Ocean Passage Part 1- Hampton to Bermuda.

     After five days at sea we arrived happily in Bermuda for an unplanned break in our journey. On day four we made the decision to shoot for Bermuda after learning of some potentially rough weather around the BVIs. We figured a break in the trip was a good plan and we may as well start our time in a tropical paradise somewhere a little closer! What a strange place. Bermuda is an island surrounded by and made up of coral reef, located way out in the ocean far from any other land. During the trip I wrote jot notes so that I could remember a bit of each day, which was a good idea because the passage now seems like one big blur. We got a kick out of reading them out loud last night, so I've included them here for your reading pleasure:

Friday Nov. 11- Day 1: Left Hampton at last! Cold + windy. Seasickness for Mom and Sarah. Night watch #1 inky black clouds with silver moon-lit lining.

Saturday Nov. 12- Day 2: Mom sick all day. Feeding Dad + solo watches. Gulf Stream crossing, but no current. Warmer water @ 21 degrees Celsius. Dolphin sighting in the AM + Dad catching flying fish on deck in the PM. Life @ sea is lived in three-hour increments.

Sunday, Nov. 13- Day 3: Steady winds. Waiting for Raftan.

Monday, Nov. 14- Day 4: Under 999 nautical miles to go! Resting, eating, hair-washing. Mom feeling bit better. Nerves over possible rough weather near BVIs. Fear, stress, tired. Solo watch= calming and the moon and soothing companion. Good for solitude. Rougher waves.

Tuesday, Nov. 15- Day 5: Bermuda bound! Stoked, stopover in Bermuda agreed with Raftan to await better weather. New place, no knowledge. Warm! T-shirt + shorts day on deck. Satellite phone texting with Jamie. Excited. One more night then rest! (Later in the dark of night) Hell night- squalls, steep seas, exhausted, so close to Bermuda.

Wednesday, Nov. 16: Heaven! Tropical paradise in the middle of the ocean. Relief and joy and overflowing excitement. Green waters, buildings of St. George's the colour of hard candies- pastels in blue, yellow, pink. Quiet and chill. Reefs to explore, foods to savour, sights to visit. Hot sun! First tropical swim ever! Bermuda is a heavenly haven in the sea.

     Since arriving we have felt stoked, relieved, and overwhelmed with excitement all at once. We are so happy to be in such a beautiful warm place and to have arrived here safely! The majority of our passage had the best weather we could have asked for. The seas were light and the sun shining during the day and at night the moon would rise to light our way over the dark waters. Eerily enough we encountered strange currents and choppy waves a few days out from Bermuda, which brought to mind the unsettling tales of the "Bermuda Triangle." On our last night we hit a couple of brief squalls and although we weren't in danger during them it was nerve-wracking and stressful. This strange current turned out to be caused by cold eddies that appear on the US Navy Gulf Stream current charts and are a common occurrence in the Atlantic Ocean. Although the concept of the "Bermuda Triangle" is a myth, we could understand how it came about as a legend after sailors encountered these unpredictable squalls and hit the choppy waves thrown up by currents in even the lightest of winds.

     Now a few "thank-yous" for my fellow crew members. The trooper award for the passage goes to Sarah, who despite throwing up many times was always up and ready to help just a few short minutes afterwards. The endurance award goes to Mom because although she was sick and dizzy for the majority of the trip she still tried to help out where possible. Dad was an amazing, calm captain the whole way, who made solid dependable decisions and kept us all safe. As for myself, I tried to keep everyone fed and rested and did many solo watches at night to ensure everyone had enough sleep. All in all each of us did an amazing job of helping out where we could to make the passage as safe and comfortable as possible and I am so proud to be a part of this solid family crew! This is definitely an experience that each of us will look back on with a strong feeling of pride and a tinge of awe.

     Now that we are safely in what constitutes as our idea of paradise we are busy grabbing pamphlets and travel guides to optimize our time here with snorkelling sessions, scuba diving adventures, museum and aquarium visits, and possibly even a swim with dolphins! Yesterday we explored the lovely and historic town of St. George's on the northern end of the island. The foliage and vegetation here is overwhelmingly beautiful and hibiscus adorn bushes in reds, whites and pinks. In the afternoon we rode in the dinghy to snorkel around a small shipwreck across the bay in St. George's Harbour. We were in complete awe of the corals and colourful fish as we kicked leisurely around a rusted shipwreck in the shallows. These tiny fish with black vertical stripes and yellow on their backs floated around us so close and unafraid. We also spotted lots of brain corals and two angel fish which we identified in our Reef Set (Reef Creature ID books) as a Townsend Angel Fish! It was a perfect first snorkel in the tropics.

     Our plan is to stay here for at least a week before deciding when to depart for part two of the ocean passage to the BVIs. Over the last few days cruising boats have been pouring into Bermuda for a stopover on their way to the Caribbean. Bermuda is a popular destination for cruise boats but they dock in the capital Hamilton or the south-west end of the island whereas St. George's is filled to the gills with cruisers and delivery crews migrating south. The boats here make ours look small. After just one day here we have a lot of pictures to sift through for posting, but that will have to wait until we get to a wireless hotspot as we've had no luck at our anchorage.

Thanks for reading and here's hoping you've enjoyed our tales so far,
Nicole.
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