Getting around Bermuda - Take the Ferry

[bdahunter]

When people think of Bermuda (which is probably not very often) they think of one small island far out in the Atlantic Ocean. In reality, Bermuda is a group of 104 tightly packed islands that have been mostly connected by bridges over the years, For most of Bermuda's history the quickest and easiest way to get anywhere was by boat because the island is never wider than one mile at any point so travel by boat put you close to your destination and was usually the most direct route. Add into the mix the very narrow Bermuda roads, full of curves and lined with stone walls and you can see that getting around by boat makes sense. So the other day I left the jeep at home and headed into the capital of Hamilton by high speed ferry, usually this is a 40 minute to 1 hour car trip depending on the traffic on the Bermuda roads, by ferry it is just 20 minutes.

The ferries are modern, high speed catamarans with room for motor scooters if you want to ride at the end of your ferry ride.

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The ferry dock that is closest to my house in Southampton is Rockaway Ferry and it is right beside the old US Navy Base Commander's Estate, now run down and abandoned since the pull out of the US Navy several decades ago. I really must find the time to do some dirt fishing on that property.

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As soon as you are away from the ferry dock the captain pushes the throttles to the stops and you rocket past the old US Naval Base, the dock would normally have two destroyers tied up there in the old days. (you can just make out the ferry dock to the far left in this picture, we had been underway for about 2 minutes when I took this pic, so the captain really likes to make time)

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There are several smaller islands that are accessible only by boat as you approach the capital of Hamilton, this is a no wake zone because of the sea turtles that frequent the area. Many of these islands have been continously inhabited by the same families for over 300 years.

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There are smaller ferries as well, these older ferries only ply the waters of the inner habour around Hamilton. The trip to town takes around 10 minutes on these older ferries, if the wind is blowing hard or the captain is full hot (drinking on the job is a fairly common practice in Bermuda, at least amongst the locals) - you can have a very exciting ride in only 10 minutes. It's not Disneyland but it can be almost as exciting and the ride only costs $3.00. (the big building in the background is a condominium I built at the Belmont Golf Course Community)

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20 minutes after you board the ferry you arrive in comfort at your destination. downtown Hamilton. The ferry docks right in the heart of town so it is extremely convenient for anyone travelling into Hamilton, my wife uses this ferry to commute to work everyday. The best way to see Bermuda is from the water and the nicest and most economical way to do that is to take the ferry.


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So the next time you are in Bermuda, take the ferry and come visit with us.

 

[Micheal_R]

Makes me very envious though... especially with the cold weather just starting.. :

fair winds

Micheal

 

[joecoin]

Fantastic pictures and great narration.

 

[George-CT]

rain water catch system on the roofs. I thought that was a great idea. We really enjoyed it here and spent a fair amount of our time down by the Navy base but out at the point at and old fort. I have pictures here from then and will hunt them up and post them. They were just reclaiming a lot of the old fortress then but had a really great collection of gold etc they got off the bottom on display. I remember one spot where the boats could come thru the wall and be inside a small protected cove inside the fort. You could get and english style box lunch to take out with you then and we would eat lunch eat day out there. It was a 50 cent bus ride from St George to there. We stayed at the Big hotel on main street in Hamilton, killer food there, 6 course breakfast, 8 course dinner, and also next time at the Horseshoe Resort. My wife liked it there as they had horseback riding on the beach before breakfast. Me I went for the diving.
I was impressed with the clean water and the really friendly native people. Sadly I never did a boat run around the island but would if I went again for sure. I remember this one tiny draw bridge between one island. It would just open enough to let the boat mast pass thru. We did do the tourist thing and take horse and carriage rides around town each day. Beautiful place to live for sure. I could be happy there no problem.

Thanks for posting. Brought back some nice memories. Is the Rum Swizzle Shop still there?

George-CT

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

I was not aware of the fact that those islands are only a mile in width...yipes! You folks have no real protection from bad storms. Do you have any stories about the Bermuda Triangle...missing aircraft or boats? Thanks for posting this story, very enjoyable! Kelley (Texas)

 

[bdahunter]

rain water catch system on the roofs. I thought that was a great idea. We really enjoyed it here and spent a fair amount of our time down by the Navy base but out at the point at and old fort. I have pictures here from then and will hunt them up and post them. They were just reclaiming a lot of the old fortress then but had a really great collection of gold etc they got off the bottom on display. I remember one spot where the boats could come thru the wall and be inside a small protected cove inside the fort. You could get and english style box lunch to take out with you then and we would eat lunch eat day out there. It was a 50 cent bus ride from St George to there. We stayed at the Big hotel on main street in Hamilton, killer food there, 6 course breakfast, 8 course dinner, and also next time at the Horseshoe Resort. My wife liked it there as they had horseback riding on the beach before breakfast. Me I went for the diving.
I was impressed with the clean water and the really friendly native people. Sadly I never did a boat run around the island but would if I went again for sure. I remember this one tiny draw bridge between one island. It would just open enough to let the boat mast pass thru. We did do the tourist thing and take horse and carriage rides around town each day. Beautiful place to live for sure. I could be happy there no problem.

Thanks for posting. Brought back some nice memories. Is the Rum Swizzle Shop still there?

George-CT

The Swizzle Inn is still serving their famous rum swizzle and it is still a traditional stop on the way home from the airport. The naval base land are planned for redevelopment as a luxury resort but when this will happen is anybody's guess. ( I suppose when an investor comes up with a big enough kickback) I think the fort you are recalling is the Scaur Hill Fort, it is now restored and it has a good example of a peek-a-boo cannon on display. The old stone bridge with just enough room for a sailboat mast to squeeze through is Somerset Bridge and it is still the smallest drawbridge in the world. I used to cross it everyday on my way to work, when I lived in Somerset but we moved to Southampton this fall.

Here's the view from here:
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It's been a while since you could take a bus in Bermuda for 50 cents, when were you last here?

 

[George-CT]

The last time I was there was in 79. To long ago.... I was there off and on for Combustion Engineers on a power house job and with my wife and friends just for enjoyment. Work was always 12 hour days or more 7 days a week so no time to play. The money was good but little time to site see. The Fort was way at the opposite end of the island from St George. I'll dig those pictures out. All I remember about St George was a replica of and old ship and stockades. I remember seeing parrot fish all over the place at Horseshoe Beach. I had hoped to see one of them but they were all over that beach. I did snorkel out to the reef just off there veryday and enjoyed all the small fish out there. I can still see this indigo colored fish, with a trumpet like nose that would grab the bubbles off my face mask. There was a cave there also over on the right that was fun to swim to and go in. The bus stops were by these blue sticks as I recall and if you just stood there, one would come along about every 15 minutes.

Geo

 

[bdahunter]

1979, that was a while back - you certainly have a good memory, even about the bus stops. They are still blue for the stops going away from Hamilton and pink for the owns going into Hamilton. The parrot fish are still to be found at Horseshoe Bay as is the cave, the natural arch collapsed in Hurricane Fabian though. (I've attached a pic of a green parrot fish as it nibbles the soft corals off of a rock at Jobson's Cove)

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I know what you mean about the 12 hour days, I've been thinking about that myself. I've decided that I am a workaholic and I have put myself into a 12 step program to get back some of my life before it is over. I'll never stop working but I am more choosy about what I do, how much I do and where I do it. By the time I hit 65 I may have myself pared down to a normal work week - it could happen.

Life's a Beach

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[bdahunter]

[size=medium]A trip to somewhere beautiful is always in your future if you want it bad enough. I jumped through hoops and over all manner of obstacles in order to wind up in Bermuda. That was around 6 years ago and it has been a wonderful experience, sometimes very demanding and often a trial but (like the rest of my life including the dark times) I wouldn't change a bit of it. I'll be leaving Bermuda for who knows where in the next year as my time is up here. Maybe Mexico or possibly Panama - hard to say until I'm there.

I hope you find your place in the sun to at least visit, Royal.

Cheers Mate,

Eric[/size]

 

[George-CT]

n/t

 

[George-CT]

hours are great for the savings but all of a sudden your on the other side of the hill and wonder where your life went. I like you was
driven to work, not sure why but I really liked it. I was a Union Ironworker and just liked building stuff. Once I retired it took me quite a while to get out of that mode. But once I got the hang of it, and found other things to keep me busy, I now wonder how I ever found the time to work... LOL.....Still always on the move, just not chasing the dollar anymore. I retired 89 and fully in 91. Heart attacked in 89 started it, another one in 91 sealed it, and quad bypass in 96 let me draw my pension with 30 years in. I still miss the challenge of the jobs, but don't miss the having all the men under you, deadlines, no matter how fast you got the buildings or bridges up it was never fast enough. Just the nature of the business. We chased the big overtime jobs, power house shut downs and nuke jobs putting reactors and steam generators. Mostly heavy rigging, lot of welding. I did have a gold set to retire at age 52 and open a blacksmith shop doing wrought iron work, welding and stainless handrails for boats. I had all the tools for it, skills to do it, but the heart attack's, twice being jump started with the paddles on Lifestar chopper going to Hartford change my outlook on a lot of things that were important.
So I went out at age 48, but had my ducks lined up pretty well already. I just wanted to finish up my last 4 years in the greed mode for money to build a bigger nest age. It all worked out fine and here I am still glad to see my eyes spring open in the morning and see my wife and kids. Sounds like you have things figured out also so it should go well for you. Your in a beautiful spot to retire for sure. I can't dive anymore but I can still snorkel. I remember the water being so clear there. Its not here where I am except in winter and then still no where near the visibility you have there. I remember we went to a cave there on the island. When down these stairs to the bottom and could walk around on wooden docks. Not sure why I did it but I wanted to touch the water and kneel ed down and touched it, about got electrocuted. I guess they didn't have grounds on right or none at all, but I flung myself backwards on to the dock and that got me free of the electric passing thru my body to ground. That broke me of that habit...... Remember a perfume factory also. We flew down that time from a big snow storm here out of Boston. Got there it was 70, beautiful and stayed that way.
The taxi drivers though we were nuts to go snorkeling. To us it was as warm as the water was here in summer, but not to them I guess. I better shut up here, I like to type......

Thanks for great recent pictures. I saved them here. Fond memories from there....

George