First trip to Bermuda

Unfortunately, Dana couldn't go, but I managed to tag along on a friend's boat, Azura for the Charleston to Bermuda race this year. I've crewed on Jamie Walker's other boat, Frenzy for some of the past couple of years after subjecting him to crewing on our J24 for Charleston Race Week (we didn't do so well). The trip to Bermuda was fairly uneventful, due in large part to experienced crew and a well-found boat. It helped that we had great breeze, which for most of the past 14 years has always been on the nose and frequently < 5 kts once you get out into the Sargasso sea and into the  Bermuda high that tends to prevail this time of year. I'm still amazed at the power of the ocean, but especially with this boat. It seemed that almost in any breeze, it was hard to NOT keep it moving at less than 9-10 kts.

Close reaching under full sail, including storm jib attached to an inner forestay-

It helped that Azura is a 56 ft Swan, but being as new to ocean passages of any length for me still resulted in a bit of "mal de mer". In fact, I think all but 3 or 4 of us at least got a little queasy. For me, it was full blown (pardon the pun) hanging over the rail, at least 3 different times, then sleeping out on deck until I felt better. Just one night of suffering, then I was able to at least intermittently sleep for the remainder of the trip and felt fine. We still need to rig some lee cloths to allow a full crew to have one place to make their "home" for the trip (each lee cloth will have pockets for personal stuff) and have a snug-comfy place to sleep. All of the cushy cabin bunks were usually taken when I went down after standing watch so I usually just curled up on the floor braced against a cabinet. I just couldn't see myself snuggling up to anyone other than my sweetie (sorry, Tom) sharing a bunk... I couldn't sleep for most of the first 24 hours and I got a little grumpy as a result. So much so, that some of the crew were thinking of tossing me over if I didn't "shape up". Chalk that up to experience, as I never go without sleep when on land, but on boats, I definitely need to either be extremely sleepy or have access to cool ventilation and a quiet soft-ish place to crash for good sound sleep. I guess I've come a long way from my days as an age-group swimmer, where I could fall asleep on bleachers during a swim meet between events with all sorts of noise going on. I eventually got enough shut-eye and calmed down... Besides, I don't think they would have tossed me over as I would have taken the coffee hostage. If my moody company wasn't a big hit, at least the coffee I roasted for the trip was. It was a bit "bright" for the first couple of days, but improved as the beans mellowed. It took me a few pots to get the grind and measurements dialed in, but most of that initial bitterness dissipated and we enjoyed a blend of chocolatey Brazilian/Ethiopian and fruity Panamanian coffee on our way to Bermuda and for the first few days after arrival, since most of us just stayed on the boat.

Tom, our systems engineer, awake and asking about coffee-

He's a happy guy, and never ceases to crack me up!

Patrick (our crew boss), not only brought his wealth of professional experience, but also organized and cooked most of the meals with his daughter, Margeaux. Steve (CIA trained chef, rigger extraordinaire and all-around nice guy) made up a bunch of nibble's (Tom called them "Scooby snacks"- a date stuffed with an almond, wrapped in bacon, then broiled to a light crisp) and breakfast wraps, and brought along some fantastic wine for dinner time and happy hour, which is just about to begin-

We usually trailed two lines towing a lure baited with fish and caught two Dorado-

Amazing how quickly they lose color after being yanked out of the water. This is the first one we caught, the second was a bit larger, but unfortunately, went bad due to melting ice before we knew it and was tossed overboard- I swear, it had nothing to do with the cheap vodka-euthanizing formula!

The menu for the second evening-

Third morning out, and I'm feeling quite a bit better after a solid night's sleep to show up by 0700 for my watch. I was excused from my night-shift given the condition I was in-- something I was very thankful for. Joe checking sail trim, Tom applying a little backstay tension and Jamie gives his "Friday afternoon speech" he gives to challenging employees-- makes me really appreciate his leadership (and his wonderful sense of humor)-

We had a few spells of light breeze. One occurred in the middle of the night, so we all had to jump into all of our gear, attach ourselves to our tethers and run up on deck for morning calisthenics (Patrick was our coach) and get the spinnaker up and trimmed, then furl the genoa (thank God this boat now has a furling genoa!), then back down below to sleep. At least a couple of times, we had enough light breeze (< 1 kt) in the morning to allow a little swim time. It is unreal how blue this water is (and how fish-belly white my chest is)-

Maybe an hour or so later the breeze would fill in and we would be back under way. Above, the insanely-light air "wind-seeker" doing it's thing keeping the boat moving at 1-3 kts. Just enough that you could still swim around the boat with someone on deck keeping watch on you. While I was playing around, I managed to  scrub the bow and keel and make sure we weren't towing anything like a crab-pot or fish net since leaving Charleston. Below Robert driving and I'm repairing a seat cushion I accidentally tore from it's velcro strap by stepping on it at this angle.

Jamie took advantage of one boat dropping out of the race and scooped up the owner (Joe) to do our navigation. He did an incredible job routing us out of the lightest breeze, placing us in 2nd place for the race. It was amazing how long he would stay down there, and not get even the least bit sick, then show up for his watch ready to drive- no problem.

We approached within sight of Bermuda from the west/north-west early on the fifth day-

The finish line mark-

Checking into customs-

Motoring over to the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (RBYC) with former Commodore, Ralph Richardson giving a brief history of the island-

Cleaning up a bit and drying everything out the next morning-

Bermuda Fitted Dinghy races-

These are some crazy traditional boats. Made back in the day when people fished from them, and they gradually figured out they were more fun to just race. Overpowered with up to 1000 sq ft of sail area built on a 14' hull with 3 different masts (35-45 ft tall), they only have about 2" of freeboard and constantly fill with water. Someone (preferably a light someone) has to bail from the leeward side to keep them from sinking. They inevitably do sink, then a boat fitted with a crane helps raise the mast so the crew can all bail the water out and get it moving again. In the meantime, they wait around and drink beer-- probably more fun if the water isn't too chilly!

Party at the RBYC with (from left to right), one of the family owners of Gossling's Rum, the Governor of Bermuda, the lieutenant Governor (I think), Jamie, me, Tom, Patrick, Steve, Margeaux and Joe. I think Robert must've been scoring some rum from somewhere...

I loved this trip, and looking forward to the Newport to Bermuda race next year (with lee cloths), and maybe  doing this one with Patrick on our Olson... that remains to be seen!

Drinking and driving--