Pacific Bound

Our stopover in Bermuda was getting extended because of weather - that combined with our late departure out of Fort Lauderdale was eating into my summer boating plans in the Pacific Northwest. As a result, I decided to bid farewell to Moana Kuewa and her crew and fly back to Seattle. My purpose for joining this adventure was to learn as much as possible about the preparation and outfitting for a blue water crossing, and in this first stage to Bermuda I got my degree.

The seminars given in Ft. Lauderdale by the tour organizer were invaluable, as were the days spent getting the vessel prepared, inspected and provisioned. The leg from Florida to Bermuda was also quite enlightening - the first few days we encountered 5 to 8 ft seas and 30 kts of wind. Seeing how well the Nordhavn 55 sliced through the seas was a tremendous confidence builder. The crew was quite capable, a combination of experience from offshore power, offshore sail, and a US Navy submariner. I made lots of new friends, learned something from almost everyone, and enjoyed hearing the stories and experiences that were so freely shared. To my new friends of the MedBound gaggle, I wish them fair winds and following seas.

Other Medbound Atlantic Rally Site...

I would also recommend following the log reports posted on the official MedBound Atlantic Rally site. They have the itinerary, very up to date log reports, photos, weather reports, and much more.

I'm anticipating news from Marty today, they should be arriving in Bermuda today.

Arrival in Bermuda

After five and a half days at sea, we arrive in Bermuda just ahead of a storm. Our first order of business is to go ashore, grab a sandwich, and washed it down with a "Dark and Stormy" the local rum drink. Hamilton Bermuda is a very clean city, with shops (closed on sunday), modern apartments and condo. We are guests of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club - one of the oldest in the "New World" going back to 1844. It was from here the British Navy launched their attack against the US in 1812.

We are all quite pleased at the toughness of the Nordhavn 55 - the main propulsion, the stabilzers, autopilot, generator and air conditioning all operated flawlessly around the clock during the entire trip.

We'll spend 5 to 6 days here cleaning, provisioning, refueling and sight-seeing, and then heading out on the next leg to Horta in the Asores - a 12 day leg.



Sorry I've been unable to post updates while at sea, the internet connection from Moana Kuewa is real slow. The fleet leader has much better connections at sea and he posts daily. Try logging on to the Nordhavn site:

http://www.nordhavn.com/medbound/index.php