 |
| Welcome sight: Around Alone sailor Alan Paris was greeted by the tug boat Powerful on Sunday |
Accompanied by the tug boat Powerful and a flotilla of more than 20 other craft, Paris was given a canon salute as he sailed through Town Cut and into St. George’s Harbour in glorious sunshine at 12.15 on Sunday.
The St. George’s resident is hoping the Old Town will be the final resting place of BTC Velocity , the 40-foot yacht he skippered for 28,000 miles to become the first Bermudian to sail the world solo.
Paris arrived with the boat a day early after setting sail on the yacht for its final voyage from Newport, Rhode Island, where she had been moored since last month after he completed the Around Alone race.
He reached St. George’s at lunchtime on Saturday after a four day voyage, and hid the yacht at St. George’s Dinghy Club overnight.
He told The Royal Gazette yesterday: “I did arrive at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Sail boats are notoriously bad time keepers and I didn’t want to be late, so I erred on the side of caution.
“I didn’t want to circle around for 24 hours so I hid the boat among the other racing boats at St. George’s Dinghy Club and took her out at 6 a.m. on Sunday to do some sailing.”
When he tied up at the harbour, Paris celebrated with champagne as he was greeted by well-wishers.
He spent Saturday night at a party at Government House where Governor Sir John Vereker welcomed those on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
The nominations were made before the sailor completed his epic journey, so he was not on the list this year.
The yacht will be moored at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club for a few weeks then will go on display for between six and nine months outside the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute.
Paris said he is in talks with the St. George’s Foundation about putting BTC Velocity on permanent display in the Old Town.
“I am a St. George’s resident and my heart would love it to be in St. George’s,” he said.
The two sites being discussed are next to the statue of Sir George Somers on Ordnance Island or as an educational display in the old Queen’s Warehouse when it is refurbished to become the St. George’s visitor centre.
