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Jessie James Cruises Bermuda
Snorkeling Boat Tour
Captain Chloe Mckey of Jessie James Cruises Bermuda has a fast RIB boat that gets you to the coral reef in about 25 minutes.
She covers two snorkeling locations in about two hours.
Chloe begins with a short island/beach snorkel then zooms offshore to either Eastern Blue cut or Western Blue cut or Chub head breakers. The choice of places largely depends on the weather conditions on the day.
While you will certainly pass by some lovely coastline on the way, this Jessie James Cruise tour is really meant for sheer snorkeling enjoyment.
My family and I love this tour every time we plan for yet another offshore snorkeling by boat. This tour was earlier run by Jimmy O’Connor for many years. After he retired, Chloe took it over in 2010 and continues to run the snorkeling cruise. Earlier, they offered three offshore snorkel locations in about three hours. Since 2013, they take you to two locations in about two hours.
The boat PISCES is a 31 feet fiberglass boat with glass bottom. It has a capacity of 16 persons. This used to be a U.S coast guard boat. This boat from Jessie James Cruises is relatively small and fast, and gets you to two snorkeling points one after the other quite quickly. You are able to snorkel twice in two different locations in a single cruise. You will spend 40-50 minutes in each location.
Depending on the weather on the day, two of the following three sites would be chosen by the captain.
Island & Beach area snorkeling: This is at King's Point, located at the western end of the island, close to Cambridge Beaches. Even though this is only a beginner's swim at shallow water, you can still see a lot of corals, brain corals, fans, etc and colorful fish like parrot fish, bream, groupers and maybe even a barracuda. The experienced sorkelers can snorkel around the island.
Shipwreck Sites
Two famous shipwrecks are covered - The Constellation sunk in 1943, and The Montana wreck, sunk in 1863 sit in 15 to 18 feet of water at Western Blue Cut. This is at the north-western side of the island. These are great snorkeling areas. Sometimes the captain may decide to cover an alternate wreck - the Darlington that was sunk in 1886.
The Coral Reef / Sea Garden
This is an underwater area located close to Western Blue Cut and is in about 8 feet of water. The different kinds of colorful corals, fish and other marine creatures like sea fans, rods etc would be almost within arms reach of the surface. The entire underwater area is so beautiful that you will feel like you are in a tropical garden paradise under the water.
The rate is $65 per person. As part of the tour cost, snorkeling gear is provided by Jessie James Cruises. They also have life jackets for non-swimmers. on-board complimentary drinking water is provided. You will need to wear bathing suits and bring your towels.
Operating Hours
During the high season (June to August) they offer two trips, one in the morning hours and the other in the afternoon. However on Sundays there is only one afternoon trip. During April - May and September - October, they operate only afternoon trips (they can accommodate morning trips on special requests). In the other months Jessie James usually does not operate.
On request they offer courtesy pickup and drop from/to the Kings Wharf (Dockyard) for the cruise ship passengers.
Update March 2013: Jessie James now offers glass bottom sightseeing boat tours (only in the month of March & April, November & December). The ride starts from St. George and takes you around the St. George Harbor and through many islets in the water. You will also learn about the town which is steeped in history. Through the glass panel below, you will see another world full of beautiful marine life. They take up to 12 persons in the boat at a time. The tour lasts for about 1 hour and costs $30 per person.
Location
The boat PISCES departs from The Flagpole, which is located at Front Street, in the City of Hamilton. There is a stage/bandstand with canopy, where the largest Bermuda flag is flying. If you go behind the stage, look over the dock into the water, you will see the boat PISCES / Jessie James Cruises.
It is best to book Jessie James Cruises well in advance as the capacity is small and there is a lot of demand for this cruise.
Contacts
You can request reservation by e-mail: jessiejames@northrock.bm
Or call them up at (441)335-1072. While making reservations over phone, you will be required to use your credit card.
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Visitors' Reviews & Comments
An experience and review of Jessie James snorkeling tour in Bermuda, by a visitor.
By Greg Bielat - A tourist in Bermuda
My family just experienced the Jessie James Snorkeling trip July 6th. We got our money's worth of snorkeling - shipwrecks, fish and sea gardens. Loved the small boat and small number of people on board as compared to the larger boat tours. It was nice to learn about local facts from Jessie and Dominic. For the not too strong swimmers, noodles were given out to float with. Boat ride was fun. The boat even has a small bathroom on board if necessary.
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