This short video clip was shot on Ordnance Island in the town of St George and shows the size difference between the 400-year old Deliverance (replica) and a modern cruise ship, the Norwegian Majesty.
Premier Ewart Brown presses the button to demolish the former Club Med hotel in St George’s Parish.
The implosion took place on August 25 2008, reducing the derelict building to a pile of dust and rubble.
A new Park Hyatt hotel is scheduled to open on the site in 2012.
This video shows Johnny Barnes; arguably the most famous Bermudian alive today:
The Bermuda Day Parade is an annual event held in Hamilton every year on Bermuda Day.
The 2009 parade began at 1.30 pm at Albuoy’s Point took a route along Front Street, Court Street, Church Street, ending at Bernard Park.
Floats and dance troupes taking part included Sandy’s Secondary Middle School (seen in the video below at 1:26), Somersfield Academy (0:25), Association of Filipinos in Bermuda, Warwick Gombeys, Warner Gombeys, and Place’s New Generation Gombeys.
The giant toad (Bufo marinus) is thought to have been introduced to Bermuda in 1875 by Captain Nathaniel Vesey. He brought around 25 from British Guyana to help control the island’s cockroach population. Toads are now found all over the island.
The toads are about 5 to 6 inches long and are frequently found squashed flat on the road; hence the nickname ‘road toad’.
A high percentage of Bermuda’s toads (25%) have abnormalities; 5 legs etc. It is thought this may be due to pesticides, heavy metals, and other contaminants.
Toads can pose a health risk to pets. When dogs and other pets play with them they feel threatened and release venom from their skin. This can easily kill.
In the evenings between April and November, provided the temperature is above 68 F, whistling tree frogs can be heard all around Bermuda.
The sound (gleep gleep) is of the males trying attempting to attract females.
Tree frogs in Bermuda are a species in the Leptodactylidae family; Eleutherodactylus johnstonei. There may possibly be another species, Eleutherodactylus gossei, though it is thought that this may now be extinct. Both were accidentally introduced to the island around 1900.
Adult frogs are around an inch in length, and are rarely seen by visitors.
This is an old home video made on a cruise from New York to Bermuda in the 1930s.
The footage includes:
• The Fairmont Hamilton Princess (0:25)
• Hamilton Harbour (0:41)
• The Bermuda Railway (1:31) – now the Bermuda Railway Trail
• Front Street, Hamilton (1:48) – amazing how little it has changed!
• Cruise ship terminal in Hamilton (2:01)
It’s fairly amazing how much of the island looks pretty much the same today.
This video shows some of the attractions and things to do at King’s Wharf in Bermuda. The area is known locally as the Royal Naval Dockyard or simply Dockyard. It was formerly a base for the British Royal Navy. Now it is the main dock for cruise ships visiting the island. They dock at King’s Wharf or Heritage Wharf (next to each other).
Attractions and places shown include:
• Cooperage (0:26 & 2:13) – Places here include the Frog and Onion (0:31), a British-style pub, the Bermuda Craft Market (0:35) and Neptune Cinema.
• Casemates prison (1:30) – Built as military barracks by the British and later used as a prison by the Bermuda Government. Now closed and not open to the public.
• Bermuda Art Centre (2.08)
• Bermuda Maritime Museum – Museum exploring the history of the island. The footage includes a shot of Commissioner’s House (2:21). Dolphin Quest is also here and offers visitors the chance to swim with dolphins.
• King’s Wharf (2:29)
Attractions not shown on the video include the Snorkel Park (the closest beach – you can rent snorkel equipment, kayaks etc here), Bermuda Rum Cake Factory, Dockyard Glassworks (glassblowing sales and demonstrations) and the Clocktower Mall.
The quickest way to get to and from Hamilton is by ferry. The journey takes around 20 minutes. Buy tokens from the Visitor Information Centre close to the ferry terminal.
In 1939 The Pelinaion, a Greek cargo steamer, set sail from Takoradi, West Africa to Baltimore, Maryland.
En-route the ship attempted to dock in Bermuda to refuel. The ship’s captain was unaware that the St David’s Lighthouse had been taken out of operation due to the war. As a result he miscalculated the ship’s position, causing the ship to strike the reef off Cooper’s Island in St George’s Parish.
The wreck of The Pelinaion is split into 2 sections; the bow lies on the reef at 30 feet and the stern on the sand at 70 feet.
Here’s a video of a dive with Triangle Diving:
John Smith’s Bay Beach is a public beach in Smith’s Parish, Bermuda.
It offers a broad stretch of flat sand and shallow waters. Lifeguards are on duty during the season.
The beach is a little of the tourist track and is more popular with locals than visitors.
Here’s a video showing some of the fish and other marine life you may see while snorkelling here: