Royal Naval Dockyards

Friday 23 November, Bermuda day 3, St. George’s: Trip to Hamilton and the Royal Naval Dockyards.
Very peaceful night with no lapping, so the fenders tied to the stern did the trick. We did have plenty of squeaky ropes though. We are wondering if we will hear one of them going “ping” and breaking. Because not only are we holding Cloudy Bay against the wind but also the Swan 66 next to us, and our lines and cleats are not so happy about this.

We wake up to the sound of a bow thruster near to us. What is going on? Glen jumps immediately out of bed and on the deck, and sure enough a boat came in. But they dropped our bow mooring lines without even asking! We are shocked that we didn’t swing with our bow and the Swan’s stern into the docks. Our line was also holding s/v Gale away from the dock. After a bit of faffing, it is all back together and no drama. Now we are 4 boats lined up at the end of this dock.

Over breakfast (which we have inside, with the heating switched on – too cold and windy outside) we discuss today’s plan: we take the ferry across to the west end of Bermuda, at the Royal Naval Dockyard and Hamilton. Well, ferry was the tentative plan, but we end up taking the bus as the ferry runs only during summer season, which finished 3 weeks ago. The bus ride is very pleasant, we get to see the turquoise water inlets and colorful houses. All a very happy sight despite the dark clouds. 45 minutes later we arrive in Hamilton.

Hamilton is again very colorful, with beautiful buildings everywhere we look. Feels more like a holiday resort than a working town. We stroll on few streets to the ferry terminal, commenting on the wealth of this place and the tax dodging financial businesses 🙂
The ferry ride to the Royal Naval Dockyard reveals yet more water inlets. Each little cove is charming, with boats on moorings and beautiful properties on the hilly shore. Some houses are delicate and hidden behind palm trees, some more opulent and proud of their looks with manicured lawns in the front, allowing a full view over the bays. All picture perfect. And we decide on the spot that we should bring Cloudy Bay here after the storm passes on Sunday.

As the ferry speeds across Hamilton Harbor, we comment about the 35th America’s Cup which was held here in 2017. We can see why it was such a successful event. Apparently the 2017 edition holds the record for attracting the largest number of spectator boats. Not surprising, because spectators could be placed all around the bay, each with a great view of the match racing.

Before we know it we arrive at the Royal Naval Dockyards, which used to be Britain’s largest naval base outside the United Kingdom. After losing the American War of Independence in 1783, and with no American ports at their disposal, Britain sought a port in the mid-Atlantic, between Halifax and the West Indies, from which it could face off America and France and also easily access its interests in the Caribbean. Bermuda’s central geographic position made it a prime choice.
In 1809, slaves laid the first local stones that would become Royal Naval Dockyard’s foundation. And convicts from Britain followed as the next wave of laborers after emancipation. From the War of 1812 until just after World War II, Royal Naval Dockyard and the base played an integral role in strategic defence for Britain. In 1951 the Royal Navy officially pulled out from Bermuda.
Enticed by these historical data (in Glen’s case), and chased by rain and very strong wind (in Oana’s case), we visit The National History Museum of Bermuda. All exhibits are displayed in historic military buildings of the Keep Fort in Dockyard. The Commissioner’s House, once the home of the civilian commissioner of Dockyard, was particularly interesting. From its position on the hill it dominates the citadel and offers spectacular views across the bay.

After we have an adequate infusion of history and interesting facts about Bermuda, we have a stroll through the grounds. A shivery stroll, as we both feel very cold in this northerly wind. Looking for shelter and warmth we come across the non interesting part (to us) of the Dockyards – the enormous Clocktower Mall, clearly tailored to cater for cruise liners tourists. At that point we made a sharp U-turn, as we are not their desired clientele 🙂 Rather face the wind than walk through that mall full of sparkly pointless trinkets!
Another attraction was the foiling catamaran exhibited in front of the Transport Museum, the Oracle Team USA boat which was the defender for the 35th America’s Cup. On a brief display we read about the America’s Cup action and drama here last year. So nice to actually see up close one of these formula-1 of the sailing world.

Adequately shivery and blasted, we agree we covered the grounds satisfactory and return to Hamilton. The return trip is by bus, and gives us a nice view of the coastline, with some gorgeous beaches and the usual fancy resorts. On the next sunny day (if there will be one while we are here!) we’ll definitely come back here to enjoy the sights in their full splendor, armed with our cameras.

In Hamilton we cut our exploration very short after wandering only few streets, as we both feel frozen by that stage. On the way to the bus terminal, Glen spots a department store and we go in to buy a kettle. Turns out they have any kitchen tool and decoration one may want, but no kitchen small appliances.
“Where is the closest store we can find one?”, we inquire. “At the pharmacy, just across the street” comes the answer. We look at each other in dismay: at the pharmacy? Of course, where else!? Why didn’t we think of that? And leave the store giggling, then outside burst into laughter 🙂
Sure enough, there were kitchen small appliances at the pharmacy. Kettle included, the all-singing-all-dancing type, with programming the temperature and maintaining it for 30 minutes. What happened to the normal, basic ones? Just plug it and press the only button. Needless to say, we didn’t buy one. Not because we would have to read the user manual to even start to operate the damn thing, but because we would need reading glasses to see which button of the many buttons we have to press!

By this stage it starts getting dark and even colder, and we decide to head back to Cloudy Bay. We hit the rush hour at the bus terminal: long queue of people waiting for the bus, and long time waiting for the bus to arrive. But once on, there is a seat for everyone, plus it’s warm, at last.

We are very happy to step back on Cloudy Bay, in the shelter and warmth. Yup, the heating is back on! We feel like we constantly chase the warmth: most places we get to we have few rays of sunshine when we arrive, then it gets cold. Apparently this is the coldest day this year, in Bermuda. And on this note, we look at weather forecast for Antigua. 26-28 degC. Maybe we should go straight there!? But not just yet, the wind forecast for Bermuda shows a nasty storm will pass tomorrow night with gusts up to 55kts.
Needless to say we don’t venture off the boat for the remainder of the evening. Not now we are so very cozy, once again, inside.