Island in the Stream: Part II

Jöttnar photo blog   

- Deep water soloing and diving on Bermuda, Part II  - 

*************

 In the second part of this Jöttnar photo blog, climber and photographer Dr. Grant Farquhar documents the opportunities for deep water soloing on the limestone sea cliffs of Bermuda, and the world class scuba diving in the pristine reef environments offshore

*************

Local climber Josh Hill on the first ascent of Persistence is Futile (5.12a) at Clarence Cove

Butterfly fish on the wreck of the Cristobal Colon, the biggest of Bermuda's many famous shipwrecks. This massive Spanish cruise liner was 499 feet long and three decks high. She was built in 1923 and operated between New York and Central America, and was one of the most luxurious cruise ships of her time. She crashed into the coral reefs off the Bermuda’s North Shore on October 25th, 1936, after the captain wrongly interpreted an offshore communication tower as the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. The British eventually sank the ship's empty shell by using it as a practice bombing target during World War II. Today the wreck lies 55 feet under the surface, and is a haven for many varieties of colorful fish. 

Local climber Jazmyne Watson on Kamikaze Crack Ninja (5.10c)

Grant Farquhar on Sinister Sister (5.11b) at Clarence Cove

A grouper aggregation on a Bermudan reef

Jazmyne Watson on Olga (5.12a) at Clarence Cove

The wreck of the Forceful off Bermuda's South Shore. She was purposefully sunk in 2009 as part of the Bermuda Intact Wreck Initiative a few days before tropical storm Bertha hit Bermuda.

Butterfly fish congregate on the wreck of the Cristobal Colon

David Pickford on the first ascent of the endurance traverse Shoot to Kill (5.13a) at Clarence Cove, one of Bermuda's hardest deep water solo climbs

A shearwater dives for fish in the crystal clear waters off Bermuda

A spotted Moray eel lurks in a Bermudan reef

Grant Farquhar on the first ascent of Narcosis (5.11d) at Clarence Cove

Grant Farquhar surfing the famous break at Tucker's Town on Bermuda's South Shore

Eloise Pitts-Crick diving The Cathedral, a flooded cave system 

*************

There was no documented rock climbing on Bermuda before British climber Dr. Grant Farquhar moved to the island in the late 'noughties. Along with a small team of local climbers and visitors, he pioneered the sport of deep water soloing on the island. You can find out more about climbing on Bermuda, including topos for the various crags, on Farquhar's climbderock.com website 

*****************