We crossed the South Channel
shipping lane to paddle
over great beds of coral reef which lay deep enough
to avoid being touched by our boards or paddles.
Turtles surfaced from time to time, flapping briefly
before plunging like stones at the sense of our
approach. Our support boat driver and
photographer, Chris Brown, patiently navigated the
boat through the larger gaps in the reef.
After crossing the North Channel the sea state
became somewhat irregular and challenging at
times and the practice I had put in every evening
that week around the choppy waters of Hamilton
Harbour came good.
After three hours and 50 minutes of steady
paddling we arrived at the beacon where the ocean
on the outside plunges to a depth of 800m. A
southerly swell broke over the rocks to meet our
wind-swell head on. As we paddled around the rock,
dwarfed by the scale of the beacon, this turbulent
water state threw us off our boards several times
despite having kept our feet firmly planted since
the start.
My ambition had been to climb onto the beacon yet
the waves heaving around the base looked defiant,
almost denying access to the 20ft skinny metal
ladder projecting upwards. Sitting on the board for
the final few metres of the approach I paddled in,
slamming several times into the ladder. At the
critical moment I left the board in the sea and
quickly climbed up until my leash pulled tight.
ºI stretched up to lay the paddle on the ledge and
hauled the board up as the waves elbowed the nose
around and the wind sent the board into a rapid
spin. Once upon the ledge a quick check showed the
board, fin and the nose-mounted GoPro to be
unharmed.
Standing up there was better than I had imagined
with panoramic views of Bermuda on one side, the
vastness of the Atlantic Ocean on the other and
pure blue sky all around. I recalled the beguiling
stories conveyed to me by Bermudian Historian
Paul Doughty about the great number of ships that
have floundered on this reef since Juan de
Bermudes discovered the island in 1505.
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