet. In the afternoon we had to clear out at the Dinghy
Club then had a leg briefing for the trip to the Azores. We had decided to
have a final meal ashore and invited Larissa from Captiva to come with us.
It was an enjoyable evening.

Next blog will deal with the first 24 hours sailing, or rather 24 minutes
sailing, many hours motoring!

Joyce


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