Landfall!
Trip Start
May 07, 2007
1
18
28
Trip End
Jun 15, 2007
Hamilton,
Bermuda
Sunday, June 3, 2007
My watch had been 2100-2400 (9-12pm) so at midnight I hit the bunk quite tired. The weather had continued to be rough with winds 20-25 kts apparent. The bow continued to rise and fall as we beat a steady course toward Bermuda. Gladly, my stomach and that of the rest of the crew were good. We were now in the home stretch. Believe me, everyone was looking to get on land. Could we do the next two week leg to Horta...heck yes, but for now, being on terra firma sounded great. I was ready to stand up without being in the tripod position. A standing shower...great.
Since Sue and I shared the same watch, we both woke up at 0545 for our 0600 watch, a time which we would not normally get up. I wanted to get up to the wheelhouse and see if our journey had been rewarded with "Land Ho" as planned and expected. As I scrambled up the steep steps/ladder to the wheelhouse, I could not help but think about how miraculous this had been. If we had been in a vessel a hundred years ago we might have been in wondering if our position was accurate and if we would find this small dot of an island. Now, aboard this sophisticated mini-ship with 2-3 levels of redundant systems making the trip could be done with high levels of confidence. The GPS system keeps us on track and we get a continual reading of course to steer and estimated time of arrival.
To some degree the trip has felt too easy and too routine. Surely over reliance on GPS and electronic systems are temptations to modern captains that could lead to getting lax and forgetting the basics of good seamanship. We keep hourly plots of last known position, speed, heading etc, so as to allow us to re-establish as DR (Ded Reckoning) should ships systems fail. This is good, normal practice. We also feel that with 7 other boats within 5 miles around us, there really is little chance of a disaster or loosing our way. So in reality, it is fairly safe and sure thing: we are going to get there.
So yes, my arrival on the 0600 watch was rewarded: Bermuda was visible exactly as planned. As the sun began to dominate the horizon ahead the small, flat island began to show more texture and more feathers. I was tempted to get the digi camera going but scenes like this don't yield great pics. A strip of land against a morning sky is not that exciting. So this is for "memory only".
I drove the boat forward toward the next way point. Overnight some of the boats changed position for some reason. The "inverted V" seemed to yield to a string of vessels as some captains seemed to jockey for position. I wondered if it was to be the first one to land. One thing I could see, is that some of the skippers seemed to feel a sense of completion. This must be the same thing I see on the golf course as the what Sue and I call the "Fred Flintstone" types want to show that they can drive the golf ball farther than the next Joe...or Gary as the case may be. We haven't seen a lot of that here, but just enough to recognize it. For example, one of the yachts was supposed to be the sweeper boat to travel at the end of the fleet to make sure Beso is ok. That boat has now moved into second place. Poor Beso...can't get no respect.
So my 0900 my watch was over and I settled down into to salon to get a piece of toast and more coffee. The island was passing by now and it was easy to see the pastel colored homes covering the island. Even near shore, the water is ink blue. By 1100 was were heading into the harbor in Hamilton and we could see the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club ahead. We made ready for docking.
Captain Jerry said that docking the boat was easy. I said. "ok, if its easy let me do it when we land". Oh, I guess its not that easy as he still ask me to handle fenders and get a stern line ready. Well Jerry made it look easy, as I heard the big hydraulic thrusters take hold and guide us into position alongside the harsh looking cement wharf. We had landed in Bermuda
