When It Rains, We Pour!

Heading to Bermuda this weekend? Then hold onto your hats because there’s another storm brewing. According to the National Hurricane Center, Shary has dressed up as a tropical storm for Halloween and she’s headed directly for Bermuda. As of 8am today the depression had maximum sustained winds of 40mph—so no need to batten down the hatches just yet—but the island should see at least one to three inches of rain plus windy conditions over the next 24 to 36 hours. The Bermuda Weather Service has also issued a small-craft warning for all boaters out there—so it's best to stay inside, find a lime, some ginger beer and the nearest bottle of Gosling's Black Seal rum, because clearly it's time for a Dark 'n Stormy.

The People Have Spoken

At least some of them have. Hot on the heels of yesterday’s post about whether or not to build a beach bar on Bermuda’s Warwick Long Bay comes thoughtful critique from a number of sources both on and off the island. First an insightful comment from RumShopRyan, the self-proclaimed Mr. Beach Bar who runs a Caribbean-inspired website called The Coconut Connection (A.K.A. RumShopRyan.com): “If I were the entrepreneur looking to build a beach bar and really wanted it to get done I'd probably just choose a different beach instead of the iconic Warwick [Long Bay]. Then I would also say to the island regulatory boards that a beach isn't evil! It will bring tax dollars in and give people another way to enjoy the island. It's all about compromise.” Here, here! Next comes an eco-friendly perspective from Steve Bennett, one half of the Crucian duo behind Uncommon Caribbean, a website devoted to offbeat island culture: “My affinity for beach bars is well-documented but I’ve gotta say this one sounds like a bad idea. The ecology of the island must come first, always! Seeing as how the same developer with the same idea has been denied before, I can't imagine it's in Bermuda's best interests to green light this now.” Agreed. Now let's turn our attention to Twitter, where I received these two gems yesterday. First a Tweet from @Blonde_In_Bda, an English ex-pat living in Bermuda “experimenting in being a computer geek but lacking all necessary skills,” according to her bio. Her take on the proposed beach bar? “It will just lead to litter, fighting and shooting. I don't trust the Ace Boys not to ruin anything at the moment,” that last bit alluding to a surge in island gang violence and a valid point at that. Finally, my favorite comment of the day and another collected from my casual Twitter poll. This from @p_brady, a travel writer and former colleague who recently visited the island and had this to say when asked if the beach bar should be approved: “Nope. I prefer the canned (‘tinned’?) beer on Horseshoe Bay to a relatively fussy bar setup.” Tinned it is! Like any good beachside cafe, that beer sits until it sells. In the meantime, it looks like our intrepid entrepreneur better find a new place to set up shop.

To Beach Bar or Not To Beach Bar?

I’ve long held the opinion that every island should have at least one good beach bar. Like the Soggy Dollar Bar in Jost Van Dyke or Sunshine’s in Nevis, there’s something to be said for sipping a cool rum cocktail with your toes in the sand. But of course, Bermuda is not like every island. As I’ve said time and time again Bermuda is not the “no shoes, no shirt, no problem” Caribbean. It’s not even in the Caribbean for goodness sake, so I’m unsure why some people think an addition here or a tweak there will suddenly make it spring break in Jamaica, which brings me to today’s story: According to Bernews, a local entrepreneur has re-submitted his application to develop a beach bar on stunning Warwick Long Bay and not surprisingly, a leading environmental group is not too happy about it. Wrote the Bermuda Environmental & Sustainability Task Force in a recent press release, “It may help for residents and the public to remember that a previous application for the same location by the same developer was turned down by the Development Applications Board, was negated by the Independent Inspector, and the appeal to the Minister was quashed by the Court. Unless the application is substantively different, it is difficult to see it as other than a waste of everyone’s time and energy to go through this exercise again.” But alas, here we are debating about a proposed beach bar on one of Bermuda’s most pristine slices of sand yet again. I’m not exactly sure where I stand on this one—after all, a Dark n Stormy within eyeshot of the surf sounds pretty good to me—but perhaps the developer could find a smaller sandbox to build his bar on as opposed to one of Bermuda’s most iconic pink sand beaches (see above). Got an opinion yourself? Lemme hear it in the comments below. In the meantime, I think I need a drink.

On Taking Waves

Bermuda's not necessarily known for its surfing—a trait mostly due to the healthy barrier reef encircling the island—but when certain friends come to visit, that doesn't stop us from trying. The picture above is from a mushy day on Horseshoe Bay, a break which pales in comparison to waves found in the South Pacific and beyond. So why all the surf rhetoric you ask? It's Tuesday, which means I'm blogging on The Life Outside, my Outside Television blog about my adventures in the great outdoors. Today I'm talking about surfing in Fiji; more specifically about new legislation making all surf spots within the South Pacific archipelago open anyone. If you're interested in learning about the sport's newest destination now open to the public, then click on over to The Life Outside and read On Taking Waves. In the meantime, I'll be back tomorrow with your regularly scheduled Bermuda Shorts programming.

Live From Port Royal

It's been an interesting two days at the 2010 PGA Grand Slam of Golf at Port Royal Golf Course in Bermuda. U.S. Open Champion Graeme McDowell hit a ball while standing barefoot in a lake on the 17th hole, PGA Champion Martin Kaymer spent most of his time on the beach (ya know, in the bunkers). 2001 PGA Champion David Toms shocked the gallery by pitching in from the fringe. Twice. And three-time major champion Ernie Els wowed the crowed with a tremendous birdie on 16 and a triumphant march to victory two holes later. I'll have a full report from the event shortly, but in the meantime, check out this video I shot and edited from Port Royal. As you'll see, it's one of the greatest golf courses anywhere in the world and not just because the bartenders serve a mean Dark n' Stormy (but they do, as you'll soon see). Sit back, turn up your speakers and watch as I tour Bermuda's finest golf course.