Storm Watch

Here we go again. Last year the biggest storm to threaten Bermuda was Hurricane Bill, which as most of you know by now passed the island by with barely a whisper. This year however we’ve seen a parade of tropical depressions, storms and hurricanes march through the alphabet and onto Bermuda’s doorstep: Alex and Bonnie graciously stayed away but Colin, Danielle and Earl have all threatened serious damage with Fiona and Gaston currently in our sites. The latest report from the National Hurricane Center has Tropical Storm Fiona passing directly over Bermuda sometime late tonight or early Saturday morning (see projected path above). Not quite a hurricane, Fiona is expected to bring heavy winds and rain but with hope should spare much of the island. And luckily for Bermuda, Gaston has already been downgraded to a tropical depression, which really just means conditions will be as good as they get for surfers hoping to catch a few waves at Horseshoe Bay. Be sure to tune in on Monday to see how it all turned out—in the meantime, I'm headed to the beach. Surf's up!

Got Google Voice?

Ever travel overseas only to get charged exorbitant roaming fees by your cell phone carrier for calls made to friends and family back home? It happens all the time: Your plane lands on an international tarmac and suddenly you’re chatting away with a certain someone back home while AT&T or T-Mobile collects a huge payout for roaming fees. And don’t let Bermuda’s proximity to the eastern U.S. fool you. Even though the island is less than two hours from most east coast destinations, cell phone calls made from Bermuda will definitely cost you when you get home. That’s why I’m such a big fan of Google Voice. The brand new service from the Internet search giant lets Gmail users make free phone calls to the U.S. and Canada from all overseas destinations. That means if you can wait until you get to your hotel’s business center—or with hope, access a free Wi-Fi signal at your vacation property—that call back home to say you’ve arrived safely is 100% free, at least through the end of the year that is (although calls to the U.S. and Canada will cost just a few cents per minute starting January 1, 2011). Live here in Bermuda? All the more reason to consider ditching that pricey Cable & Wireless bill for all of your international calling needs. Happy chatting!

From the Deep

Lots of news from the mid-Atlantic today: “Where the Whales Sing,” a documentary film that traces the migratory patterns of humpback whales through Bermuda over a three-year period won “Best Emerging Underwater Filmmaker” at this year’s BLUE Ocean Film Festival in Monterey, California. Shot and edited by Andrew Stevenson, the film originally premiered at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute in March and paints a unique portrait of marine life. Want to see for yourself? Check out this video of humpback whales breeching off Bermuda’s south shore also shot by the Stevenson himself. In other news, famed oceanographer Sylvia Earle is reportedly in Bermuda with TIME magazine environmental columnist Bryan Walsh to study the Sargasso Sea. Writes Walsh on TIME’s EcoCentric blog, “I'll be diving with Earle in the Sargasso Sea, the vast gyre of in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean that is home to the sargassum, the free-floating seaweed that is a floating nursery for aquatic species like eels. Officials and scientists in Bermuda are pushing to make the Sargasso Sea the first protected area on the open seas. Given that most of the ocean is beyond the control of any single nation, we'll need to forge new legal strategies if we're going to protect the ocean where it really needs the help.” Well then, keep up the good work! Finally, areas to the east and west of Bermuda have officially been closed to fishing due to an unusually large population of black grouper, which are gathering there to spawn. Reports the Royal Gazette, the Marine Resource Section of the Department of Environmental Protection has found hundreds of black grouper in the area in addition to Nassau grouper, which are a protected species. Considering the fish will likely be there until November, fishing has been banned in those areas until the 29th of the month. And that’s your latest news from the deep.

And We're Back!

Clearly I've been away for awhile: My last two posts were about recent assignments in Colorado and today's is about a Smoky Mountain getaway in North Carolina, which of course has nothing to do with Bermuda but I'm hoping you can cut me some slack given the frantic pace of travel this August. That said, all of your Bermuda news will return promptly tomorrow morning. In the meantime however, check out today's post on Outside Television about my latest trip to a rustic yet luxurious inn called The Swag adjacent to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (also known as one of the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die as chosen by author Patricia Shultz). As you'll see it was a wonderful place to call home for a few days. That, and the pictures just might speak for themselves. See that overlook? That's the view from Hemphill Bald. Want more? Then head on over to Outside Television and read The Life Outside.

Just Back: Aspen

I know, I know. This has nothing to do with Bermuda. But after two weeks on the road this is by far the biggest news I have to share. As today's post on Outside Television's blog The Life Outside attests, I've had a wonderful few days in Aspen. Wanna know how to tackle the town? Then check out my latest post about this uber-luxurious city in the middle of the mountains. And if you're wondering, that's Maroon Bells in the distance—a legendary peak that's more than 14,000-feet tall. Happy travels and thanks for reading. Bermuda Shorts will be back with more island news and tropical updates in no time.