A Perfect Day.
Finally, the Rainy Weather Broke, and a Phenomenal Day was on Tap!
I’ve been looking forward to writing about this day since I decided to start this blog. Looking back at my life, there have been a handful of days that I know that I’ll never forget. I’m talking about something far more profound than just creating a memory or two. Sometimes the stars align, and you experience a day that is just absolutely perfect in every way. If I could count such days on one hand, Thursday, May 25th 2023 would definitely be included.
We had looked at the long-range forecast for Bermuda prior to our departure, we had saved Thursday for our day on the water since it would have the best weather. We woke up pretty early because we wanted to grab the one of the first busses out of the Dockyard. According to the bus schedule, the Bus 8 departs there at 6:35am and 7:05am. We needed to make the 7:05 bus. We hit the buffet on the ship for breakfast, making sure to tank up since we honestly didn’t know if or when we’d have time to grab lunch. I had a plan but wasn’t sure if it was possible. I made sure to grab a few sealed containers of Cheerios to take with us. More on this later…
The bus departs right in front of the Clocktower Mall, which isn’t very far, but we certainly couldn’t dilly-dally getting there. From there, it didn’t take us long to travel to the Somerset Bus Stop, right near the Mangrove Bay Post Office. We then had a short walk down Mangrove Bay Rd. Taking a right at Cambridge Rd, we walked right down to the pier and H2O Sports.
We had an 8:30 reservation for a 5-hour Motorboat Rental. I didn’t know how long it would ultimately take to get there, so we arrived very early for our reservation. They were just opening up but were very happy to see us. As I discussed earlier, every person we encountered on the island were incredibly friendly. The fine folks at H2O Sports were no exception. We checked in and discussed our plans. They gave us a map and a route and suggested some additional stops along the way. Meanwhile, they were prepping the 17-foot Boston Whaler with fuel, life jackets, ice for the cooler, pool noodles, and anything else we may have wanted (we didn’t take the fishing gear…)
I have driven boats before, but I’m certainly no pro. I’ve only ever been on smaller ponds and lakes, and I was honestly a little skeptical of being out on the ocean in open water. Of course, since the island is surrounded by reefs, the seas are typically quite calm. The controls and steering were very straight-forward, and the only thing that concerned me was navigating around the reefs. Bermuda is home to countless famous shipwrecks, and I didn’t want to add to that number. The good news is that all of the reefs are very visible in the crystal-clear water, and most of the channels are clearly marked as to which way to go to avoid them. Pretty much the darker the reefs are, the closer to the surface of the water they are. It’s best to steer clear of them altogether.
When I was doing research on our trip to Bermuda, one of the things that intrigued me was hoping to see a Bermuda Longtail (White-Tailed Tropicbird). I wasn’t sure how common they were. Turns out they’re everywhere out on the water, and you can pretty much see at least one in the air at all times. Pretty sweet, but they’re tough to take good photos of while you’re in a moving boat. The 400mm telephoto lens that I had did a great job, but not many of the pics that I grabbed unfortunately are upload-worthy. I’ll have to get better pictures on my upcoming trip this April. (54-days away. Yeah, I’m counting down).
HMS Vixen
Our first stop was the HMS Vixen, which is a popular shipwreck right off Daniel’s Head. It’s very easy to spot, as it’s bow sticks out of the water. It’s known for it’s snorkeling, and diverse population of thousands of fish that are always hungry. There is coral all around the wreck, and we dropped anchor approximately 50 feet away from it. My wife decided to stay with the boat, and my son and I got on our snorkeling gear. As we were getting ready, we decided it was a good time to open up the small boxes of Cheerios that we had brought (thanks to the ship’s buffet that morning) and started tossing handfuls in the water to see what would happen. …it didn’t take long for fish to start swarming around the boat! Some of them were pretty freakin’ big. It was pretty cool to see, but the sheer volume of fish definitely convinced my wife that she had made the correct decision to stay aboard. I thought it was great. It had been far too long since I’ve swam in a body of water that more resembled a saltwater fish tank than an ocean, and I really wanted my son to experience how cool it is. We both hopped in. I knew that the water temperature was pretty much the same as the air temp, and it was in the mid-70’s. I’m used to cold New England beaches, so it wasn’t unbearable. I was surprised at how chilly it was, though. I mean, I always thought that reefs required much warmer, tropical waters.
The picture above was taken on my phone, using the Waterproof Pelican Case I had purchased from Amazon. I was a little nervous about it, but it worked flawlessly. It was at this point that my wife was continuing to feed the fish, making sure to toss the Cheerios as close to me as possible. I felt like I was in the middle of a feeding frenzy as she was chumming the waters. It was pretty funny…
I had purchased my son a GoPro, along with all the bells and whistles to take amazing underwater video. Unfortunately, I think he was overwhelmed with the whole experience and his videos didn’t really turn out that well. I did take a quick video on my phone once we were by the Vixen, and maybe I’ll upload it. I was having a tough time with my mask. I wear glasses and am pretty blind without them. Glasses and snorkel masks are two things that typically don’t go together. I had brought a second pair with me, and I unscrewed the earpieces from it at the hinges and was able to press it into the mask pretty well. I’m not sure if it was the cooler water temperature, but I was having a very tough time keeping the lenses clear from fogging up. Being virtually blind, I couldn’t truly enjoy the experience as much as I would have liked to, but watching the videos we captured, I was able to see afterwards what I couldn’t see at the time. Lol.
The Vixen can be a pretty busy spot. It’s a popular spot for boats to visit, and even if you don’t rent your own boat, it can be visited by utilizing the many excursions available either associated with your cruise or purchasing seperately on your own. Another boat was approaching, and I wanted to make sure that we were plenty visible in the water, so it was time to wrap things up. We spent about a half an hour at the Vixen, and it was a blast!
Somerset Bridge
Our next plan was to head all the way over to Admiralty Park, on the north shore of Bermuda. My plan was to head back the way that we came and enter the Great Sound by going under the Watford Bridge. H2O Sports recommended that we headed south from the Vixen and go under the world’s smallest drawbridge, which is another popular tourist spot. The drawbridge is just wide enough for the mast of a sailboat to pass through.
After passing under the bridge, we cut across the Great Sound, with views of Hamilton off our starboard side, and the Joy looming in front of us. I was able to open up the 40hp motor, and we made good time. There was a little chop, but it wasn’t anything unbearable. This honestly was one of the reasons why I chose an early morning time slot with the motorboat, as I wanted as calm waters as I could get.
Admiralty Park
We rounded the corner of Spanish Point, keeping well wide of the shallow waters and basically kept to the shipping channel. Once clear of the shallows, and avoiding the darker patches of reef, I kept about 200 yards from shore as I headed east. Admiralty Park was easy to spot, as it’s a spot along the shore that doesn’t have any houses. There’s a great little cut into a calm cove, complete with a beach. It was easy enough to navigate, and we landed on the beach with no problem. We hopped out of the boat and headed up to the cliffs.
I had watched YouTube videos of both tourists and locals jumping into the water from the cliffs. While I was a little apprehensive about doing it, I felt that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so I had to! The good news is that you can choose how high you’d like to jump. It starts at about 10 feet and goes up to probably 35 feet. I didn’t go that high, but very well might have if other people were there too. We were completely alone. The last thing I wanted to do was get hurt, and I didn’t know how deep the water was and while the water was very clear and calm, I didn’t want to land on coral or anything crazy. Looking down from above, there are clearly some spots where you DO NOT want to jump. The good news is that I never touched the bottom…
I have some pictures and video of us jumping, but my family is pretty camera shy. Once you’re in the water, how do you get out and back up the cliff? You have to swim through a cave, and then climb up stairs carved into the rock. It sounds kinda sketchy, but it’s not at all, and once you do it, it’s actually a very unique way to get out of the water. In fact, the history of Admiralty Park is pretty interesting, and there is an entire network of caves and neat places to explore. Water shoes are definitely needed! Like most places in Bermuda, the rock is very sharp.
Woody’s Fish Sandwiches
Growing up, my son spent a week every summer at Boy Scout Camp. One of the things he loved to do there was sail on the lake in their little Sunfish sailboats. We had been wanting to get him out sailing again in a larger body of water and always thought that we could rent a small sailboat on Cape Cod on one of the many times that we visit each summer. It just never seemed to be in the cards. Besides the Boson Whalers, H2O Sports also rents Hobie Wave catamarans. The plan was to spend the first half of the day on the motorboat, then when we returned the boat, he’d take out a catamaran by himself for another 5 hours on the water. We didn’t think that anybody was renting their cats during the morning, and we could drop him off early. …So, we started to head back to the marina after we were done at Admiralty Park.
I was a little concerned that my son would basically be out on the water for 10 hours straight, and we did not pack a lunch. We had a big breakfast, but it was getting near lunch time, and I thought we needed to feed the kid.
I had researched where to get Bermuda’s famous fish sandwiches, and Woody’s Bar serves one of the best. We couldn’t visit here and not eat one of these. The cool part is that it’s located right on the water, and we were going to be headed right past it. My only question was whether it was safe to land a boat there. Finding information on this was very difficult, and I was relying on pictures from “satellite view” on Google Maps. Maybe I should have called them ahead of time to double-check, but I was willing to take a chance.
We were able find the cove that Woody’s is located in, and we had no problem getting in, other than the Bermuda Coast Guard yelling at me to slow down as we entered the cove. There wasn’t really a dock, just a concrete pad with some stairs and nothing to tie off the boat. My son and I held onto the dock as my wife got out and grabbed 3 fish sandwiches and drinks.
Around 15 minutes later, my wife jumped back in the boat and we headed back out on the water. I made sure to not create a wake until we were entering open water, as the Coast Guard were watching us like hawks.
Once I was sure we weren’t going to drift into rocks or anything crazy like that, I killed the motor, and we had a picnic lunch on the water. In my opinion, it was THE BEST way to enjoy these famous fish sandwiches. They were fresh and delicious. The spicy breading, the coleslaw, and the raisin bread sounds awkward, but for some crazy reason, the combo really works. So, this was another resounding success!
Son of a Son is a Sailor
Yeah, I know I didn’t get Jimmy Buffett’s lyrics correct, but I think it works. After a quick briefing on the controls of the catamaran, my son was able to head out. We stood on the pier and I since I wasn’t driving the motorboat, I was actually able to grab my real camera and take some pictures. There was only a light breeze, but he was able to find the wind and was quickly on his way.
My “Mascot,” the Yellow Crowned Night Heron
There was a boy fishing without a rod on the pier. He just had a small bucket of bait, and a line with a hook on it. I don’t know if he was a great angler, or the plentiful school of fish also thought it was lunchtime, but he was quite successful at landing some small fish. Next to the boy, was this silly bird, which I later learned was a Yellow Crowned Night Heron. He was laser-focused on what this boy was doing. He was quite fearless and would come right up to the boy when he caught a fish. The boy would unhook his catch, and instead of releasing it, he’d feed the bird who seemed to know exactly what was going to happen.
If you follow me on social media, you’ll see that my avatar is a picture of this beautiful bird. I have been asked what’s the deal with it, and this is the story is behind it. So hopefully that clears things up…
Secluded Beach, Middle King’s Point
We still had almost an hour left on the boat rental, so we headed back out to this little beach I noticed when we went by it earlier on our way to the HMS Vixen. As you can see by the color of the water, it is very shallow and sandy for quite a while, and I was concerned about bottoming out on our way in. The reality is that the water seems to always be a little deeper than you think in Bermuda. We had no trouble landing the boat very close to the shore where we were able to raise the motor and pull it ashore.
I do love beaches, but I’m not really one to just lounge around. I’d prefer to explore, so I grabbed the camera and started taking pictures. The scenery was breathtaking, and I’d never seen anything like it. The sand, the water, and the rocks with the clear blue sky in the background made the perfect setting. Honestly though, I don’t think the pictures do it justice.
I started to wade into the water to try to compose some interesting shots.
Barracuda!
As I was in thigh-to-waist deep water with my camera, I could see fish in the beautifully clear water. Then something unmistakable caught my eye. About 3 feet from me was this long, slender fish staring me down. The positioning of it’s fins and the visible teeth told me all I needed to know. There was a barracuda right next to me! It was probably about 2.5 feet long. The polarizing filter on my camera did a pretty good job of cutting the glare of the water, but unfortunately these pictures were the best I could get.
Our 5 hours were pretty much up, so we had to say goodbye to our little slice of paradise and head back to return the boat. Luckily, we weren’t far at all from the facility, so we literally waited until the last minute to get back to H2O Sports.
Whoops, back to the ship.
While my son was sailing, my wife and I had made the plan of getting back on the bus and heading down to check out Horseshoe Bay Beach. My son would meet up with us at the beach when he was done boating. I honestly don’t know if I was confused with the vehicles traveling on the “wrong” side of the road or it was just a brain fart, but it didn’t take long after the bus started moving that I realized we were headed the wrong way. We were headed back to the Dockyard.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned that the roads in Bermuda are crazy. Even the main roads are narrow, full of twists and turns, and driving on them must be a harrowing experience. One of the great things about using the public transportation is that you don’t have to concentrate on the road; you can really enjoy the scenery.
Every now and then the views would open up, and the road would travel right along the water. Every now and then I would catch a glimpse of my son enjoying his time sailing. I grabbed my camera and did my best to take pictures through a window of a speeding bus.
The driver asked what I was taking a picture of, and we explained that I was trying to take photos of my son. Like all other Bermudians we came in contact with, he was amazing. He had me put the window down in the bus, and would tell us when a good view was approaching. He would slow down almost to a standstill while my camera clicked away.
Back on the Joy
By this time, it was getting close to 2pm. On the Joy’s Observation Lounge (which unfortunately has been reduced in size to allow for more balcony staterooms), they serve afternoon tea every day. There’s a collection of scones, pastries, and light sandwiches along with several varieties of tea. My wife is enchanted with the concept of afternoon tea, and we hit this up on several afternoons during our week.
Horseshoe Bay Beach
Tea was nice, but we were slowly eating away our time to enjoy the most famous beach in Bermuda, and I really wanted to see the pink sand. We left the ship and hopped back on the bus. It was easier this time since the Dockyard is the end of the bus route, and it only heads one way, away from the ship… The south shore of Bermuda is definitely different than waters we had previously experienced. We had seen the flat expanses of sandy bottomed shallows for as far as the eye can see. This shore is steep, rocky, and the barrier reef is quite close to the shore. This means that the south shore is pretty exposed to the Atlantic, so there actually are some pretty decent waves. We passed by the magnificent Port Royal Golf Course, and again, the pictures I tried to take through a fast-moving bus window aren’t really publishable.
The public bus stop at Horseshoe Bay Beach is still a decent walk to the shore down a fairly steep hill. If you’re taking a $7 van ride from the Dockyard, they’ll drop you off right at the bottom of the hill.
It was somewhere between 3 and 4pm, and definitely more people were leaving the beach than arriving at this time. It was clearing out, which was great! I’ve heard that this is a pretty “touristy” spot and can get quite crowded at times. Again, we lucked out!
We had a pretty big day already, so I really wasn’t up for exploring. I would have liked to take a walk and see the rock formations as I ventured to adjacent beaches, but it will have to wait for another visit. I didn’t go much past my waist into the water. The sand definitely has a pink hue to it. I would say it’s kinda like a flesh tone, with flecks of red color if you inspect it closely. It seems to be most noticeable right at the water’s edge, where the sand is wet.
My son’s phone was dying, and we sent him a quick text letting him know that we were leaving the beach and heading back to the ship. We figured we’d meet up with him for dinner. Neither of us felt like hiking back up the hill to the public bus, so we handed a $20 bill to the last van left in the lot to take us back to the Dockyard. We were his only passengers, and the driver had his family with him. They too were very welcoming and happy to take us along.
On our travels on the roads of Bermuda, the busses, vans, and just about everybody were constantly honking their horns. the funny thing is, the honking wasn’t out of aggravation from the traffic or other drivers, it was just how they greeted each other. It seems like it’s a very tight-knit community where everyone knows one another. They’re always honking and waving at everyone they know, whether it’s an oncoming motorist or a pedestrian. It was amazing to see.
Dinner, Comedy Show, Casino, and a Very Comfortable Bed
Not much to say here. We had a big day, and we were all pretty exhausted. My son arrived back to the ship pretty late. Apparently, he took the bus to the beach, but he missed the stop and took the bus all the way into Hamilton. His phone was dead at this point, so we had no clue where he was. He ended up walking down to Front Street and hopped on the ferry to take him back to the Dockyard. Sure, he was alone in a strange place with a dead phone, but we weren’t really that concerned. People are kind and helpful here, and Bermuda is a very, very safe place. It’s almost as if the people who live here know they’re lucky to live in such a spectacular oasis in the middle of the Atlantic, and the respect they have for one another is something I longed to try to take home with me.
Once he finally returned to our cabin, we trudged up to the buffet. We were tired, but hungry. After we ate, he went back to the room and passed out. We had made reservations for a comedy show, which only lasted about 45 minutes. The comedy club is on Deck 6, right at the bottom floor of the 3-floor Atrium by the huge chandelier. We had some good laughs, and before we called it a night we went up one deck to the casino and threw some money away. Neither of us really felt like staying for a long gambling session.
Time for bed. The next day was Friday, and sadly it was our departure day. Good thing this day was unforgettable.
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