Amazing day for couples experiencing Bermuda

TUESDAY, JAN. 17: Four couples won a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit Bermuda for an island experience like no other.

Those couples participated in the Ultimate Bermuda Experience today brought to the island by Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan.

They each won a sweepstakes put on by the NOW energy bar which Mr Keoghan’s product.

They were Andy Marr, Kevin Marr, Joy McDaniel, Gary McDaniel, Rita Singleton, Richard Elgin, Jennifer Saylor and Scott Saylor.

The day began bright and early at Camden at 7am where the winners, as they were called throughout the day, met up with organiser Dudley Thomas and all the volunteers who put the event together.

At the starting line, the couples were given a chauffeur for the day on a rental cycle from Elbow Beach.

From Camden, they travelled to Flatt’s, where they danced to local reggae music courtesy of Fiyah Marshall.

The winners then went to Tucker's Point where they kayaked around in the bay from the beach to a buoy.

After experiencing a few touristy parts of Bermuda, the group was then treated to breakfast at Bouchée.

The winners then went to Albuoy’s Point then travelled west to Waterlot Inn where they put on wet suits to ride jet skis to 9 Beaches.

Following 9 Beaches, the couples were picked up by their drivers and rode to Dockyard where they visited Dockyard Glassworks and The Bermuda Rum Cake Company within The Dockyard Company Ltd.

They were treated to glassblowing demonstrations and had a rum cake and ginger beer eating competition.

Finally, a presentation was held at the Commissioner’s House where Mrs McDaniels was announced as the winner.

She said: “I didn’t know what was going on or what we were going to do.

“All we knew was we were coming to Bermuda for an adventure.”

All the couples were happy to visit the Island and will stay until Friday.

Speaking after the event, Mr Thomas said: “I am absolutely overjoyed, it completely exceeded expectations.

“We have had a fantastic group of winners.

“They have shown a lot of curiosity in the island.

“It actually holds great promise for our tourism product that people have come from Nevada, from the north of the United States, trekking across the nation to come and spend time with us.”

The event was the “brain child” of Mr Keoghan who came to Bermuda for four reasons.

Mr Keoghan said he came to bring his women’s professional cycling team to train, to raise money for multiple sclerosis at the gala on Sunday, to screen his film about cycling, The Ride and to bring the sweepstakes winners for the experience.

The team is called NOW and Novartis for MS Women’s Cycling Team.

He also wants to create an annual ride of multiple sclerosis to raise money for the disease in Bermuda.

“I’m hoping that Bermuda will adopt a ride for themselves.

“What would be great is people could buy package deals to come and ride.

“It puts people in the hotels, it has them staying here and it would fund the economy.”

Mr Thomas also said Mr Keoghan is looking at making Bermuda the home for his women’s team.

“Bermuda will be able to say that we have an international cycling team that has Bermuda as its headquarters.

“He’s actually opened the island up to new groups of consumers.”