Where Art Thou Phil?

It looks like Bermuda’s own Ruth O’Kelly-Lynch—a local reporter at the Royal Gazette—has been stirring the global pot of golf media these days. Her recent article titled “Grand Slam on its last legs?” has been picked up and commented on by Golf Digest’s Local Knowledge blog and by Golf TV, both of which agree with the reporter’s theory that if the PGA Grand Slam of Golf’s biggest draw doesn’t accept his invitation this year (that’s Masters champion Phil Mickelson if you’re wondering) the tournament may not return to Bermuda. Reports O’Kelly-Lynch: “When asked if [the tournament] would be back next year Dr. Brown [Bermuda's premier] said: ‘We hope so. The PGA is working hard to make sure we have a marquee name for this year's tournament. I would probably have bet my house that we would have had Tiger [Woods] within the four-years and I would have been wrong. We are in talks about next year but we are going to wait and see what happens this year. If we don't get a good deal this year we will have to renegotiate.’” It’s an unfortunate report considering the year-end tournament is such an anticipated event on the global golf calendar. Sure, we’d all love to see Phil tee one up on Port Royal’s 16th hole, where there’s nothing but the turquoise Atlantic between the tee and the pin, but if he doesn’t come it’s hardly a deal-breaker. Should Mickelson decline the event to which Graeme McDowell (U.S. Open), Luis Oosthuizen (British Open) and Martin Kaymer (PGA Championship) have also been invited, an offer would be given to runner up Tiger Woods. Assuming he’d also decline, an invitation would then be extended to Ernie Els, a formidable champion with three major titles under her belt. No doubt we’d all love to see Phil in Bermuda—and really, Phil, if you're reading, you should definitely come play; if you're still unsure then tune in tomorrow when I explain to you why—but I say the tournament is way stronger than one player alone.

The Life Outside

It's Tuesday—you know what that means. I'm blogging for Outside Television on my small slice of the web called The Life Outside. In case you've missed it, my weekly blog has featured stories about acclaimed underwater photographer Wes Skiles (who sadly passed away last month), tales of meeting mountain climber-turned-humanitarian Greg Mortenson, plus recaps of recent trips to Telluride, Aspen and Smoky Mountains National Park. Today I'm talking about SCUBA diving, and not just anywhere, right here in beautiful Bermuda. As you'll see, I got to explore some of the island's most amazing shipwrecks and coral reefs, and took some pretty cool pictures to boot. Interested? Then head on over to OutsideTelevision.com and read all about my latest adventure about diving in Bermuda. And if you're wondering, that's the wreck of the HMS Vixen—just one of more than 300 shipwrecks found in Bermuda's waters.

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.