Rally docks in St George’s

St George’s Harbour is currently enjoying the company of the World Cruising Club’s ARC Europe rally.

Bermuda is the meeting point for the two fleets before they cruise on to the Azores and then Europe.

An entry in the World Cruising Club website’s blog details one boat’s account of coming into the island — and the subsequent celebrations once on land.

It read: “Bermuda is a very low island and what we could see were tall buildings on the horizon. Very colourful, too.

“Sailing along the coast, we had to be very careful not to allow the boat to broach as there were fierce-looking reefs a short way to windward and we were fully powered up as the wind accelerated around the headland. 

“Creaming into the finish, Dave chipped in “we’ve crashed into bigger islands than this”, at which point I again prised his fingers off the wheel and brought the boat home.”

It added: “Having cleared Customs and rafted up in the Town Dock, we went and had a couple of cold ones in the pub on the quay —  $8.25 a pint! 

“There was a free bar party that evening in the St George’s Yacht club and we took over the dance floor and boogied the night away.

“We appear to be getting some sort of a reputation around here already, if not for our dancing skills for our party trick ability to make beer and wine disappear as if by magic.”