Castle Road

Going back to that trusty old Bermuda map, there are a couple of places that one cannot access by scooter.  For example, if you look in the top right corner, you will see Castle Harbour.  Floating alone out there on the south side of it is a little chain of islands, including Nonsuch Island -- a nature preserve that people are not supposed to access without a conservation officer in tow, and Castle Island, which if you look carefully is basically a little cannon sign on a tiny island all by itself.  This was one of my final must see quests of Bermuda.

This is easier said than done of course.  I emailed some of the conservation guides about going to Nonsuch Island as a volunteer worker even.  No one replied.  I got the number of the person who in in charge of Nonsuch Island tours from the Aquarium, but she never answered or returned any phone calls.  I finally decided to find a way to get there by boat.  But there are no tour operators that go to these islands per se.  The closest thing I could find was the boat rentals at Grotto Bay Hotel, where I could rent a paddleboat, or a small motorized boat that I had no clue how to operate, and get myself out there.  This did not sound like a good idea.  So the only logical thing left to do was to charter a sailboat.  I started making calls, and through a great stroke of luck I was put in touch with Mark Whayman, Captain of the Sand Dollar.

I grabbed this picture from his website http://sanddollarcruises.com/ and I highly recommend you book a day or two on his boat.  To start with, he is accommodating and actually merged two groups together to make it more affordable.  He tailors the cruise to what you want -- it can include dinner, lunch, or you can pack your own.  He is super knowledgeable about the area.  And he is a heck of a nice guy.  So if you want a day on a boat, look no further.

As the days in Bermuda were fading fast, Siobhan and I decided to just rent the boat at any cost and see that last little mystery patch of Bermuda.  Alien was free to join us that day, and Mark brought along a family of four that he met in St. George's the evening before which made the day very affordable -- and so we were set for a day of sailing, snorkelling, and laying eyes on some new spots.

Mark picked us up at the public dock in the ritzy Tucker's Town area of the island.

He "scooted" out to get us on a little skiff.

And regretabbly I was taking pictures of the wrong boat while in the skiff, so I didn't get a photo of the Sand Dollar, but it's a sailboat and so is this, so this will have to do.

Not long after setting sail, some rum swizzle was handed out, which was included with the cruise.  So was beer.  That was a nice bonus on a hot day.

Captain Mark apologized for being a few minutes late -- the water was apparently a little rougher than expected.  We were going to learn a little bit about that later at Castle Harbour, but he was being modest, he made very good time considering the conditions outside of the harbour.  As it turns out, Castle Harbour is about the prettiest place I have ever laid eyes on.  It flat out puts the rest of beautiful Bermuda to shame.  The first place we stopped to snorkel was at Nonsuch Island, across from Cooper's Island.  The water was crystal and clear, and longtails were flying about.  Nonsuch Island is a fragile breeding ground for cahows, and Bermuda is the only breeding spot in the world for this rare seabird, so we minded the signs and did not go aground, and I hope everyone complies with this for the sake of the cahow.  Then we set sail and took in a whole lot of beauty around Castle Harbour.

There is also a lot of history.  There are several old fortifications, and the fort on Castle Island, formerly known as King's Island, is the oldest fortification in the new English World, and the only one of Bermuda's fortresses to have ever fired on an enemy -- it fired 2 shots on a Spanish ship in 1612, which fortunately turned tail....because the armoury only had 4 shots in their total arsenal at the time.

On this day in particular, there were also a lot of waves of the larger nature.

This made for a fun ride, and a lack of photographs in the channel, because we were on the front of the boat, holding on for dear life, shreiking with joy like on a roller coaster, and getting soaking wet and we rose and dove into very large swells.  Titanic crossed all of our minds.

Alien and Siobhan, back in calmer water, noticeably wetter, and happy as two kids on a roller coaster

Noteably, there were not very many other boats out....actually I think zero was the count, so we were extra glad for captain Mark, who proved extremely confident and competent, and made this trip happen for us on the last possible day we could all make it.

The main reason I wanted to do this trip was to see first hand the little castle on the rock -- you can see it to the right if Siobhan in the picture above.  Or you can see it these next pictures below.  I was disappointed to learn that this is a replica of the original, and as such, it is private property that I could not access as I had hoped.  Apparently it serves as a guest house on the main property.  I would quite like a night in a castle on a private island, so I expect these are some very popular rich people.

As an aside, I think I gained a few more smudges on lenses and sensors on the wet passage through these islands, but it was well worth it!  One we got to this point, however, it was smooth sailing. We dropped anchor and enjoyed the warm, still, clear waters around the isles, while the longtails danced in the sky above. There are more stories and pictures for another day, but will end this blog saying it was honestly one of the best days of my island life.