35 Hours in Bermuda

Welcome arrived in Bermuda Fridy at 2130 EST after 6 and one half days
at sea and 930 nautical miles. The last two days had us beating
against a northeast wind and strong northeast current. We ran the
engine with the sails up for 27 hours. About ten miles offshore, we
called Bermuda Harbour Radio on international channel 27 for clearance
to enter St. George's Harbour. After ascertaining the number of people
on and the safety equipment and the various offical number associated
with the equipment, we received clearance. In fact, the fellow called
us three separate times to repeat that we remained clear to enter as
we were making a tricky approach to the Town Cut in the dark with the
engine roaring. St. George's Harbour was a welcomed haven of relative
calm. It was filled with more than two hundred visiting sailboats
awaiting the 2009 ARC rally to Europe which starts on May 20. The
authorities left the Customs and Immigration office open for us and
for two other boats that followed us later that evening. It was a
generous and surprising gesture after having endured the
inefficiencies of clearance procedures in the various Caribbean
countries.

We were met at the dock by Bernie, who was expecting us. We had
e-mailed Captain Smoke's Marina in anticipation of our arrival to
reserve a dock space. Bernie is a charming older man who was born on
the island and is as friendly as they come. He did a quick hitch
around the dock post and advised us to keep the motor running - in
case we could not start it again. He must speak from experience. We
staggered off the boat, our bodies still rocking after all that time
at sea. We grabbed counters and walls to steady ourselves. Bermuda
added a form to its usual stack - we had to fill out a health form
declaring that nobody died on the boat while we were at sea, and that
we did not have the plague. We assume that this was yet another
paranoid and bureaucratic response to the swine flu. We also assumed
they were inquiring about human animals, and wisely did not mention
all the dead flying fish.

Docking at Captain Smoke's is always a joy. It is the equivalent to
asking a blind man to thread a needle. We were required to dock bow
in between two boats that seemed to be about five feet apart. Welcome
is 11 feet wide. The whole village appeared on the dock to watch the
fun. The people on the boat to our port got out of bed and onto their
deck to fend off. We know this because the matron was tying a terry
bathrobe around her. Who in their right mind brings a terry bathrobe
onto a small sailboat for a long voyage? HOw do they have the room to
hang bulky bathrobes? The folks to starboard also appeared to defend
their vessel. Bernie shouted unintelligible instructions from the
pier. We made it through the eye of the needle successfully and
without any shouting on board. Our bow plank to land was put in place
and a rug placed under it to limit the damage to our boat. The sloop
to starboard, Brain Waves, was occupied by an internet acquaintance,
Rod Lawrence. His brother-in-law shipped his sailboat from Michigan
to the east coast and he and a few buddies sailed to Bermuda. They
had stayed for a week and were sailing back the next morning. The boat
will then be trucked back to Michigan. Rod had cruised the internet in
preparation for the trip and found our blog last year. He asked for
some advice on the passage and he and I exchanged several e-mails. It
was a delight to finally meet him. The crew of Welcome ate a
delicious Mac and Cheese dinner and shared a bottle of South African
wine. We fell exhausted into our damp sleeping bags on our damp bunks.

The morning was filled with laundry, showers, and catching up on
e-mail. Captain Smoke's has upgraded its sole shower and its
electrical system. Hot water was plentiful, and we were not required
to hit a pipe on the roof of the building to get the water running. By
late morning, we were well into the list of chores to be accomplished
on land. Jay's pleas for lunch were ignored. Kel arrived in the early
afternoon. With four of us on board, we were efficient in our work.
Kel has great mechanical skills derived from growing up in rural
Zimbabwe where machines are fixed, not replaced. Cushions were put
out to be cleaned and dried. The water tanks were refilled. We tried
getting the encrusted salt flakes off the deck and canvas. We removed
and replaced the four house batteries. We assigned Kel to the engine
compartment, where we asked him to remove and reinstall the engine
battery not just once, but twice. This was because late in the day,
the four batteries ordered in advance and waiting for us morphed into
five batteries. After the four battery project was finished and the
engine battery replaced with the strongest old battery, we again
replaced the engine cranking battery with a new one. Kel had to
removed the raw water strainer so we could measure the necessary
fittings to install the new strainer, but then once again replaced the
old strainer when the hardware store did not have the necessary parts.
The autohelm was given a shot of grease. Ann was assigned to diagnose
the leak in the forward cabin. She discovered some wetness and rot
forward of the bunk from the anchor well. Silicone was applied to stem
the water splashing from the anchor well and seeping into the forward
cabin. Ann also sealed the chain holes on deck. Jay and DT diagnosed
and cured (we hope) the leak by the aft bunk. We listened to the
fight between a boat owner and a paid crew on a neighboring boat, and
then the crew member disappeared - presumably he stormed away.
Another boat owner sat waiting for paid crew to appear to deliver his
boat to Conneticut without him at a cost of $3,000.

Sometime later in the day, Kel mentioned that Bermuda operates on
Atlantic Standard Time. Much to our surprise, we were running an hour
behind the rest of the island. Off to the grocery store we walked.
With two carts, we searched the small store for appealing items to
fill our carts. We bought a lot of yogurt, cheese, fruit and
beverages. Jay sent us off to a waterfront bar while he arranged
delivery and then set about organizing the food on board. We had a
very nice dinner at the Carriage House, which was the site of DT's
birthday dinner two years ago. No one was concerned about eating too
much since it seemed impossible after barely eating for the prior
seven days.

The next morning, we pushed off from the marina and went to the fuel
dock. Ann resisted the pressure to stay on board and waved goodbye to
us at 0830 EST. We once again received clearance from Bermuda Harbour
Radio - this time to leave. We were in Bermuda 35 hours.

Upon leaving, the wind was NE 10-15 knots. We spent about two hours
getting beyond the reef that surrounds Bermuda and then set off for
Newport, 630 miles away at a heading of 346 degrees. The wind died
around sunset and we are now motoring in less than five knots of wind.
Currents have been quirky. We were accompanied by a fleet of spotted
dolphins for a little while last night. There are a lot of
Man-O-Wars. We have seen a few other sailboats, but no ships. The
early night sky was moonless and filled with stars. Eventually we
hauled in the jibs to quiet the slapping of the sails, but the main
remains up. It is a dry day with chores being sought on deck to take
advantage of the sun and warmth. Appetites are back. We even ate a
hot dinner last night and now sadly out of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.
Battery replacements have been deemed a success.

OUr position at 1110 on 5/18 is 34 02.133N 066 08.82W. We should hit
the Gulf Stream at little north of 35 degrees and sometime within the
next 24 hours. We are also expecting a weather front tomorrow later
in the day which will bring rain. The Gulf Stream is the widest it has
ever been on our rhumbline. We speculate that it may mean a less
forcefull north current. We will let you know.

Team Welcome