Non-Mariners Day

Today in Bermuda is Non-Mariners Day. Traditionally a race to see which homemade boat using the most ridiculous of objects can sink the quickest. Baby strollers, beds, refrigerators and bath tubs have all been used previously with the expected results.

Non-Mariners day is always the Sunday after Cup Match, and is a chaotic and exceptionally busy alcohol-fuelled spectacle within the area around Mangrove Bay packed with the water hardly visible due to a ragtag mob of inebriated non-sailors on boats and pieces of machinery dressed up as boats. The photo is from two years ago.

And yes it is a lot of fun.

Some may say it is also the one day on Bermuda’s beautiful waters to avoid. Unfortunately we didn’t listen to that advice, aka entirely forgetting today was Non-Mariners Day as my James Cook-impersonating-other-half booked the boat and three of us took to the waters this morning for a little whizz around, a spot of lunch and home.

We rented as we have done many times from here, and due to ‘an accident yesterday’ were given an upgraded boat as our original pick was damaged. So we set off on a much bigger boat, I’d call it a barge, with it’s very own upstairs and diving slide.

10am this morning and all good as we left Hamilton Harbour and poodled out into open waters to find a quiet spot to anchor up, swim and use the slide. A very nice way to spend a Sunday morning.

After our time was up, as we ventured back it was like we were swimming into a school of fish as tens of boats (we didn’t see any bath tubs) were all heading in the other direction, and as we got to the Harbour to ‘park’ there were literally a hundred boats trying to get out for me to navigate around, which I did nervously with just the one slight collision best forgotten.

It was a little bit stressful with only a very chilled Bermudian attempting to marshal me into the dock. What peeps weren’t wearing on these boats by the way did also not help my concentration, which I’m definitely using as mitigating circumstances!

I was unquestionably a bit wobbly when we got back on land.