Window From Wonderland

A few more notes from a cruiser waiting to depart.

A weather window occurs when weather forecasts indicate that a given set of marine operations or offshore construction activities can be performed within their maximum limits for wave height, wind speeds etc. (source: Wikipedia)

But first… just a few more thoughts about visiting Bermuda.

Fact: Fayaway has visited glorious Bermuda more than any other tropical island, and this says more than words: we love this place.

We’ve sailed here this time not to compete in a race, nor just to hide from nasty weather. Bermuda has established itself as a purely desirable destination in its own right.

If you’re a cruiser looking for a tropical island, and perhaps one not so distant from the East coast, or just a fantastic stopover going almost any direction, you can’t beat Bermuda. Nuf said?

For this latest visit we departed Hampton, Virginia early on a sunny Monday, the 17th of May, soon after a series of nasty squalls exited the coast. We had aboard as crew our friend Mike, of SV Dreamweaver.

Closely following passing weather with strong lightening. Waiting for this one to pass before departure!

After an enjoyable 4.5 day passage of reaching and following winds aft of the beam, we proceeded through St. George’s Cut just before dusk on Friday, dropping our trusty 55 pound Spade anchor into 37 feet.

LuckGrib prognosticator app suggests our likely course to Bermuda.

Mike in his happy place, somewhere way offshore.

Initial Approach Considerations:

Zoomed out – red line shows how to approach St. George’s Cut, from north or south.

Only approach from the far eastern end – St George’s “Sea Buoy”. Why? Coral reefs surround the entire island. Even if intending to visit The Dockyard on the western end, or the capital of Hamilton, you must enter a cut closer to St George.
Fill out the online arrival details in advance arrival. It’ll save you time on the radio and in the office, as well as making a few folks happier.
When within 20 nautical miles, try calling Bermuda Radio on channel 16. Do not approach the island without speaking with them first, and following their instructions. They’re extremely helpful, and their intentions are in your best interest for safety.
As when approaching any foreign land… Raise your Bermuda courtesy and quarantine flags high on the starboard spreader halyard. Only after “clearing in” may you remove the lower “Q” flag.
Until recently – all visiting vessels must initially tie up at the Customs and Immigration dock on Ordinance Island. Only the captain needs to visit the office with ships registration and passports for crew. (However, presently their dock is in ill repair and so Bermuda Radio will likely suggest anchoring nearby and to dinghy-in for clearance.

Captain raising the Q and courtesy flags.

Fayaway sits comfortably at anchor in St. George’s Harbour.

Waiting For That Window

Recap: We ended our last blog post with a brief description of an awesome fish sandwich 🥪 endeavor. (You really must try Art Mel’s). Our final sample was from a place almost adjacent to the dinghy dock – Munchies. (A top choice, but don’t waste your money on the “juice”.)

Of course, many *claim* to have the best.

On Monday we exchanged farewells with Mike so he could fly home and continue his next adventure. Great friends John and Kris flew in from home to enjoy some Bermudian culture.

Fast-forward… our new friend Kathy arrived ten days after our arrival, expecting to depart soon as crew. She was very patient (as we all must be) while waiting for the weather window back to the States. Having plenty of sea time, she knows the game. Of course, we entertained ourselves easily, exploring and chasing down the ubiquitous fish sandwich. (She’s also a great cribbage player.) But an itch for departure grows with passing of every day.

Kathy joins the second half of our island adventure!

Especially when planning a departure, Kelly and I follow the weather closely, using weather apps like Windy, Predictwind and LuckGrib. Given the increasingly volatile storm fronts emanating from the east coast, now generally every few days, we decided to employ more professional assistance. This time we opted to try a new one (for us) recommended by fellow cruisers: Commanders Weather.

Commanders' Weather Corporation
29th year of serving the World's boating and sailing community - 1996-2025
Hours: 5am to 5pm US Eastern time, 7 days a week/365 days a year
Tel: 603-882-6789
Email: info@commandersweather.com
Website: www.commandersweather.com

Here’s what our departure decision boiled down to:

On Wednesday one weather prognosticator guru said Saturday is a good window. However, Commanders’ said [paraphrase]: “You could leave Saturday, but you’re gonna get hit with something strong, so we say that early next week (Monday or Tuesday) is your soonest possible. In any case you’re likely to get hit with something.”

To possibly reduce that something, we decided to wait for “next week” assuming a Monday morning departure.

Commanders’ recommended course back to the Chesapeake.

Monday morning arrived, readiness renewed, and with one more exchange of correspondence with Commanders’ our window remained a “go”. So Kathy accompanied me to the Customs office to obtain our clearance papers. With the usual excitement building before a long passage, we hauled the outboard, lashed Korykory aboard and made ready for departure. Kelly began hauling the anchor.

Consider that been anchored in the same pseudo-protected spot, swinging around with the weather fronts for almost three weeks – a long time. In a depth of 37 feet we had a lot of chain deployed – about 190ft which could potentially get tangled onto rocks or…

Nope, the hook wasn’t coming up, and seems firmly attached to something. We tried the usual tactics to free us – let some out, do circles, etc.

Kathy jumps in to see what she can see, possibly fouling our anchor.

Eventually, we could see something down below in the murky 37 ft depth – what is that thing??

I called the friendly guys at Bermuda Radio to explain our predicament – we are stuck. Can you recommend or help us locate a diver, please?

Chatting back and forth with the admirable Bermuda Radio was fortuitous. They located a willing diver, but he wasn’t available until after 2pm. And he needs a ride from the town dock. No problem! Now just re-launch Korykory and wait. And wait. (Don’t forget, we’re still on island time!

1400 became 1600. Our diver Leonard was kindly apologizing for arriving so late. No apologies necessary, as we’re overly appreciative just the same to have him available.

Leonard prepares his gear aboard Korykory.

Leonard dove down onto the unknown debris, in silty water (he explained that the water here is siltier during summer months). A few minutes later watching his bubbles he popped up. From the bow we listened to Leonard describe “something massive”. His primary concerns were lack of visibility and that the large “something” was apparently being partially lifted vertically by our chain. We worried that if he tried to free the anchor the “something” could topple over! No way we’d agree to that! I implored that he do NOT attempt to free the anchor with any possible harm to himself.

Leonard proposed three choices:

Call a barge to lift the debris so to untangle.
Cut the chain.
Try maneuvering the boat again, possibly unwinding the chain. (It was apparent to Leonard underwater that our chain could be unwinded counterclockwise.)

We easily voted for #3.

I’m steering Fayaway in a broad circle counterclockwise as Leonard gives instructions for unwinding Fayaway’s fouled anchor.

After providing profuse thanks, a cold Bahamian beer (and more than a few dollars) I dropped Leonard and his scuba gear at the dock. Within thirty minutes, and with another quick call of thanks to, and updated permission from, Bermuda Radio, we raised the main and motored out of Town Cut.