Today we had the good fortune to go out on a charter trip aboard the Spirit of Bermuda( With the exception of 2 of the photos which are from the Bermuda Sloop website, the rest are shots we took today.

Normally Spirit is used as a training vessel for Bermuda youth and takes part in tall ship festivals and the like but once in a while they offer 3 hour sailing trips that the general public can go out on. She is a 112 foot sloop and one of the most gorgeous boats I have been on with teak and cedar everywhere. It is the most stable boat I have ever been on either including much larger cruise ships and we could not have asked for a more beautiful day. Sunny and windy- perfect conditions.

The training vessel is based on civilian Bermudian-type schooners built from 1810 to 1840. Bermudians, enslaved and free, built the schooners in the period spanning the Emancipation of Slavery in the British Empire (August 1, 1834). The original hull shape was adapted from fast dispatch / patrol vessels that ran from Bermuda northwest to Halifax and southwest to Jamaica to contain rebel colonies.

She made her maiden voyage September 30th and we were lucky enough to be able to attend the welcome ceremonies that day but never thought we would have the opportunity to go out sailing on her.)







Also wanted to upload some pictures from Good Friday which is the day Bermudians head out in droves to fly kites- the weather was poor so the skies were not as full as we had hoped they would be (traditional Bermuda kites are hand made with tissue paper as this incredible example from the Royal Gazette shows and so do not hold up to foul weather like the plastic kites from my childhood)

Horseshoe Bay is the place to be on Good Friday with live entertainment,tons of people and a festive atmosphere. We went to Riddells Bay Golf Club for our Good Friday celebrations which was a BBQ and kite flying, partly because we didn't know about the event at Horseshoe Beach til after we had bought our tickets for Riddells. We drove by Horseshoe on the way home and it was jam packed with people. Normally at this time of year the beaches are empty aside from the guest workers and tourists who go all year round. ( Bermudians don't go to the beach normally until Bermuda Day ( May 24th) and even though they go at Easter they do not swim in the ocean til it gets warmer out.

Whale Watching Trip

We went whale watching off the south shore on Sunday and it was absolutely fabulous- even if we hadn't seen any whales,spending 6 hours on the ocean was a great way to spend the day. We came across 3 different pods of whales- one with three, the others were in pairs. Apparently more than 8,000 humpback whales make their way past Bermuda between March and April but unfortunately they do not seem to travel in packs and finding them seemed like it was going to be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. After about 3.5 hours we had our first sign of the elusive whales- the geyser like spray in the distance that comes from the blowhole. After we found the first pair, finding more of them was relatively easy. Taking good pictures of them was a whole other story. Between the rocking motion of the boat and the amazing speed that these whales move makes it pretty hard to capture good images, Thank goodness for digital as we had a ton of pictures that eneded up with just ocean or the sky, no sign of the whales we thought we were getting pictures of. They were quite playful and hung around the boat for quite some time. These things are huge- our boat was 50 feet long and these whales are between 40 and 45 feet long. We managed to get quite close on several occasions and it really was a thrill of a lifetime. We also saw our first signs of spring on the island which is the return of the longtail to Bermuda shores, turtles all over the place and the flying fish put on a pretty good show for most of the day as well.

This Friday being Good Friday is a holiday here with a twist. Everyone flies a kite and so we are going to go down to Horseshoe Bay where the skies will be full of color and also enjoy festivities including live bands and food. Before that we are going to a similar function at Riddells Bay ( kite flying and BBQ) so should have some neat pictures to share later in the week.