Day 9 - Bermuda to Ireland

Weather: Finally, last night the clouds cleared just in time for sunset.  We had a clear, star filled night and I awoke this morning to blue skies with a few puffy clouds to keep me company  - Yay for the solar shower... Oh, and the wind practically died, so sorry for the wind generator (and our sailing speed - currently down to around 3kt).  Last night, sunset was on my watch and I got to see the "green flash" a phenomenon that for years I thought was imagined, about as real as fairies and other human invented beings, but I researched and discovered it true; you need clear skies and a good unobstructed view of the horizon (so being at sea is perfect).  Last night was indeed the perfect conditions and there it was. I woke this morning all chufffed, and shared this with Kyle - oh, he said, I saw one at sun rise too - so we both got a little mini green treat now the sky has cleared.

General Comments:  Sending and receiving email yesterday took several attempts (and many precious sat phone minutes).  Each day the email exchange has been taking longer than expected, and we are eating through our minutes so fast we'll run out before we get there (we have setup a system to top up from offshore if necessary, luckily).  I think I finally realized the problem - SKYPE was still active.  Before an offshore passage, I spend considerable time setting up the computer for off shore mode; making sure it won't try and update Windows, removing any virus checkers, etc , so hopefully the ONLY internet activity should be my sending and receiving emails for 6 minutes a day.  I completely overlooked a Skype session that was active and hidden... Grrrr... So I guess I pay the stupid tax.  Hopefully our future email exchanges will be back to normal now, and our minutes will last.

A relatively uneventful day (a relief over the previous day).  We spotted a barn swallow way out here and don't expect his fate to be a good one.  At first he looked as though he wanted to land on Footprint, but he eventually flew off, hopefully to another boat.  In the middle of our evening meal, we were visited by dolphins again :-). Kyle and I both watched them from the bow for the 20 minutes they played there.

Food: We are snacking more than eating properly (which probably explains why we don't loose weight on a passage like the rest of the world seems to), but last night I made a favorite of Kyle's - potato soup.

Progress: Yesterday we made 152 nm, So far on this trip we have traveled (through the water) 989 nm, and have 1759 nm (straight line) to go.

Day 8 - Bermuda to Ireland

Weather:  Still dull and gray with occasional showers, winds stronger than expected, and Kyle getting excited at the odd (surf induced) 9 and 10 knots. For the most part, we are averaging 7 kt this morning, but the waves are big and any exit from the cockpit results in a drenching.

General Comments: We ran the engine for 2 hours yesterday, expecting sun shine "any minute" that never came... Hopefully later today.  At 12:07 Footprint's odometer passed over 8000nm, and it was fun to think of all the places we've taken her over those miles.

But yesterday was also a day of problems. The Autopilot decided it would not longer steer properly, and moved over 120 degrees in each direction trying to find the right point of sail - that is WAY too big a swing and I had to disengage and hand steer (a job on that particular point of sail and sea conditions that only took a small tweak every 3-4 minutes).  The error seems to have started when we turned off the engine, and the last time this happened, we had to send of the unit for repair, this time it was resolved by turning everything off and on again (we don't like to do this as it also resets our trip log, but we like hand steering even less).

On Kyle's early morning rig check he found the split pin and washer that hold our forestay in place, out and on the deck.... So we had to address that IMMEDIATELY before the forestay became disconnected from the deck.  This caused horrible déjà vu from our last time (This is the same problem that caused the loss of our forestay on route from Antigua) once again, Maryanne was a hero showing up on deck with just the right parts and tools to fix it properly, and once again we had to disconnect the forestay hundreds of miles from anywhere in order to resolve the problem.  Since this was the morning rig check (14 hours after our previous check), I shudder to think how long those pieces had been waiting to come apart.  It could so easily (in our minds) have been a middle of the night rig failure, just like last time. Our Gemini Guru (R. Roscoe) suggested replacing the whole thing with a nut and bolt (one where the threads only start towards the end), but when we suggested this to Selden (makers of the forestay roller furler) they said not to do this, so we were cautious, and decided to just "keep an eye on things".  What would our insurance company say if we replaced a part specifically not recommended by the manufacturer and then had a problem?  Well now I don't give much of a care - we had that pin out and replaced with a bolt, self locking nut, and a split pin to be triple sure.   Once the fix was in place, I was left feeling quite anxious - what is going on at the TOP of the furler?  Is a split pin going to break/back out there too?  Kyle assures me that all is fine up there (he has spent some time with the binoculars).  To Gemini owners: There are 2 pins that hold the furler in place beneath the furler drum - one is in line with the boat (fore and aft) - this is the one that has twice now managed to lose itself and risk our rig while out at sea.  The other also seems to be a weak point - the toggle fitting is too wide and the forestay rides on one side, and as the motion of the boat causes some slack and tightening of the forestay it works itself over to one side, pulling the pin with it - eventually putting a lot of force on the split pin - this we had already replaced with a nut/bolt system as Mr Roscoe suggested (we put stainless washers in the middle to stop the movement to one side too).  After our last forestay came detached, we ended up spending around $3000 in repairs - the bolts (and paying for a machine shop to drill holes for the split pin) cost under $20.  After taking a good look at the circumstances of losing that split pin twice -  both times were when sailing downwind with the screacher - we think perhaps) even with some tension on the backstays) the screacher pulls the mast forward more, slackens the forestay more, and allows this working of the forestay pin to either break or work out the split pin.  This may also explain why other Gemini owners aren't generally reporting the same issue (combination of miles we have sailed, rougher sea conditions in which we find ourselves, and the installation of the screacher)

Food: I made veggie burgers yesterday, with some of the last few of our Bermuda Tomatoes - not bad (nor terribly great) as far as veggie burgers go - I found them pre-made in a can and you just slice the thickness you want, maybe a little thinner next time.

Progress: Yesterday we made 141 nm, So far on this trip we have traveled (through the water) 871 nm, and have 1921 nm (straight line) to go.

Day 7 - Bermuda to Ireland

Weather: Gray, dull, occasional drizzle
General Comments: Winds still relatively light, and not helped by the fact we are sailing almost down wind (so the speed of the boat
away from the wind makes the wind speed at the boat even less). Total cloud cover for days now, the lack of wind and sun means we
are not maintaining our battery levels, so we are reducing the amount of time we spend using the autopilot, we have to hand steer
more often. Eventually, we'll have to start the motor (in about 2 hours), but Kyle is holding out for sunshine and says he "has a
plan"... Hmmm....
Kyle did find a working solution for our geyser cockpit drains - he has covered each with a flip flop so we no longer get sprayed
from time to time if we find ourselves anywhere near them... I keep forgetting why they are there and tidying up, and then learning
the hard way, I think I've finally got it.
Food: Both of us are felling less hungry, perhaps not surprisingly since we are leading quite a sedentary existence; so yesterday
was mostly snacks, but with a Tofu Thai curry for dinner, and although I made plenty, we each had seconds and so there were no
leftovers. Included in the snacks is some Oreo pudding with crumble/cookie base - a packet mix. I decided to treat Kyle to a
chocolaty treat yesterday and dug in my cupboard for some packet mixes that I knew were there. I found 3 different mixes, but only
one with instructions... It seems I've taken the sailors caution of avoiding cardboard on the boat (to keep away the cockroaches) a
bit too carefully and thrown the boxes away.. So now I have two mystery mixes. I think one is a brownie mix and the other a pudding
(instant whip type desert) - but I'm not sure how much of what to add to each, nor how long (nor if) to bake. Oops.
Progress: Yesterday we made 135 nm, So far on this trip we have traveled (through the water) 720 nm, and have 2053 nm (straight
line) to go.
Note: any comments posted on our passage blogs are welcomed as always, but we won't be able to ready any of them until we eventually
make landfall

Day 6 - Bermuda to Ireland

Weather: Colder, gray, overcast, big but smooth seas

General Comments: Still no seasickness, so hopefully we are good for the crossing (who am I kidding?).  We found stowaways aboard yesterday - weevils (?) in the pasta.  I'd purchased a couple of different large 8lb bags of pasta in the BVI (when I had a car) and re-bagged them into separate smaller portion "baggies" once I got them home. One of those giant bags of pasta must have come from the store with extra protein, as now the insects had all hatched out and were having a jolly time (until we threw them overboard, that is).  Luckily, we have plenty of other pastas to last the journey and all have been thoroughly inspected and reported clear of infestation.

We've had a chain plate leak for some time. I re-bed it before we left, but the leak is now worse than ever and we've determined that it is NOT coming from the chain plate, but from the hatch beside it, and trickling down via the ceiling and then the chain plate.  Kyle won't let me remove the hatch while we are at sea so I guess we're stuck with it for the next few weeks - we are working hard to make sure that the wood of the bulkhead doesn't get (or stay) wet. Grrr.

It is clear that my book supplies will NOT last the journey, I've already completed 4 books, and am half way through a 200 Suduko puzzle book.  It turns out that I'm sloppy at Suduko and keep finding a box or line with 2 of the same number in.... plenty of time to practice.  To entertain myself and try and stretch my books to last a bit longer, I've tried singing sea shanties and folk songs learned in my youth - but it turns out I can hardly remember anything except a line or two of the odd chorus, so even I'm getting fed up of asking "what shall we do with a drunken sailor?"

One of the books I finally got to reading was "Do Dolphins Ever Sleep?" a book of ocean facts that our friend JD lent us.  Here, I learned that in the open ocean it is almost impossible to be struck by lightning (whew), but that (although figures are NOT published) there are estimated between 2000 and 10000 containers lost from container ships each year... many take 6 months to sink, and some never sink due to the insulation included in them.  I think I preferred the dolphin facts! (Apparently they sleep with half their brain at a time).

We send mail AND download the weather at the same time, so when I write this we have yet to see our latest weather report.  The last two days though have mentioned TROPICAL STORM 1 (downgraded to depression) to the North of us.  Although we are "in the box" we are expecting it to pass well (150 miles) to the North of us, and even it we get it, winds are reported to be gusts up to 30 kt - so not terrible.  At the same time we want to push north to avoid the calmer winds forecast in our current latitudes, and help keep us moving.  We like to get at least 5kt (120 miles a day) and with light winds, this won't be possible, so we want to pick up some better winds for the most of the passage.

[Kyle] We've just past north of the latitude of Ocean Marine in Norfolk VA - where we spent nearly 5 years planning and saving for this trip - ah the memories!  Our nearest land at the moment is Sable Island off the coast of Newfoundland (more of a shoal).  Halifax (Canada) is probably our nearest "real" land - 540nm.  The strange thing is that although we are so far away from anything much, since we brought our home with us, and are used to passages with no land in sight, we just don't feel like we are out in the middle of nowhere.  Everything is the same, same sheets, dishes, sails, same walk to the bathroom as we've been used to for a long time.  Only the instruments and the lack of any traffic or radio chatter betrays that we are so remote. I suppose if we had crewed on someone else's boat, while normally living in an apartment, the entire environment would seem unusual and there would be more of a sense of something special going on.  I suspect for us it is really going to be more like flying through the clouds; the full realization of where we are will hit us once we are walking around in Ireland and soaking up some of that Irishness.  For now, it seems strangely like we could be sailing anywhere just out of sight of land, and lets hope it stays that way, we are not looking for too much adventure here.

Food:  Pasta (the non-infested kind) for dinner last night, just fruit for lunch yesterday, after a simple breakfast of toast... Getting dull.  I started some sprouts going yesterday so they should be ready tomorrow.

Progress: Yesterday we made 110 nm (sigh), So far on this trip we have traveled (through the water) 585 nm, and have 2148 nm (straight line) to go.

Day 5 - Bermuda to Ireland

Weather: Rain stopped, still overcast but looks like it should be a nice day.  Seas also calmed to around 2-3', nice sail, wing on wing.

General Comments:  Yesterday was quite miserable with heavy rain, no sunshine for the solar panel, and rough seas (10' waves).  This morning the world has changed again and all is gentle, we've been sailing with the light wind screacher since sunset.  Since Kyle returned from work last, he has developed what he tells me in a neuroma (something like a trapped nerve, in his foot, and from time to time as he puts weight on it, his whole leg collapses to release the pain in his foot and he follows with yelps).  Of course, being no Florence Nightingale, I simply laugh, as I have misheard his foot has "A Neuroma" as "An Aroma", so I'm acting like a 7 year old and holding my nose around him (poor Kyle).   Kyle wants to stress for the record his feet DO NOT STINK, but I'm having fun.

No boats sighted, nor radio traffic heard.  Yesterday, despite the rough seas, there were plenty of sea birds (Petrels) and they were managing to look remarkably graceful and comfortable as they swept low, adjusting their height with the ever changing waves - they are magical to watch. This morning we seem to be alone with the sea.

Food: For lunch we had the last of a curry Lentil Spread/dip that I had made from a recipe from a fellow Gemini Owner (thanks Penny on TailWinds & SunSets) - Yummy. By dinnertime Kyle decided he was not hungry, so we just had some cheese and crackers, but I suspect he simply didn't want to wash up as I've woken up to his request for a "big breakfast"

Progress: Yesterday we made 149 nm, So far on this trip we have traveled (through the water) 466 nm, and have 2242 nm (straight line) to go.
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Day 4 - Bermuda to Ireland

Weather: Drizzly, overcast, cooler.  Enclosure is invaluable

General Comments:  Wind and waves have built (6-8').  We are currently travelling between 7-8 kts.  We have reefs in both sails now.  Ride now quite choppy and we need to ensure we keep a hand for the boat.  So far no sign of seasickness (and long may that last).  Kyle's first breakfast was lost in the cockpit as the boat rolled unexpectedly, we are expecting these conditions to last for another few days.  Yesterday we saw dolphins again in the early afternoon; you just can't help but be excited.  We still get regular visits from storm petrels.  We are keeping a good course just where we want to go, so no tacking or gybing required so far.

Food: Kyle has put a moratorium on my using the pressure cooker for a day at least..  He does the washing up and it does not fit well in the sink, making washing up much more difficult.  I need to keep him sweet, so it will be pasta for a couple of days now.  Yesterday we had an egg and turkey bacon wrap for lunch, and a nice "fried" free-range chicken dinner with lots of our fresh vegetables from Bermuda.

Progress: Yesterday we made 149 nm, So far on this trip we have travelled (through the water) 335.3 nm, and have 2375 nm (straight line) to go.

Day 3 - Bermuda to Ireland

Weather: Cooler, but still dry, wind increased (as expected), and expecting a wind shift to SW today (looking forward to that) -
currently more S, SSE.

General Comments: With the wind speed increase we are now moving at more suitable speeds (5-7kt). Chop is also starting to build,
but so far we are both fine. We are sailing on a beam reach. Yesterday was hazy but with a clear night. Today already overcast.
2 boats sighted overnight, and we still have seabirds visiting from time to time. We are no longer hearing Bermuda Radio, so it
feels like we are a lot further along now. Sunrises both mornings have been stunning

Food: Open sandwiches of cheese, tomatoes and salad for lunch, a chicken curry (Rogan Josh) for dinner. The last of the brownies
have vanished (thanks Mary)

Progress: Yesterday we made 103 nm, So far on this trip we have travelled (through the water) 182 nm, and have 2510 nm (straight
line) to go.

Day 2 - Bermuda to Eire

Leaving Bermuda Via Town Cut, Maryanne at the Helm.
Weather: Clear, Fine, Warm, low winds (3-7kt)

General Comments: We set off around 11:00am Bermuda time, a little delayed by some (welcome) last minute visitors to the boat. The boat however, is running on GMT so by log we left at 14:01, making for a 10 hour day. The winds were light, as expected, and the sea has a very low, with long swell. In some ways, the sailing is more comfortable than being at anchor... Oh my, now I know why there is a book titled "Gentlemen don't sail to weather". Very soon into our passage we had a pod of Dolphins come to inspect us. They didn't stay long as we were going so slowly, but Kyle and I hadn't sighted dolphins in months (since just before Antigua, 6 months ago) and it was wonderful to see them again. The winds have been between 3 and 7kt and we are sailing between 60 and 120 degrees apparent, moving along between 1 and 4 kt with screacher and full main sail - very slowly, but as expected and (so far) not concerned. It WAS a little frustrating to have a seabird SWIM past us, and then take off, return and do it again.. Interestingly, the seabird was seeking out and eating the smaller Portuguese Men o'war. 

This is the first time we can recall being on  passage without being seasick the first day.  So far with the light conditions it is very comfortable.  There was a lot of traffic as we left Bermuda - the Cruise ship Norwegian Majesty inbound, a few fishing boats just off Bermuda and a couple of sail boats headed over the horizon in the same direction. Since yesterday afternoon we've not seen any other vessels. Our last sighting of Bermuda was just before sunset, but we can still hear Bermuda Radio.  The new moon was just a couple of days ago. so the starts and the bioluminescence have been brilliant.

Progress: Yesterday (in our 10 hour day) we made 24.7 nm, So far on this trip we have traveled (through the water) 52 nm, and have 2634 nm (straight line) to go.

Off to the Emerald Isle

[Maryanne]OK - we are off at 10am local time today, and both excited to be starting our longest journey yet. Winds are going to be relatively light for the start, which should (possibly) ensure no seasickness (Yay!). We'll try to update our daily position on Yotreps and provided the technology all works and we don't drop a phone overboard or anything breaks, you should be able to see our progress across. Thanks for all the good wishes by email and more, and we understand a certain little girl is now getting an real life bedtime story - we hope we can keep her interested.



Bermuda Day Fitted Dinghy races
[Kyle]One last thing before we go. I wanted to mention the Fitted Dinghy races. It was hard to tell if we were just watching a practice or a real race (I suspect the real race was on Monday). This looks like loads of fun. The Fitted Dinghies race has a few interesting rules that make it especially entertaining: Each boat is allowed to carry up to 1000 square feet of sail, which is about half again what Footprint carries for working sail. Each of these sails is quite a bit bigger than our beloved Screacher. This makes the dinghies obscenely overpowered in all but the lightest winds. They compensate for this by hiking out large crews on planks that are moved from side to side as necessary. The most amusing rule, I think, is that, in order to win, the Captain AND the boat must cross the finish line (there is actually a race in the Caribbean where only the boat must cross). This means that, in desperate circumstances, crews will jump (or be pushed) overboard to lighten the load. I suppose it also has the added benefit, popular in movies, of creating obstructions for your opponent so you can make a clean getaway.

Honoured guests in Bermuda

[Maryanne]After our amazing welcome from Geoffrey and Mary (owners of the Gemini Happy Cat) on our arrival, we were invited for dinner and a sail. Along the way Geoffrey and Mary also gifted us freshly baked brownies for the trip, Bermuda Onions right out of their garden for our provisioning, and a million helpful hints and friendly smiles – we could not have been treated better.

Dinner on Friday evening at their beautiful home was delicious fresh wahoo (Geoffrey had read my blog and my frustrations at finding good fish in the islands, so it was an extra special treat). We ate on their patio, raised on a hill, with a view of the bay below and the Gibbs Hill light in the background – stunning! Also invited was one of their friends and neighbours – Paulina, who had just sailed up from the Caribbean recently herself. Mary and Paulina are heavily involved in the Tall Ships Race which is very soon to descend upon Bermuda, and will (eventually) end in Ireland (although they won’t take the direct route we are planning). Kyle and Geoffrey started the evening with a walk down to the beach for a swim amidst some nice coral and a few serving platter sized fish with the dog, while I lazed around the patio reading magazines (tough life), we ended the evening with Ti Punches, and slept well in a real bed.

The following morning Mary took me to the farmers market where I was guaranteed some really fresh, organic, locally grown produce (including free range chicken – a real treat). I picked up a number of good looking vegetables and some locally made honey too. We also swung by a marine store for one last item I’d been looking for – oh how easy shopping is with a car and someone who knows where everything is.

Eventually we were all ready to go sailing, and Geoffrey’s friend and college Ross joined us (visiting Bermuda from Toronto). Happy cat is out on a mooring, so we drove to the boat club, climbed in the large dingy (actually tied in its own dock) and pottered over to Happy Cat with our provisions and picnic for the day. Happy Cat has empty lockers, and floats much higher in the water than Footprint, – it seemed so much more spacious and we took the chance to have a good tour. Unfortunately, it had also been recently serviced, and it appears that insufficient (if any) oil was returned to the drive leg – Happy Cat was not going anywhere, but at least we did get to see her. We felt terrible for Geoffrey, but he seemed to take it in pretty good stride.

Quick change of plan! Geoffrey wanted to know all the places we’d intended to visit by bus later, and decided to drive us all over the island to ensure we got to see them.

We left Mary at the house as she still had some work to do – the tall ships are on their way here as we speak, and the four of us went for a drive along the beautiful south shore of Hamilton Island, the main island of Bermuda. Bermuda has done a wonderful job of protecting the beauty of its south shore beaches. There is about a half mile barrier of hilly parkland that abuts the actual beaches themselves, which gives the beaches a much more quiet and rural feeling than you would expect from being only a couple of miles from town. Geoffrey stopped at a few different places that gave us stunning views of the cliffs and the beaches behind. We made a special stop at Horseshoe Bay, with its stunning wide fine pink sand beach and surrounding rock formations. Kate, you’re right, it is a very pretty beach. Kyle had his usual crazy scramble up and down rocks and into caves looking for good photo opportunities while the rest of us walked along the soft pink sand and talked.

Horseshoe Bay, unfortunately we didn't get a good shot of the huge, beautiful beach, but these give a hint of the fantastic bay
After that, we went to the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, the first sight most visiting sailors see of Bermuda - including us. The repeater station on the top also provided our first contact with Bermuda Radio. We climbed the stairs to the top. At 108M (354 ft), we had views of the entire country. The light was built out of cast iron as the local limestone was not considered strong enough to support such a tall structure. It has been operating continuously since May 1846.

Gibbs Hill Light - In the photo from the top, you can see Kyle's shadow as he leans over the rail for the shot - Yikes
From the lighthouse, we headed for the Dockyard on the tip of Ireland Island, the westernmost island of Bermuda. On the way, we passed the Somerset Bridge – with the smallest drawbridge in the world, allowing small (unstayed – no wires) sailboat masts to pass between Somerset Island and Hamilton Island. It must have been a real time saver back in the days before most boats had motors that could take them the long way around.

Somerset Bridge with its tiny draw bridge (so small you just lift it up by hand!)
At The Dockyard (on Ireland Island) , we were lucky for two reasons. The first was that there were NO cruise ships in the entire country that day. The evening before, as our ferry stopped at the Dockyard on the way to Hamilton, two huge cruise ships with over 5000 passengers were berthed there. They were both leaving that evening and it looked like closing time at Disneyland with crowds and crowds of people all walking in the same direction. This day, we had the place virtually to ourselves, maybe a few hundred people total. The other reason we were lucky was that we were with Geoffrey. He grew up in Bermuda and he seemed to know everybody as well as everything about Bermuda. For him, the history of Bermuda is also his history. He knew it very well and we couldn’t have asked for a better tour guide.

A few scenes from this expansive Naval Dockyard - plenty of spare anchors just laying around
The Dockyard is a major fortified British Naval complex from the early 1800’s, protecting the whole West end of Bermuda. It served as both an armed fort and a prisoner of war camp for English, Bermudian, Canadian and American forces until just recently. Geoffrey had a little fun with Ross by explaining to us that the Canadians tried to convince their government that Bermuda was a hardship posting so they would be ‘forced’ to stay.

All this followed by a drive along the various coastal roads we’d otherwise missed gave us a complete view of the island through windy, stone wall-edged roads and past Bermudian houses that all look like big, over-sweet wedding cakes that you could slice a corner off and eat. We still can’t help but be in love with Bermuda, and honestly can’t thank Geoffrey and Mary enough for their wonderful hospitality.

On return, we saw our friends on My Tina at the customs dock. We thought perhaps they were checking out, but it turned out they were returning after a day at sea and discovering a problem with their roller furling. We have the same make (different, newer model) with manuals aboard Footprint, and told them once they were anchored safely to just pop over and they could take a look. They were in surprising good spirits after an aborted crossing, and we were happy to help them in any way we could. We were amused at their surprise when we cut them a disc of the manual, AND photocopied some of the more relevant pages for them. The next day, with the help of the manual, they found the problem, a broken part. They seemed happy to finally know what was wrong even though they’re going to have to wait for the end of the holiday for the part. They also are going to have to remove their forestay to install it but they swear they’ll only be a couple of hours behind us.

My Tina Crew visit Footprint
The following day we were back to chores – final preparation for the next passage. We topped up fuel and water, setup the boat ready for off shore (jack lines, tethers, etc) and later in the day Kyle collected Geoffrey and Mary on our little Portland pudgy and rowed them back to Footprint for a quick tour. Since Footprint is fully loaded for the next passage, she is not in her best show condition, but Geoffrey and Mary were great company and were keen to see all the little additions we’d made to the boat.

Geoffrey and Mary visit Footprint

After that, we went and got tokens for one last shower and load of laundry before we set off. In the afternoon, there’s the big 400th Bermuda Day parade to see. We figure we really shouldn’t miss that. We’re not likely to be around for the 500th.

Bermuda Caves

[Kyle]One of Bermuda's major attractions is its caves, particularly Fantasy and Crystal caves (you can access both with a single entrance fee). We decided to get up early and take the bus in order to arrive before it got too crowded. We were the first to arrive and were part of the first group for the guided tours of the day. Bermuda is rich in limestone, and this makes for some amazing formations. We had a different guide for each cave, but each was entertaining, and the caves were spectacular.


Crystal and Fantasy Caves
Both caves are below sea level in some places, and so are partly underwater. Crystal caves had most of the walkways on floating pontoons (the caves have a tidal range). The seawater, however, is perfectly clear and has no obvious life (fish, plankton, etc), which makes the depth heard to judge (appearing shallower than it is) and for some wonderful reflections.

Both caves had giant (and smaller) caverns filled with all sorts of interesting formations including soda straws, curtains and chandeliers along with the expected stalactites and stalagmites.

The caves were discovered relatively recently (1940's) by a couple of kids playing cricket when they tried to locate a lost ball. The kids entered via a rope and a very narrow hole, now there is a much more tourist friendly entrance with stairs and electric lighting. The grounds around the cave are beautifully manicured, and resemble a botanical garden; we were very glad we went.

After our tour and our wander around the garden were complete, we still had time to spare, so we decided to walk around a nearby park before meeting the bus to return to Footprint. Blue Hole Park we assumed would be a quick and easy stroll around a relatively small park. However, it is criss-crossed with lots of trails, some of which offer beautiful views of Castle Harbour with its jagged rocks typical of the area. Others went inland to several small "ponds" and more heavily wooded and jungled areas, but what really got our attention were the caves. Blue hole is riddled with caves.

While on the main trail we tended to take every side trail available, hoping not to miss anything good, and kept finding ourselves "discovering" beautiful and elaborate cave systems and grottos. There were no restrictions on access, and some had exits far from the entrance (oh, I wish we'd taken our flashlights). Every time we'd crawl out of a cave and back into the sunlight we'd only walk a short way further along the path before discovering another hidden entrance.

We spent hours getting grubby and lost, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. When we finally emerged from our last cave, of maybe a dozen, Maryanne reminded me of our need to get back to Footprint. We took a few non-productive detours into the jungle, but eventually found a road (although not the one we were expecting). It took us a while to figure out even which way to walk to find a bus stop and for a long time we felt completely lost, but honestly how lost can you get on such a small island?

Eventually, we came up on the back side of the Crystal Caves site, and thus knew where we were again. From there it was a short walk to the best bus stop to return to St Georges and Footprint.


Blue Hole Park and its caves - with free entry, and no map, Kyle loved discovering the many caverns here

Jobs

[Kyle]Upon my arrival back in Bermuda from work, we reviewed the list of jobs we wanted to be completed on the boat before we left. Only then could we set aside time for sightseeing with a clear conscience.

The day was basically horrible, it was a bit too hot outside. I started off by going up the mast to check over the rigging, the view was nice and the rigging was in good shape (whew). This job was followed by several other nasty, grimy, sweaty, greasy jobs, the most irritating of which was dismantling the gear shift lever, complete with little spring loaded pieces that went zinging past my ear into the bay. Fortunately Maryanne was able to find the necessary replacements at the local amazing (and friendly) hardware store. What was most frustrating was all we discovered was there was nothing wrong with the gear shifter after all, but at least now we know how it works (and which springs to look out for).

My next project is to figure out how much electricity a toaster uses - using ordinary household utensils; Maryanne reminds me I'm well insured if I want to test it with a fork.