[Maryanne]We arrived, cleared customs, and are now safely anchored, and trying to decide between sleep and food. The bottle of wine is already open.
Bermuda radio were wonderful and helpful throughout our arrival, but we had a little scare/concern when they called us and said they had been asked to forward a message to us. Who would want to send a message to us when we arrived? It turns out that fellow Gemini owners living in Bermuda (Happy Cat) had asked Bermuda Radio to forward as a very warm welcome to Bermuda. We have their contact details and once we are rested we'll be in touch with Geoffrey on Happy Cat. Thanks Geoffrey for the welcome.
The kind words from Happy Cat and Bermuda Radio were not the end of our welcome - Customs came out of their office to met us at the dock and offer us a hand with lines, they were full of helpful advice and smiles. I've done a quick check of our email (for now we have found a wifi signal from the boat) and we've also been given another contact of friends here (Thanks Kate/Terry/Midge). Kyle has to fly off to work on Saturday for a few days, so I'll have plenty of time to clean up.
Anyway - we are here, we are fine and the boat is too.
[Kyle]We finally made it to Bermuda, the beginning and end were rough, particularly the last 30 miles (an all day upwind slog, in cold rainy weather - the first Footprint has seen in a while). Everything in the middle, however, was just exactly what you take up living on a boat for - sunny days and the whole world to yourself with plenty of time to rest and reflect.
So far everyone we've encountered in Bermuda has been exceedingly nice (even the other cruisers waved back at us) - it is quite a nice shock to the system. I know why though - it's because they all must be loaded, I saw a soda machine that accepts $100 bills; I guess that is if the person with you also wants one... Just kidding but everyone keeps warning us that things are really expensive here!
It was strange to have such an abrupt transition from the open ocean to the customs dock (perhaps only 1/2 mile). With no long period of calm seas in between to get my land legs back. I had to hold on to the counter while completing my customs forms to keep from falling over. All is well, and I'm looking forward to not having to be awakened for my next watch. Life is good.
Bermuda radio were wonderful and helpful throughout our arrival, but we had a little scare/concern when they called us and said they had been asked to forward a message to us. Who would want to send a message to us when we arrived? It turns out that fellow Gemini owners living in Bermuda (Happy Cat) had asked Bermuda Radio to forward as a very warm welcome to Bermuda. We have their contact details and once we are rested we'll be in touch with Geoffrey on Happy Cat. Thanks Geoffrey for the welcome.
The kind words from Happy Cat and Bermuda Radio were not the end of our welcome - Customs came out of their office to met us at the dock and offer us a hand with lines, they were full of helpful advice and smiles. I've done a quick check of our email (for now we have found a wifi signal from the boat) and we've also been given another contact of friends here (Thanks Kate/Terry/Midge). Kyle has to fly off to work on Saturday for a few days, so I'll have plenty of time to clean up.
Anyway - we are here, we are fine and the boat is too.
[Kyle]We finally made it to Bermuda, the beginning and end were rough, particularly the last 30 miles (an all day upwind slog, in cold rainy weather - the first Footprint has seen in a while). Everything in the middle, however, was just exactly what you take up living on a boat for - sunny days and the whole world to yourself with plenty of time to rest and reflect.
So far everyone we've encountered in Bermuda has been exceedingly nice (even the other cruisers waved back at us) - it is quite a nice shock to the system. I know why though - it's because they all must be loaded, I saw a soda machine that accepts $100 bills; I guess that is if the person with you also wants one... Just kidding but everyone keeps warning us that things are really expensive here!
It was strange to have such an abrupt transition from the open ocean to the customs dock (perhaps only 1/2 mile). With no long period of calm seas in between to get my land legs back. I had to hold on to the counter while completing my customs forms to keep from falling over. All is well, and I'm looking forward to not having to be awakened for my next watch. Life is good.
2 comments:
Congratulations on your arrival! What a nice surprise to have such a warm welcome from boaters and Customs alike. Enjoy the R & R and a taste of the high life for a while -- you deserve it!
Happy sails!
You're there, you're there! Hurrah!! Need to let you know that, sadly, I got word from Terry that Tony Siese has departed for a trip - don't know exactly how long he's off island but not sure you'll be able to hook up now. Sorry. Looking forward to reading your future posts about Bermuda!
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