How British is Bermuda?

Ship: Johnny
Date: 08.03.2025
Position: Bermuda, St. George’s
Nautische Position: 32°22,8‘N 064°40,5‘W
Etmal: –
Total distance: 9649 nm

Today, I decided to write about the British elements that you can find in Bermuda, as they make up a huge part of the Bermudian culture and the atmosphere we experience here.

One of the first things I noticed when stepping foot on land was that Bermuda reminded me very much of England. The architecture, with cute little houses and narrow alleys, was just like in a small English village. Also, the cathedrals look a lot like British cathedrals.

One of the things that was the most striking to me was the way the stores here look. Of course, there’s the English Sports Shop, a traditional chain that only exists in Bermuda. These stores look like they could be straight from Diagon Alley from Harry Potter. Many of us got really cool pullovers with the Bermuda logo there – Jaci had gotten one of those on his last journey and inspired us.

But besides the English Sports Shop, all the other stores also have a very British style. During Free Shore Leave in Hamilton, my group once went to a bookstore that could probably just as well be in London, as it was very cozy and vibey.

Also, there was one souvenir shop right next to the bookstore that had beautifully painted postcards, cute vases, cups and a lot more. Many of the designs were floral or maritime and therefore looked very British. Unfortunately, the souvenirs were incredibly expensive (even more expensive than the usual Bermudian stores), so we didn’t get anything.

However, of course, Bermuda isn’t exactly the same as the UK; there are actually quite a few differences. First of all, you can see palm trees almost everywhere, which obviously isn’t very British. Additionally, the clear, light blue water of the sea kind of gives Bermuda a Caribbean flair.

When looking at the architecture, Bermuda really has its own style. Even though the size of the houses and alleys emulates the British ones, the colors are completely different. While British houses are often white, gray or brown, the Bermudian houses have every color you could possibly imagine. We’ve seen pink, green, blue, yellow, turquoise, red and white houses. Also, the houses look very robust – and they hopefully also are, because they sometimes have to withstand hurricanes.

Moreover, you can see the American influence next to the British one as well. The yachts and cars here give off an American vibe, and the accent of some inhabitants also sounds rather American.

Overall, many of us felt like they were in England, exploring St. George’s and Hamilton. The British elements definitely outnumber all the others by far. We all enjoyed the vibe here very much and had an amazing time.

What happened today:

Today, we had to get up at 06:00 for all hands on deck because we had to let the Reggie out, as they left today. Once we were back at the pier, we had breakfast and soon went for a little hike. Afterwards, we had lunch (leftovers and salad) and some time to either take a nap, since some of us were pretty sleep-deprived from night watch and having to get up so early. We were also allowed to use that time for Free Shore Leave.

At 15:00, we had to get some work done, either helping our mates out with some things on the ship or doing our assignments for school. For dinner, we had tortillas with leftovers. Also, our toilet got some new decoration today.

Tomorrow, we will actually be leaving Bermuda (as we had planned the last two days) because today, the packages with important tools for the ship finally arrived. We’re a bit scared of the seasickness but also look forward to the time at sea.

Greetings:

Anna L.: Mama und Papa, ich hoffe, ihr seid gut wieder zu Hause angekommen und hattet eine schöne Reise!❤️ Ich war die letzten zwei Tage krank, heute geht’s mir aber schon besser 🙂 Ein Brief an euch ist unterwegs😘