Whale Bone Bay, Bermuda

“Sail and Swim” Excursion out of St. George’s

Ship: Zenith (Celebrity Cruises)

Sailing Date: July 24, 2004

Date of Snorkel: July 29, 2004

Equipment Availability: we have our own which we take with us, but the sail boat owner and operator/guide, Captain Jerry Correia (OceanBreeze Sail Charters, P.O. Box 227, St. George’s Bermuda GE BX 441-234-9846) has a supply of snorkels, masks, fins and vests available.

Water Access: Off the back of the Sailboat 

We have done this “sail and swim” excursion several times before and have always enjoyed it.  Captain Jerry invariably gives us the best snorkeling experience of each cruise to Bermuda, and this time was no exception!

Leaving the pier area of St. George, a fairly lengthy walk (for such an early hour of the morning) brings you to Captain Jerry’s sailboat, which he then maneuvers to a terrific snorkeling spot that matches the weather conditions of the particular day.  In this instance, we enjoyed the “sail” portion first, sailing out of St George’s harbor through the town cut and working our way to the North Shore beaches of the Bermuda archipelago. 

Whale Bone Bay has a small, very clean and gently sloping beach surrounding its Northern and Eastern ends that is easily reached from the anchorage of the sail boat.  The water is very shallow and clear, providing excellent visibility.  The entrance to the bay is marked by several rock outcrops which protrude through the water—easy to swim around on the cove side, but the water was a bit rougher on the side facing out to the Atlantic. Captain Jerry refers to this as his “Jacques Cousteau” area for more advanced snorkelers.

The sailboat carried about 20 people on this excursion, so there were fewer people to splash about stirring up the bottom and obscuring visibility.  However, one girl just had to make an idiot out of herself and managed to tangle herself up in some coral while swimming in a life vest (not snorkeling.)  Peg managed to dislodge her (despite numerous protestations—perhaps she wanted to be “rescued” by Jerry or his young cousin Christopher who acted as deck hand on this trip)—and in not so gentle tones, convinced her to return to her sun-bathing on the sailboat.  Safer for all, including the fish and the corals!

We saw a juvenile Barracuda (about 2 feet long) who eyed Peg with great suspicion before swimming off, lots of Damsel Fish—both juvenile and adult, Bluehead Wrasses, Squirrel Fish, immature Puddingwifes, French Grunts, and many other common reef varieties.  But two major treats were in store.  For the first time in Bermudian waters, Peg saw a whole family of GORGEOUS Townsend Angelfish, following them for quite some time shooting about a half roll of film! And, an ENORMOUS Gillenborg (Bermuda’s super-sized Parrot Fish) appeared out of nowhere to check on both Peg and Derek.  It gave us quite a fright—the largest fish we have ever seen anywhere! Captain Jerry later explained that there were three such large sized animals in this cove; we are lucky only to have encountered the one! We also saw and photographed a Smooth Trunk Fish for the first time—a most odd looking animal, but beautiful in its own way.

The sail boat ride back to St. George’s was under the vessel’s motor power, and included Captain Jerry’s excellent narration of various points of interest as we passed by.

Snorkeling Grade: A+