One off the bucket list.

[Hwyl]

I've wanted to enter St Georges harbour in Bermuda under sail for a while. A couple of years ago, I saw my old friend Tommy Reardon do it in daylight on Ticonderoga, he was only setting his jib, but he was sailing. That cemented it.

I approached this last time in the dark and somewhat screwed up the approach. I had GPS but the chart plotter had no charts for Bermuda. I was about 50 feet North of the channel upon approach (still about 1000 yards out) I corrected myself and was a little annoyed, when I realised I was on a dead run, with a double reefed mainsail only in about 15 to 18 knots, so I killed the engine and sailed in, of course there was no one there to see me. I had a crew and they thought me foolish, but I did it.

Here's the best map I could find

http://www.bermuda-online.org/stgeorgeph.jpg

Here's the town cut from the inside

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee119/foreguy/antarestrip006.jpg

Here's a house that sits on the North side of the cut that I've always liked

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee119/foreguy/antarestrip007.jpg

[Paul Pless]

damn but that water's blue

[Paul Pless]

I should like to add that I look forward to some day when I can go sailing with you Gareth.

[John B]

Me too. That looks similar to the man o war passage into Fitzroy hbr Gt barrier. Where is it on the map? Paget or Coney island?
Another Swan ?

[rbgarr]

I had a crew and they thought me foolish....

It took them the whole leg to Bermuda to figure that out?? Boy, you really had them fooled, didn't you?! :D:D

[Hwyl]

Me too. That looks similar to the man o war passage into Fitzroy hbr Gt barrier. Where is it on the map? Paget or Coney island?
Another Swan ?

North of Paget Island South of the fort.

Yes a Swan 46. I'm getting to be the expert on them.

[John B]

Ta.
Dya think the guy would notice if you took 2 or 4 of those winches off?

[Hwyl]

That era in Swans was a real winch farm. A couple of them would not ratchet (gummed up pawls). I got the bucket out.

The boat was set up for short handed sailing. Electric jib sheet winches in the cockpit (former secondaries) the primaries were not used. She had an extra mainsheet winch next to the wheel on a nice saddle over the combing.

[bamamick]

Geez, Gareth. Most people's 'bucket list' would be to do what you just once :).

For a guy who sails nothing but short windward/leewards the ins and outs of navigation are a mystery and frankly would make me a wee bit nervous. I know almost every inch of Mobile Bay like I do the back of my hand, but take me outta here and I am completely lost.

My friend, you have seen a thing or two, haven't you? Bermuda is a beautiful place.

Mickey Lake

[John B]

I need more winches. Got any more pics.. we have to beat the guys keeping the stupid threads going.:D

[Noah]

I could use a few as well - 2nd spinn sheet winches on the cabin top, and a pair of nice 30's as extra's would be a good start.

Oh yeah, and maybe some 56's non-self tailing for the genoa sheets when we are racing. The self tailing winches can be a bit slow to tack on with a big crew.

[nedL]

Beautiful place Bermuda is, Years ago friends of ours down there ran a small boatyard on St. David's.

[Chris Coose]

Each time I've gone into St. George's we had hell behind us.
One of them was the remains of the unnamed hurricane that formed up for that perfect storm in 1991. We were tattered having gone through it to bermuda from NE Harbor. A solo guy came in the next day, sailed her right into the pier (I mean, in to). He had to be taken from the cockpit on a stretcher.

Had we left NE harbor 2-3 days later we'd have been smuck hard.

[Hwyl]

Noah, one of my crew sailed a Baltic 38 DP in your area, do you know the boat-- he did not know of the Swede?