The Catamaran Adventures of Noel and Ceu

Just Arrived in Bermuda!

Current Location: St. Georges, Bermuda
Current Position: 32 22.83 N 064 40.33 W Click to view map.
Distance sailed since last post: 796 nautical miles. View the map of our voyage track here

Wow, we made it!

After picking up Doug and Cheri in Nassau last Wednesday we had a look at the weather forcast and realized that if we didn’t leave the next morning, we would probably be stuck in Nassau for at least 10 days.

So, off we went.

We had a very pleasant sail out of Nassau, sheltered by the island.

Then we entered the open ocean and the waves started!  Cheri had on her patches, Ceu and Doug took some Gravol/Dramamine and I took a Travelease and everyone was fine (ish).

We had fresh winds on Starboard close fetch and sailed the rhumb line to Bermuda for two days. Making good speed we joked that if it held up we would be there in 4 days.

But, of course, we knew the wind was changing as a front was coming through.

We had one day of light winds with the spinnaker up, and then the north winds started. This put us close hauled on Port, bashing into the waves which over the next few days built up to a good 3-4 metres.  We were crashing and banging into the waves, which made sleeping a bit of a challenge, so we were all pretty tired by then, even though we had pretty easy watches.

The wind continued to turn against us, so we then had to tack a few times which, of course, really slowed down our progress to the destination. But finally, yesterday morning we knew we were in striking distance of the final destination. The wind had totally turned against us by now, and we REALLY wanted to make landfall before nightfall, so we put on the engines and motorsailed, and then just motored.

We arrived in St. Georges harbour at about 6pm (local time) with sunset at 8pm, so that worked well!

We pulled up at the government dock to check into customs and guess who was directly in front of us at the dock? James and Emma Kate with Ondine – who had left St. Martin a few days before us and had a rapid FOUR DAY sail here!!! They averaged an unbelievable 10.5 knots over the whole journey.

So we had drinks and went out for dinner and all was good.

Today we discovered we are anchored right next to Philip who we met in Little San Salvador and who had also left the Bahamas a few days before us. So he is coming over for drinks tonight.

Our trampoline got ripped by the waves, so it is going to take a week to get that fixed up here, so I guess we will have a full week in Bermuda before we set sail for the Azores. But it should be fun, seems a nice place.

Will update you with a more chatty post as soon as we can!

All is well, we are enjoying the sun and the FLAT water in the harbour!

 

6 Responses to “Just Arrived in Bermuda!”

  • Wolf:

    Thank you for the update Noel
    3-4 meters that is a lot of water.
    Wondering what kind of boats James and Phillip are sailing?
    Wolf

    • Noel:

      James is on a 55ft catamaran, and Philip on a large (maybe 55ft) schooner. Philip has been sailing 25 years and can fix anything. He spent the last few days sewing up his sails that got blown apart at the seems during his crossing.

  • Richard & Marilyn:

    Dear Noel & Ceu:
    Glad to get an update on your trip. We are Cheri’s parents, so happy to hear that her patches have worked. How is Doug’s collar bone? Enjoy Bermuda. We did that about fifteen years ago with Cheri’s aunt Audrey and Uncle Bud on their medium sized cruiser. We had no sails as Bud was much too impatient for that. We had a great time.
    Tell Cheri that Tessa has been calling everybody everyday. No problem, she is probably just acting as a spy. Cheri will understand.

    Bon Voyage: Richard & Marilyn

    • Noel:

      Sure, we will pass on the message. No complaints from Doug about the collar bone, so I guess all is well!

      Noel

  • Allisen:

    Hi guys, glad to hear all is well and you are safe and sound at harbor now. 3 to 4 meters is ALOT of water! Well I look forward to hearing more and please be sure to keep in contact best you can when making your cross to the Azores. Love to both of u, Allisen

  • Heidi:

    Sure sounds exciting. We had Lynda, Frank and Katrina visiting for a week. A lot of hectic sightseeing. Good luck on your next passage.

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