We arrived in Bermuda on May 16 after a slow night where we were never quite able to sail. Tom pointed out that we hadn’t actually steered the boat ourselves since leaving Antigua, and grabbed the wheel for the last few miles. It was exciting to see Bermuda, first as a few specs on the horizon and then more distinctly. We knew we’d need to come into the customs dock to clear in, and were pleased to see that we were ahead of several other boats all converging on the same spot.

We cleared customs in St George’s, anchored and had a celebratory beer! Then we went ashore to explore a little. St George’s is a cute little town, welcoming and well kept up, with lots of brightly colored old buildings. Tom left us to visit a friend, and Jeremy and I slept soundly, enjoying the novelty of a cooler night.

Next day saw the start of the ARC Europe Rally, where about 30 boats will sail to the Azores. For some reason the start of the rally was at exactly the same time the ferry was due in from Hamilton, causing chaos in the narrow cut! Later we were treated to lunch at the Mid Ocean Club, in a beautiful spot overlooking a stunning beach. We said goodbye to Tom, and settled into life in Bermuda.

The harbor here is quite full as a lot of boats stop here before heading on to Europe or the Northeastern US. While it is pleasant here, the weather forecast to the north is not good and it’s unlikely we’ll leave until at least next weekend. That’s not a problem since we’re in no particular rush to get home and the weather for making passage will only improve. We are looking forward to spending some time exploring this interesting new country!