Bermuda Recap

May 15

We have now been in Bermuda for one week, but our time here is drawing to a close. If all goes well, we will depart Sunday morning for the Azores.

Bermuda is lovely—colorful buildings, great food, and beautiful people. Ken and I are foodies, so we love trying restaurants wherever we go. We have not had one bad meal here, from sushi to fish tacos to Indian curry. It has all been excellent. But the highlight of our time in Bermuda has been the people.

Bermudians are incredibly kind and hospitable. We have received the warmest welcome from everyone we have encountered—customs agents, restaurant staff, and strangers at the bus stop. A man on a motor scooter even passed us twice, then stopped to apologize for not pausing the first time to wish Monica, the crew member joining us for our next leg, and me a happy Mother's Day.

Tropical depression passing through Bermuda

The weather has not been great during our time here. We have had a couple of days of high winds and rain, which kept us aboard Remedy rather than exploring the island. We are currently weathering a tropical depression that has brought winds of up to 40 knots even in the protected anchorage. We have listened to radio traffic from multiple vessels underway to Bermuda that were experiencing significant trouble in the storm, and we have watched at least four boats come into the harbor with their sails shredded.

We put those rainy days to good use, though. First, we replaced our bilge pump. Fixing things in foreign ports is never easy. There is a small hardware store within walking distance, but they did not carry replacement bilge pumps. We took a 45-minute bus ride into Hamilton and walked several miles between marine chandleries—but we found what we needed!

We also serviced one of our winches and recommissioned and tested our watermaker, which had been winterized since last November. The watermaker allows us to produce our own drinking water. We can carry 120 gallons aboard, which, used conservatively, can last the two of us about three weeks. The passage to the Azores will take roughly 12 to 14 days, and with three of us aboard, having a working watermaker is essential.

It has not all been work, though. We have had a wonderful time with Monica and with a fellow cruiser, a solo sailor named Doug, whom we met in Beaufort before crossing to Bermuda. We enjoyed exploring St. George, where we are anchored, as well as the city of Hamilton and the Naval Boat Yard—where the cruise ships dock—which we reached by ferry. One highlight was visiting Sea Glass Beach, a stretch of about a quarter mile carpeted entirely in sea glass. There was so much that it was almost overwhelming, but I did find a few special pieces, including my first glass bottle stopper and some shards of old pottery.

The biggest highlight of all, though, was watching Ken pack up his work laptop and phone and ship them back to the States. He is officially on an extended sabbatical! He has worked so hard, and I am so excited for him to have time to rest and recalibrate.

We have loved our brief time here in Bermuda. God willing, we will depart on Sunday. The tropical depression that passed through today has left light winds and elevated, confused seas in its wake, so the first day or so may be a bit uncomfortable. After that, things should settle down. Because this is a two-week voyage, we cannot be certain of conditions beyond the first week, and we would appreciate your prayers for a safe passage.

The next posts you get from us will be similar to our passage to Bermuda — short posts from each day of our passage to the Azores!

More Pictures From Bermuda

Here are some more pictures from our time in Bermuda. If you are reading this from your email, you will have to click on the link to read the post on our website in order to see the full gallery!