News from Bermuda

Carnival Cruise Lines will dramatically expand its Bermuda cruise schedule in 2011, offering 16 departures to the island from four popular eastern US ports — Baltimore, Norfolk, New York and, for the first time, Charleston, South Carolina.

Carnival will be the only cruise line offering Bermuda cruises from Charleston.

The 16 Bermuda voyages — the most the line has ever offered — will encompass a variety of six-, seven- and eight-day cruises from April through November.

Carnival’s 2011 Bermuda departures include:

• Baltimore (seven-day cruises on Carnival Pride) – April 10 and 17, September 18, October 2 and November 6
• New York (seven- and eight-day departures on Carnival Miracle) – April 14 and 21, and September 11 and 27
• Norfolk (six-day sailing on Carnival Glory) – October 16
• Charleston, South Carolina (six-day voyages on Carnival Fantasy) – April 23, May 19, June 16, August 25, September 15 and October 6

Reservations are currently open for the six Charleston departures with the line’s other Bermuda cruises expected to be open over the next few weeks.

All ships will dock at the Royal Naval Dockyard (King’s Wharf or Heritage Wharf).

Six-day cruises will offer two-day calls at King’s Wharf or Heritage Wharf while seven- and eight-day cruises will feature three-day visits.

The Cabinet Office announced today that Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis has accepted the Premier’s invitation to visit Bermuda.

Dr. Douglas will arrive on 20th May and depart on 25th May. During his visit Dr. Douglas will attend the House of Assembly, calling on the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, call on His Excellency the Governor and tour Dockyard and Commissioner’s House.

Premier Brown said “with such close links between Bermuda and St. Kitts it is a tremendous honour to welcome Dr. Douglas during our Heritage Month celebrations.”

Dr. Douglas will also join dignitaries on the reviewing stand at the Flagpole on 24th May to witness this year’s Bermuda Day Parade.

The Premier continued, “The Prime Minister has also committed to reaching out to the local Kittitian community and those who retain close links to the Island by hosting a Town Hall meeting to discuss recent development and change in St. Kitts.”

More details of the Prime Minister’s schedule will be provided in the coming weeks.

Dr. Douglas has been Prime Minister for 15 years and was first appointed in July 1995. His St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party recently won its fourth consecutive term in January 2010.

Canadians are now required to hold a passport to enter Bermuda.

Prior to today Canadians could enter Bermuda with photo identification and a birth certificate.

Research indicates that the move will have little impact on the numbers of Canadian tourists visiting the island.

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.

Bermuda is turning up the heat with its new Sizzling Summer Promotion, offering up to $600 in resort credit based on room nights booked. Guests receive a $600 credit when booking a six night stay, $500 credit when booking a five-night stay and $400 credit when booking a four-night stay.

The Department of Tourism teamed up with the Bermuda Hotel Association for this exclusive promotion, available for booking April 1 – 30 for travel May 1 – October 31, 2010.

Participating hotels include: Cambridge Beaches, Coco Reef, Elbow Beach, Fairmont Hamilton Princess, Fairmont Southampton, Grape Bay Beach Hotel, Grotto Bay, Newstead Belmont Hills, 9 Beaches, Pompano, Reefs, Rosedon, Royal Palms, St. George’s Club, Surf Side, Tucker’s Point and Willowbank.

The Department Tourism is pleased to announce the appointment of the St. George’s Foundation effective April 1, 2010 as the vendor to provide visitor information services in the Town of St. George’s.

Director of Tourism Mr. William Griffith said, “Having the St. George’s Foundation manage the visitor information services in St. George’s guarantees that our visitors have a first class information experience.”

To serve the visitor better and have the VIC’s run more efficiently, there will be two Visitor Information Centre locations in St. George’s. The primary location will be The World Heritage Centre, and an additional satellite location at the Deliverance replica on Ordnance Island. Both locations will be open 10:00 am – 4:00 pm daily.

In addition to changes in the VIC operations, there will also be additional activities planned for visitors. After extensive research in North America through a series of Focus Groups, market research indicated that visitors in general are looking for more Historical and Cultural activities to see and do while on a vacation. To satisfy this need of the traveller the Department of Tourism in partnership with the Corporation of St. George’s, the St. George’s Foundation and the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce will be providing additional cultural activities in St. George’s.

Beginning April 1, history will come to life with a series of walking tours that travel the path of the Blockade Runners, explore the quaint streets of the historic town and showcases Bermuda’s artists trail and unique architectural history.

Starting April 12, visitors can see the historical ducking every day except Friday and Sunday. This entertaining, light-hearted re-enactment will be followed by lively Bermudian entertainment that will keep the energy and excitement up in King’s Square. April 27, visitors can explore the hidden treasures of St. George’s while experiencing great local entertainment and an assortment of local products at the St. George’s Market Nights.

Boston Red Sox fans will get an added touch of Bermuda’s famed pink sands this season as the team, along with New England Sports Network (NESN), announced an expanded partnership with the Department of Tourism at a press conference held today at Fenway Park.

Partnership details for 2010 were announced by William Griffith, Director of Tourism; Larry Lucchino, President and CEO of the Boston Red Sox; as well as Sean McGrail, President of NESN. Boston’s Mayor Thomas M. Menino also attended the announcement as part of his annual walk through of the fabled stadium.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with the Red Sox and NESN and once again bring a taste of Bermuda to the people of New England,” stated Griffith. “The Red Sox are one of the premier franchises in all of sports and NESN is the model of success for regional sports programming. By partnering with these two outstanding organizations we have a great opportunity to reach a large audience in one of our most important regional markets.”

As part of the expanded partnership for 2010, the Boston Red Sox will host two ‘Bermuda Nights’ at Fenway Park – the first on June 17th when they compete against the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the second on August 23rd against the Seattle Mariners. The Red Sox will celebrate the Island at each ‘Bermuda Night,’ including having a Bermuda tourism representative throw out the ceremonial first pitch and a Bermudian artist sing the National Anthem. In addition, Bermuda has the opportunity to showcase cultural performers and provide branded messaging, both within the stadium and on NESN broadcasts, throughout the season.

“The Boston Red Sox are proud to renew our relationship with the Bermuda Department of Tourism,” said Lucchino. “Their commitment to our franchise, to NESN, and to Red Sox Nation is steadfast and we look forward to showcasing Bermudian sites, culture, and charm at the ballpark during our two scheduled Bermuda Nights this season.”

William Griffith, Tourism Director; Boston’s Mayor Thomas M. Menino; Larry Lucchino, President and CEO of the Boston Red Sox

Property developer Kevin Petty has told the Royal Gazette newspaper that a new $100 million cottage colony will be built on the site of the Lantana within 3 years.

The developer has been hired by Lawrence Doyle. The New York hedge fund manager purchased the property in 2008.

The Royal Gazette reports today that plans are being drawn up for a new hotel in Southampton Parish.

The development, on the site of the old Munro Beach Cottages, will include 26 two-bedroom hotel suites, a restaurant, and swimming pool. The site is adjacent to the Port Royal Golf Course.

The developer is Moongate Resorts, owned by Kevin Petty of Newstead Belmont Hills.

Munro Beach Cottages closed in July 2007.