Thanks to all of you who replied to the thread I posted back in April,
titled "Anyone have "Local Knowledge" of Bermuda".

We had a great trip -- 4.5 glorious days down, 6 rather trying days
beating back (owing to a stout headwind the entire way back -- our
departure and arrival port was Beaufort, NC). All in June.

In Bermuda, we had a fabulous time. We stayed at "Smoke's Marina," in
St. George -- didn't seem all that auspicious at first, but I must say
it was quite nice to be able to step onto a wharf from the boat, and
at an affordable price. And Bernie, who runs the place, is quite a
gentleman. He's soft-spoken and rather advanced in years, but he's
amazingly well-connected, knowledgeable and friendly. In fact, I
wouldn't think it possible for someone to stay at his marina and not
leave as friends.

We rented scooters, and used them to zip all around. We enjoyed
many delicious dinners from the local supermarket, and at reasonable
rates. Bought bus passes, and used them to go to Hamilton, Royal Navy
Dockyard, etc. (BTW: we found a great hole-in-the-wall place in Royal
Navy that sold burgers for about $6 which put even upscale American
burgers to shame, and which sold the most delicious meat pies ever!).

While we were there, we witnessed the Marion/Bermuda race, which
encountered stormy weather, met people on a cruise ship from Baltimore
who said they'd never do "that" again, owing to the roughness of the
trip. Watched Tania Aebi and her cruising rally arrive, Saw the Tall
Ships, and watched them leave. We didn't see Michael Douglas or Ross
Perot, though -- perhaps next time we can offer to share a pint with
them. ;-)

The Johnny Bread at the airport (!) is divine!

Mama Dipps is not to be missed for the ice cream.

Don't miss the "Upper Crust." Looks like a typical pizza chain, to
be missed by splurging tourists, but that's just a clever disguise to
hide really, really good food at great prices from those tourists.
And did I say pizza?! They sell Indian food, burgers, pizza, and
lots, lots more. And it's all excellent.

We really enjoyed the aquarium (and we're aquarium snobs, so that's
definitely an endorsement).

Our tour of the Botanical Gardens was unfortunately rained out, but
we did make the acquaintance of the captain of the Atlantic Explorer
(a research vessel) and he invited us and the kids onboard for a
tour. And we toured BIOS - Bermuda Institute of Oceanographic
Sciences -- really neat. If your kids are into biology, it's worth
looking into sending them there for a winter.

We did go snorkeling, but I must say, it was rather cool, and due
to rather stormy seas while we were there, the water was murky. The
reefs were bustling with life, though. All in all, murkier water, but
livelier reefs than the Abacos.

Everyone we met was just as friendly as can be, and Bermuda itself
is a garden paradise (and coming from North Carolina, that's saying
something).

We arrived back in Beaufort weary, salty, and damp (seas were
breaking right over the boat at times, and it was impossible to sit in
the cockpit for any length of time without getting hammered by a
sea). But after cleaning up, drying out, and a delicious dinner at
Clawson's, we were ready to go again -- so short is our memory of
discomfort!

Again, we appreciate the hints and tips sent to us by so many people
who had been to Bermuda!

Adrian.

On Tue, 1 Sep 2009 19:54:47 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

We didn't see Michael Douglas or Ross
Perot, though -- perhaps next time we can offer to share a pint with
them. ;-)

Glad to hear you enjoyed your cruise to Bermuda, always been one of my
favorite places.

Ross lives on a private road east of TuckersTown at approx
32-20/64-41. We once met him at a party out there.

On Sep 1, 10:54*pm, "
wrote:

* *We arrived back in Beaufort weary, salty, and damp (seas were
breaking right over the boat at times, and it was impossible to sit in
the cockpit for any length of time without getting hammered by a
sea). *But after cleaning up, drying out, and a delicious dinner at
Clawson's, we were ready to go again -- so short is our memory of
discomfort!
Was this because you were on a schedule and had to leave or the
weather forecasts were wrong?
What kinds of winds did you have and how much motoring did you
have to do?
Tom