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The World Cruise of Veleda IV |
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We arrive at Bermuda, May 19, 1999 
Although Customs was busy when we got in, everything was completed within 90 minutes and we went a few hundred yards over to Convict Bay to anchor. We only had to pay $15.00 each head tax, and hand over our flare guns,
which were considered as weapons. All our documentation was in order and we had no problems. When we arrived on May 19, we thought we would only stay a week, but we probably won't be away before May 30 as bad weather has been forecast and we don't want to push it.We had a new key machined for the self steering gear, and it works quite well. We drilled new holes in the boom for stainless steel bolts to support the main sheet blocks. I am happy with our new Mikita battery powered hand drill ( a Christmas gift in the Florida Keys). We also put on heavier shackles. We replaced the squeeze bulb coming from the fuel tank and bought a spare. We took down our bimini top and took it and one window in to a sail repair loft as the zipper holding the window was stuck and needed to be carefully opened without damaging it. Getting the dinghy inflated and operational was a bit of a chore as we could not put in the wooden floor boards while it was on Veleda. We partially inflated it and then rowed it in to a private beach where we then installed the floor boards, rowed back to Veleda and lowered the outboard onto Sprite to become fully operational. Our GPS antenna and our stern light had been installed at a cockeyed angle, and the esthetics of it always bothered me. So, when we had the bimini off, I climbed up under the wind generator (having turned it off before doing so) and adjusted the hose clamps holding the light and mounted the base of the antenna so that it was in line with the bimini cross bar. They were now in line. We had to do a laundry of all our clothes in the V berth racks as we had some leakage at the hull deck joint which showed up as we were going through some of the gales. These clothes are now in plastic bags in that area as we can do nothing about the hull deck joint. However many people have said that plowing through heavy seas for several days, most boats will have some leakage causing things below deck to get wet. We still haven't completely sealed the mast through-deck opening. It leaks with any amount of rain. We also found that our windows in the main cabin leaked, but we were able to re-caulk them. Right now, Judy is up on the foredeck stitching a small tear in our genoa. We have most of our repairs completed and we are ready to head off the 1850 mile voyage to the Azores when we get a good weather forecast. Saturday, May 29/99 We met Sheila and Martin, whom we knew from the Toronto Power and Sail Squadron, on Dr. Flue, a Westsail 23 bilge keel. They departed St. George's the day we arrived, but returned a few days later due to heavy weather and the fact that they could not keep up with the Trans ARC cruising/racing fleet that they were with. We had a good visit with them. They left to return to Florida rather than carrying on over to the Azores, as they had to return to reality and that foreign (to us) obligation called work by July. We think Veleda, at 32 feet, is marginally small for ocean cruising, so we do not envy them in a 23 footer. Originally they were to have three people on board, but they were relieved I think when the third person was not able to make it. They felt safe, and were pleased with their boat, other than the fact it was slow, and could not hope to keep up with the 35 to 50 foot ocean racers in the Trans ARC. We have toured the island and visited several forts, as Bermuda was the "Gibraltar" of the north Atlantic. I was last here 30 years ago as an officer cadet in the Canadian Navy on exchange to the U.S.N., aboard the aircraft carrier USS Valley Forge. At that time the Royal Navy Dockyard was still active, the Canadian Navy had a base for naval exercises, and the U.S. had a large airbase leased to them by Great Britain since WW II. However, now there is no foreign military presence whatever. The Royal Navy Dockyards is now a maritime museum, cruise ship dock, and tourist attraction. It is spring here and blooms are out all over the place. Bermuda is a lovely island with colourful vegetation, and pastel homes with rippled white roofs to catch rainwater. The people are friendly, but the costs are high as everything has to be imported. Bermuda will be facing a kind of referendum about its future with a choice, it appears, between a closer relationship to England, including British passports and possibly EU links, or more complete independence. At present it appears that a majority of the white population favour the closer ties, whereas the majority of the blacks prefer independence. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. We went to a Black heritage museum here to learn of the emancipation period. There was a slave ship called the "Enterprise" in about 1836 which was enroute from from Virginia to another southern state but was blown out to sea and landed in Bermuda. As emancipation of the slaves was recently law throughout the British Empire, the slaves on board were offered the opportunity to stay as free people in Bermuda. All 75 did so except for one family, and those who stayed were housed with the recently emancipated blacks of Bermuda. It was a very similar situation to the recent movie "Amistad". May 24 was Bermuda Day, and gave us the opportunity to dress ship overall. We hoisted 89 flags and pennants on our fore and aft stays as well as our port and starboard spreaders. Our flags are not just the standard signal flags, but are flags that we have sailed under, or of awards we have won, or places we have visited. Below is the list of flags we flew. Flag Hoists for Bermuda Day, May 24, 1999 AFT STAY - Canadian Flag STARBOARD SPREADER - Bermuda Flag PORT SPREADER - Ontario Red Ensign, Toronto Hydroplane and Sailing Club, Great Lakes Cruising Club Bayfield Award, Seven Seas Cruising Association, Canadian Power and Sail Squadron, Toronto Squadron of CPSS, Naval Officers' Association of Canada, Canadian Forces Sailing Association, Navigators' Club, 1998 Gore Bay GLCC Gore Bay Rendezvous, 1997 Lake Erie (Leamington) GLCC Rendezvous FORESTAY AND STAYSAIL FLAG HOISTS - 50 Toronto Hydroplane and Sailing Club racing and cruising pennants AFT FLAG HOIST - Canadian Flag (large), Naval White Ensign, Canadian Blue Ensign, Canadian Red Ensign, Toronto Beaches Flag, Newfoundland 500th Anniversary Flotilla Flag, Newfoundland Flag, Thunder Bay, "Republic" of Key West, SSCA Library Flag, Great Lakes Museums, Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association (BASRA), Mission for Seamen, St. Louis Power Squadron, Cobourg, Canadian Yachting Association 1968 Regatta, Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Club, Mentor Harbour Yacht Club (Lake Erie), La Cloche Yacht Club (Little Current, North Channel Lake Huron), Ontario Boating Forum, British Kiel Yacht Club (West Germany), Brockville Yacht Club, Sudbury Power and Sail Squadron Total flags and pennants = 89 This brings me up to date, ready to depart Bermuda whenever we get a good weather forecast. My next log will be of our two week plus crossing to the Azores. I am actually looking forward to getting back to sea and on to our next destination. |
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