Bermuda - Activities

Press statement on Hurricane Igor by David Burch, Minister of Labour, Home Affairs and Housing – Friday, 17 September, 2010

As I address you, we are just over 24 hours away from experiencing the beginning of what is expected to be the ferocious impact of Hurricane Igor.

We have all heard the reports from the Bermuda Weather Service that this storm will be a long and punishing one and the potential for injury and physical damage is great.

It is my sincere hope that you and your families take the remainder of today to finalise your hurricane preparations, by securing your homes, your property and ensuring that you have adequate supplies.

Earlier this morning the Emergency Measures Organisation met to get the latest update on Hurricane Igor and the status of preparations by the security forces and essential services.

I want to take this opportunity to assure the people of Bermuda that your Government is doing everything possible to ensure our preparedness prior to and post the storm.

There is no doubt that in the immediate aftermath of the storm, there will be a heightened level of activity with members of the public wishing to check on the wellbeing of their friends and family, and the status of their property.

I want to caution you though, that this will be a critical period of assessment by our Emergency Services personnel, such as Fire, Police and the Bermuda Regiment.

From a public safety stand point I am urging members of the public to refrain from travelling the roads to explore any damage that may have been caused. It will be imperative that a full assessment by our emergency teams is done as quickly as possible.

Let me take a few minutes to touch on some very critical points that residents should be aware of as the storm approaches.

• By late Sunday night, the worst of the storm will begin. It will be at its closest point of approach at 2:00 am Monday morning. We can expect sustained winds of up 90 knots and potential gusts of 110 knots.

The L. F. Wade International Airport is currently open, but it is anticipated that it will close late Saturday afternoon. It is expected to reopen on Monday following an assessment of the runway and the airport facility by the Department of Airport Operations.

• Weather conditions around the Causeway are being monitored. It is anticipated, that in accordance with established protocol, closure of the Causeway will be coincident with the onset of 50 knot Easterly winds. Currently that is forecast for Sunday afternoon. Once a decision is made to close the Causeway, the public will be notified in advance of its closure.

• Residents in low lying areas and who live along the water should be prepared for storm surge flooding and have already been contacted to make the necessary preparations to secure their properties.

• The Ministry of Culture & Social Rehabilitation has prepared and equipped the emergency shelter at CedarBridge Academy. As of 5:00 pm today (Friday), members of the public seeking shelter can begin making their way to this facility.

• The KEMH has reported all is in readiness. The Lambe Foggo Urgent Care Centre will be operational. Nurses and a physician will be on duty at the facility. KEMH ambulances will also be stationed at the facility. The St. John Ambulance Brigade is also deploying an ambulance in St. George.

• Hotels and guest properties are in hurricane preparedness mode and have contingency plans in place. The Bermuda Department of Tourism is monitoring the approaching storm and is continuously liaising with the Bermuda Hotel Association to ensure that visitors have the latest information.

• The Government’s Emergency Assistance Organisation (EAO) will be ready to assist once the storm has passed. Please call the EAO at 292-6325 or 292-6339, should you require emergency help after the storm.

• The Bermuda Electric Light Company and the telecommunications companies have contingency plans in place to begin restoring service following the passage of the storm should that be necessary.

• There is a partial embodiment of elements of the Bermuda Regiment, and those soldiers are asked to report to Warwick Camp as ordered on Sunday. All remaining soldiers should be on standby for possible embodiment after the storm.

• The Bermuda Reserve Police are on standby for embodiment.

• The Emergency Broadcast station at 100.1 FM is the official source for information regarding the Hurricane as necessary just prior to, during and after the storm.

• The EMO will meet again on Monday after the passing of the storm to further update the public on any developments.

• The Ministry of Education wishes to advise that all Government Schools will be closed on Monday during the storm and Tuesday to allow a full assessment of schools prior to reopening.

• At this stage Government Offices will close on Monday.

• Government House has advised that a Royal Navy frigate will be on standby off Bermuda during the storm and will enter port following to lend assistance.

Finally, I wish to take this opportunity to commend the residents on their strength of spirit and courage, during what can easily be described as a challenging time for our Country. I also want to commend – you – the media for providing balanced and accurate information on this storm and encouraging our residents to take the threat seriously.

In recent years, we have witnessed the awesome power of Mother Nature and the devastation that hurricanes inflict on countries and communities.

None of us will soon forget Hurricane Katrina which devastated New Orleans and areas along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and South Florida in 2005.

Closer to home, we’ve experienced our own challenges with the unforgettable Hurricane Emily – 24 years ago and Hurricane Fabian in 2003.

Following each of these disasters, we came together as one to assist in rebuilding our communities.

And it is my genuine belief, that should we sustain serious damage in the wake of this storm, we will rally together once again to ensure that our Island is up and running as swiftly as possible.

It is also in this spirit of unity that I ask you to be mindful of your neighbors, seniors in particular and look out for one another during this testing time for our Island.

I would now like to invite Dr. Guishard to the podium to provide you with specifics on the weather.

Thank you.

Press statement on Hurricane Igor by Dr. Mark Guishard, Director of the Bermuda Weather Service, Friday, 17 September, 2010

This storm is one that should be taken extremely seriously – as the Minister has already stated, the threat is high. A Hurricane Watch is already in effect. We at the Bermuda Weather Service, in consultation with the US National Hurricane Center, will be issuing a Hurricane Warning this afternoon. this Warning is issued whenever hurricane conditions are expected within 36 hours.

If there is any doubt, let me make a few basic comparisons – Hurricane Fabian in 2003 was a Category 3 when it made a direct hit on Bermuda – this storm, Hurricane Igor is also forecast to be at or near Category 3 intensity when it moves close to Bermuda on Sunday night.

Fabian had a wind swath at the equivalent time frame 2 days before the CPA, of about 110 nm in diameter. The swath of Hurricane Force winds associated with Igor is currently approximately 150 nautical miles across. The tropical storm force winds (otherwise known as gales in winter storms) extend some 500 miles across the storm’s diameter (Fabian’s were 350nm). So, not only is Igor of similar intensity to Fabian, it is actually bigger, making us an even more likely target. Make no mistake, even if the center of this system misses the island, we will experience significant impacts.

The current forecast is indeed for a direct hit on the island, the worst case scenario in these situations. Accordingly, we should prepare for sustained winds of on the order of 100 knots (115 mph), with gusts to 120 knot or 140 mph. Again, this is comparable to the wind speeds we experienced during Hurricane Fabian in 2003.

The baseline level of the water (without putting wind driven waves on top of
it) is what we refer to as storm surge, and it is expected to be on the order of 5 to 7 feet above the normal tide levels. high tides through the weekend are in the pre-dawn hours and early evenings, low tides are generally near noon and midnight. I must reiterate the comments of the Minister – if your property is prone to surge, then it will likely have some inundation during this event.

Analyses of the wave heights associated with Igor indicate that the maximum waves at the centre of the storm are in excess of 50 feet. Already we are starting to see large swells on the south shore in advance of the approach of Igor. Expect rip currents and battering waves on the reefline, and potentially dangerous surf at the beaches.

Rainfall is always of concern and isolated road flooding is to be expected.

Of course with all tropical systems, which are intensely rotating, there is the potential for the spin up of tornado activity, which we saw in both Hurricane Fabian, and in Category 1 Hurricane Emily in 1987. In recent years, we have seen tornado activity associated with outer rain bands – Hurricane Florence in 2006 and Hurricane Bill last year are examples of this. The point I am making is that even in advance of the worst conditions, we could see some severe weather affect the island several hours before the onset of worst conditions.

Regarding levels of certainty, computer models on which we base these forecasts have been not only consistent with each other, but also consistent through time, in saying that we will have an impact from Igor. However, one of the very reasons that we treat tropical systems with such caution is their ability to make sudden changes in track and intensity – hence, as with all tropical systems, there is uncertainty inherent in this forecast. We all hope and pray that Igor will veer a little further away than is currently forecast, but we must take all action now to prepare to safeguard life and property.

Please have a plan of action to protect your life, your family, your property and your business. If you have a plan, please implement it now – Saturday evening will be too late to make any further preparations – as I have already said in previous media statements, this is not the time to be complacent. Be safe and god bless.

As professional golf’s final major of the year begins today in the United States, preparations are well underway in Bermuda for the 2010 PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Bermudian Neville Tyrrell leads the effort this year as General Chairman of the Grand Slam Executive Committee.

“I am honored to have been appointed to the role of General Chair of the 2010 PGA Grand Slam Executive Committee,” said Mr. Tyrrell, former President of the Bermuda Football Association. “It will give me another opportunity to use my organizational skills gained in assisting with several other major events in Bermuda both sporting and social.”

Mr. Tyrrell has been on Bermuda’s Board of Trustees for public golf since 2006. It is his second stint on the board. He has a long record of volunteerism and public service on the island. Mr. Tyrrell is also an avid golfer.

Premier Dr. Ewart Brown, Minister of Tourism and Transport, appointed Mr. Tyrrell General Chairman in the spring of this year. “Neville Tyrrell has had his hands in golf administration for many years,” the Premier said. “His connections with Bermuda’s business sector should promote support from that community for the Grand Slam.”

Almost 100% of the Grand Slam Executive Committee is back in place this year to outdo last year’s exceptional performance – the first time the internationally televised tournament was held at Port Royal, one of Bermuda’s public golf courses.

The Grand Slam Executive Committee is responsible for a long list of tasks including marshalling and recruiting an army of volunteers, arranging logistics for the tournament and coordinating with the PGA of America and Port Royal staffs. All of the committee work is done on a volunteer basis.

Mr. Tyrrell said: “My job as the General Chair has been made easier by the willingness of every sub-Chair from the 2009 Grand Slam coming back on-board, bringing their past experience. I am very grateful for their support in carrying out the various duties so far, ensuring that the 2010 event will be even better than 2009.”

The PGA Grand Slam features four of the best golfers from the year’s major championships – the Masters, the U.S. Open, the Open Championship and the PGA Championship. Phil Mickelson, Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen have qualified for this year’s Grand Slam. The fourth qualifier will come from this weekend’s PGA Championship.

The event, to be played at Bermuda’s Port Royal Golf Course, is televised in 100 countries around the world. It takes place October 18 – 20, 2010. The Department of Tourism has used the event over the past three years to market the country as a premier golf destination.

Premier Brown said: “This is the final year of a four-year deal with the PGA. I think our relationship with the PGA is solid and we’re all working hard to make this year’s Grand Slam the most exciting of all.”

Later this month more than 190 ships will set sail from Newport, Rhode Island carrying about 2000 sailors to Bermuda’s shores in the biennial Island invasion called the Newport Bermuda Race. Over that same weekend flights to the Island will be chock full of families, friends and return crews to bring the total invasion force to about 6,000 people, guests of Bermuda.

“Hospitality rules,” says Peter Shrubb, Commodore of race co-sponsors Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. “We’ll make Bermuda’s guests welcome. We want them to come back in two years . . . or sooner. Thanks to all the local volunteers in Bermuda who work from the finish line to the duty desk and behind the scenes, it all happens with style.”

Racing starts in Newport at 2.00 p.m. on June 18. Spectators can track the racing boats’ course to Bermuda online at www.iboattrack.com. And new for 2010, thanks to the new Gateway Bermuda Finish Line Cam, spectators watching the big screens at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club can watch boats finish 24/7.

All race details are updated on www.BermudaRace.com.

All those in Bermuda during the week is invited to join the fun at RBYC. Some of the most spectacular racing and cruising boats will berth in the club marina. Captains and crews are always willing to spin a sea-yarn or two with inquisitive guests. Winning boats are identified with appropriate signage. Shirts, caps and lots of logo race wear for men and women are available in the regatta store.

The RBYC Anniversary Regatta will be held on Friday, June 25 in the Great Sound and adjacent waters. The second race finishes off the Hamilton Princess in mid-afternoon. Up to 30 yachts from 37 to 90 feet long will be racing in Bermuda that Friday. It is the biggest offshore race in Bermuda all year.

If conditions are right for Newport Bermuda, the fastest boats, three 90 to 100 footers in the Open Division, could finish on Sunday afternoon. Alex Thomson’s Speedboat, first to finish in 2008, hopes to repeat but this year in record time. Ken Read on Puma, a Volvo 70, and Bermuda’s Argo Group CEO Mark Watson, sponsor and skipper of the US Merchant Marine Academy’s Dubois 90 Genuine Risk, both hope to snatch line honours and rain on his parade. The Open Division record was set in 2004 by Morning Glory with a time of 48 hours, 28 minutes and 31 seconds.

In the other divisions, competition is just as tight. The focus in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division will be on Niklas Zennstrom’s JV72 Ran, winner of last year’s Rolex Fastnet Race and class winner in the Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race. Peter Rebovich in his Cal 40 Sinn Fein are going for a record tying three straight St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy wins.

In the Cruiser Division, Bermuda’s Paul Hubbard has his sights set on a repeat first place finish aboard Bermuda Oyster. The double-handers feature the biennial battle between Rich du Moulin’s Express 37 Lora Ann and Hewitt Gaynor’s J120 Mireille along with 25 other boats sailed by just two sailors.

Ewart Brown, Premier of Bermuda, today congratulated Phil Mickelson on winning his third Masters Tournament. With his three stroke victory over Lee Westwood, Mickelson has earned the honour of donning the coveted Green Jacket and secured an invitation to the 2010 PGA Grand Slam of Golf to be held in Bermuda.

Premier Brown said, “This was a fantastic Masters…..a golfer’s dream finish. Phil Mickelson played a wonderful round and deserved to win his third Green Jacket. For Bermuda and the PGA Grand Slam, the outcome could be hugely positive considering Phil’s immense popularity. In my meetings with the PGA here in Augusta, they were very upbeat about this year’s Grand Slam and I am hopeful that we will negotiate an extension of our agreement.”

The 2010 PGA Grand Slam of Golf will return to the Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda, October 18-20, where Lucas Glover posted a five-stroke triumph over Angel Cabrera in last year’s meeting of major champions.

With 196 entries, the 47th Newport Bermuda Race fleet is on track to be the third largest in the race’s history. “Despite the economic turmoil since the last start, we have a wonderful turnout from around the world, with many new boats and skippers,” said Race Chairman Bjorn Johnson. “This is a heartening confirmation of the value and importance not only of this race, but of sailing in general.”

The race has a wide range of boats. Niklas Zennstrom’s Rán(Southampton, England) in her first year won the 2009 Fastnet Race and also took Class 1 in the Sydney-Hobart. This cutting-edge 72-footer is one of 63 entries making their first Bermuda Race. Meanwhile, Peter Rebovich (Metuchen, N.J.) will sail his seventh “thrash to the Onion Patch” in his 45-year-old Cal 40 racer-cruiser Sinn Fein, which he has owned since 1973. The St. David’s Lighthouse Trophy winner in 2006 and 2008, Sinn Fein is a victory away from matching one of sailing’s most hallowed records – 3 straight Bermuda Race wins by Carleton Mitchell’s Finisterre in 1956-60.

Sinn Fein can’t reprise her 2008 duel with Selkie because that boat’s skipper, Sheila McCurdy (Middletown, R.I.), has duties as Commodore of the Cruising Club of America, the race’s co-sponsor with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. Two of Sinn Fein’s sistership Cal 40s will race. One is Douglas Jurrius’ Belle Aurore (Easton, Md.), the other Gone with the Wind, which Bill LeRoy (Tiburon, Cal.) is shipping east from San Francisco Bay. His navigator is Sally Lindsay Honey, who normally races a Cal 40 with her husband, Stan Honey.

The big fleet may get even bigger during the late entry period that expires May 15. The race record of 265 starters was set in the 2006 centennial Newport Bermuda Race, and the 2008 fleet numbered 198 boats. The next largest fleet was 182, in 2002.

Sinn Fein is not the only boat coming back from a victory in 2008.Bermuda Oyster, owned by Paul Hubbard (Pembroke, Bermuda), will defend the Carleton Mitchell Finisterre Trophy, the top prize in the Cruiser Division. The three-time Moxie Trophy winner in the Double-Handed Division, Richard du Moulin’s Lora Ann (Larchmont, N.Y.), returns in a fleet of two dozen shorthanded racers that include five Class 40 boats. One of them, Desafio Cabo Hornos, Felipe Cubillos (Santiago, Chile), finished second in the 2008-09 Portimão Global Ocean Race (winning the leg around Cape Horn), raced in last year’s Fastnet, and finished third in the 2009 Class 40 World Championship.

Two entries have been racing to Bermuda almost continuously since the 1970s. No boat has done more races under one owner, 16, than perennial high finisher Emily, Edwin S. Gaynor (Southport, Conn.). The record for most races by one boat, 18, is held by Carina, overall winner in her first Bermuda Race in 1970 under the late Richard S. Nye, and still winning silver under current owner, Rives Potts (Essex, Conn.). One of the awards that Carina is going after is the William L. Glenn Family Participation Prize for crews that include at least four members of the same family.

The three fastest boats in 2008 are coming back, too. First to finish was Speedboat, a 99-footer owned by Alex Jackson (Piedmont, Cal.). Second was the 90-foot Rambler, George David (Hartford, Conn.).Rambler is coming off an extremely successful 2009 with elapsed time and corrected time victories in both the Annapolis to Newport Race and the Marblehead to Halifax Race, plus the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy as top distance racing boat in the north-eastern United States. The third boat to finish in 2008 will also be on the starting line on June 18 – Il Mostro (Puma), second overall in the 2008-2009 Volvo Ocean Race and sailed by Ken Read (Newport, R.I.).Speedboat and Il Mostro sail in the Open Division for boats with canting keels, and Rambler is in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division for boats with fixed keels. These two divisions have no limits on professional crews, unlike the St. David’s Lighthouse, Cruiser, and Double-Handed Divisions.

Among the non-U.S. entries are the overall winner of the recent Royal Ocean Racing Club Caribbean 600, Beau Geste, Cameron Ward (Sydney, Australia), and Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy’s Noonmark VI (Southampton, England), which is on an extended circumnavigation that includes the world’s major races. Another foreign entry is Hugo Boss, sailed by British ocean racer Alex Thomson (Gosport, England). “Newport Bermuda is one of the big classics,” said Thomson. “Having done many Fastnets and Sydney-Hobarts, I am very excited to present our new boat and represent our sponsor in this famous race.”

Visit www.BermudaRace.com for more about the Newport Bermuda Race, including entry forms, race rules, race history, and the official race program, which includes plenty of information about race preparations, navigation, the Gulf Stream, and things to do in Newport.

NBC Sports will be on Island later this month to film their brand new TV show Global Golf Adventure at the Port Royal Golf Course.

Director of Tourism Mr. William Griffith said, “We are delighted that NBC has chosen Bermuda and our newly renovated Port Royal Golf Course to film this new program. I am sure that we will see an increase in the number of golf vacations to Bermuda after the show airs.”

Global Golf Adventure is a ground breaking, first of its kind golf and travel show for US Network television. The show is a 30 minute fast paced golf and travel show hosted by NBC Sports’ Mark Rolfing. Each show highlights a unique destination and its adventures for active golf travellers, including an interview with a celebrity guest. The celebrity guest for the Bermuda segment is 2009 Open Championship winner Stewart Cink.

“I am happy to create a show that is long overdue for network television. I am especially excited to showcase Bermuda. This will be my first visit but I’ve heard so many great things about the island from the participants in the Grand Slam.” said Rolfing.

NBC Sports will film in Bermuda March 27th – 30th, 2010 and the show will air on NBC on May 8, 2010 at 2:30pm (AST).

Mark Rolfing, NBC Sports

The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee has announced that the pre-start race headquarters for the 47th Newport Bermuda Race will be the Sailing Center at the New York Yacht Club’s Newport clubhouse, Harbour Court. Crews may use the clubhouse and its facilities before the race’s start on June 18, 2010.

The announcement was made by Bjorn Johnson, chairman of the Bermuda Race Organizing Committee. “After an intensive selection process we chose the New York Yacht Club’s Sailing Center as the best possible site for our Newport headquarters. The club’s generous offer is only the most recent event in a long, healthy relationship between the NYYC and the Newport Bermuda Race. For years the race has been started by the club’s race committee, and many NYYC members (including me) have raced to Bermuda.”

Since opening in 2008, the Sailing Center has served as headquarters for numerous regattas, including the NYYC Invitational Cup in September 2009.

NYYC Commodore David K. Elwell Jr. congratulated the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, the race’s organizers, on their ocean racing classic. “Having raced in ten Bermuda Races myself, I understand how important the race is to sailors and also how valuable a good central operations center can be.” He called the partnership between the race and the NYYC “a natural.” “This is exactly the job we had in mind for the Sailing Center when we built it as a facility for all the things that sailors, race officials, and the press have to do before they head out on the water for the start.”

Built in memory of former NYYC Commodore Robert G. Stone Jr., a veteran of 24 Bermuda Races, the Sailing Center has extensive office and meeting space, as well as press facilities, showers, and ready access to parking.

The Bermuda International Race Weekend attracted six hundred and fifty-one people to Bermuda last week!

Premier and Minister of Tourism and Transport, Dr. the Hon. Ewart Brown said, “This is great news! Hats off to the leadership of the Bermuda Track and Field Association (BTFA) for their stellar work. With the support of Tourism, they have produced a record number of visitors for the Race Weekend. This is what we have been looking for and we are delighted. The results are even more impressive when one considers the condition of the global economy.”

The Bermuda Department of Tourism (BDOT) partnered with Bart Yasso Chief Running Officer from Runners World; Jan Seeley the Publisher of Marathon & Beyond magazine; Skip Cleaver from coolrunnings.com; and Douglas Wakihuri, Dick Beardsley, Jay Glassman, Thom Gilligan and Brooks Johnson who are all well recognized in the running community for their work in race promotion. Dr. Joe Vigil and Andy Ferrara came to the Island to add their knowledge and expertise for the clinics held as an added value to visitors and residents.

Director of Tourism William Griffith said, “Race week is the perfect mix of sports and tourism in Bermuda. The athletes have the chance to test their skills in Bermuda’s temperate climate and scenic yet challenging terrain; while their friends and family have the opportunity to explore our premier shopping establishments, exceptional restaurants, award winning golf courses or one of our many spas. Mr. Griffith went on to say, “The partnerships BDOT has built over the years will ensure Bermuda International Race Week evolves into an event that is the envy of the world. We expect the event to be even bigger next year”

International Race Week could not happen without the strong support of the local community, the Race Weekend volunteers and additional sponsorship. In that respect, the Department of Tourism has offered their congratulations to BTFA President Ms. Donna Watson, Race Director Anthony Raynor, Race Operations Manager Clarence Smith as well as Mrs. Joanne Macphee from KPMG.

BDOT acknowledged Mr. Sid Howard, who has chosen to return to Bermuda and compete in the International Race Weekend for the 31st time. Mr. Howard and many others come back time and time again. Their commitment and dedication to this event and Bermuda has not gone unnoticed.

The Bermuda Department of Tourism is delighted to announce that Bermuda has won first place for Wreck Diving and third place for both Snorkeling and Diving for Beginners in Scuba Diving magazine’s 2010 Reader’s Choice Awards.

Premier and Minister of Tourism and Transport Dr. the Hon. Ewart Brown said, “We consider it an honour for Bermuda to be recognized by the readers of Scuba Diving magazine. This is also reminder to all Bermudians that we must respect and preserve our beautiful reefs and wrecks for all to enjoy.”

The survey was conducted in 2009 with over 5,000 Scuba Diving readers from all over the globe submitted their rankings.

Bermuda has over 400 historic wrecks, with some dating back to the 15th century. Popular sites include:

• The Constellation – 4-masted wooden schooner built in 1918. She sank in 1943 while en route from New York to Venezuela with a cargo that included cement, whisky, and drug ampoules. She was the inspiration for the Goliath in Peter Benchley’s novel The Deep.
• L’Herminie – French 3-masted wooden warship that sank in 1838 while sailing from France to Cuba.
• Hermes – US Navy freighter built in WWII and scuttled by the government in 1985 for use as a dive site.

Two of the best places for snorkelling in Bermuda are Church Bay in Southampton Parish and Tobacco Bay in St George’s Parish.

Tobacco Bay is shown in the video below: