UPDATE FROM SPIRIT: THE STORY BEHIND THE “SPIRIT OF BERMUDA” It is now Monday afternoon, June 17, 2013. The “Bermuda High” weather system has kicked in and the wind has died down to 7 knots per hour. The entire fleet has stalled. For those of us in the race within 100 miles from our destination, this development is a major letdown. While we drift toward Bermuda, hoping for fresh wind to fill in and carry us home, here is some background on the Spirit of Bermuda. Our sailing master, Alan Burland, is 1 of the 3 founding members of the Bermuda Sloop Foundation. Started in 1996, the program grew out of the founders’ concern over the negative influence of pop culture on Bermuda’s youth. Shocked by the sudden presence of gangs on an island traditionally free from such destructive behavior, these visionaries aspired to create a sustainable educational experience for all Bermudian youth. Since Alan and the Sloop’s cofounders, Malcolm Kirkland and Jay Kempe, were all experienced sailors, creating an educational sailing vessel quickly arose as the logical solution. The foundation has several objectives: First, to create an experiential learning environment for all public school children. On each voyage, Spirit’s highly trained professional crew takes roughly 21 students on an adventure lasting 5 days at sea. When these girls and boys return they have learned important teamwork and leadership skills through a common objective greater than themselves. Cohabitating on a boat, even one as large as the 112 foot long Spirit of Bermuda, requires developing an understanding of what it takes to be a positive member of a community. The program focuses on 13 year-old students, an age group chosen for being mature enough to be away from home for 5 days and physical enough to handle the demands required to be crew members on a traditional sailing vessel. Targeting this age also allows the program to make a difference in students’ lives before the distractions of adolescence set in. The second objective was to educate young Bermudians regarding their country’s rich maritime history. Bermuda has played a critical role in the development of sailing technology. For example, the invention of the Bermuda Rig – a triangular shaped sail that is used by 90% of all sailboats today. Black Bermudian pilots and fishermen and white merchant seamen combined to invent this new rig as a novel solution to the age-old problem of how to sail into the wind. Bermudians needed to learn how to sail against the wind to get their cargo into Hamilton harbor and to favorable fishing areas outside the island’s reefs. Learning how to sail to windward was critical to Bermuda’s survival. Bermuda was also home to plentiful amounts of Bermuda cedar: a type of wood 20% less dense than oak, which contains a resin resistant to marine worms. The combination of the Bermuda rig with Bermuda cedar generated a dynamic package: a light and durable boat that could sail to windward. This invention quickly spawned some of the most respected vessels in a fleet, used to run important information, cargo, and people. For example, Admiral Nelson purchased a Bermuda sloop, renamed the HMS Pickle, which he used to spy on the Spanish fleet. Because of its speed and versatility, the Pickle became the eyes and ears of the English fleet. Then, the Pickle delivered the news of Admiral Nelson’s death in Britain’s victory at Trafalgar, the battle that shifted naval dominance from the Spanish to the English. In Bermuda, black and white sailors worked together to build and sail the ships, creating a community of racial equality 200 years before its time. Blacks were “free” on ships in the way all crew are equal in their pursuit of its common objectives. Additionally, black sailors were able to buy their true freedom from the ship’s bounty, 1/3 of which was shared equally among the black and white crew. Sailing also helped educate black Bermudians, allowing them to communicate and interact with new cultures. To make this dream work, Spirit needed full support from both black and white communities. Burland and his co-founders conducted numerous town hall meetings in small churches and neighborhoods. After receiving overwhelming support from all communities, they went about with the design and creation of the vessel to accommodate these objectives. Spirit’s design is based on a painting by John Lynn, who captured a traditional 3-masted Bermuda sloop on Emancipation Day. A copy of the painting appears on the website: Bermudasloop.org. The yacht was commissioned in 2006 and is now in its 7th year. Spirit has successfully provided over 3750 Bermudian youth with a minimum of 5 days at sea, learning character development, teamwork, self confidence, resilience, and developing lifelong skills and friendships. The Bermudian flag flying proudly from Spirit bears a shipwreck and the Latin slogan: “where the fates lead us.” But perhaps its time to put the Spirit of Bermuda on the flag with a new motto: “Where we lead ourselves.” Youth development, education, history, and an icon for the island and its people: these are the hallmarks of Spirit. A ship is a small community, and Spirit is a microcosm of Bermuda. In a very real sense, this vessel is the true spirit of Bermuda. Stewart Thomas Onboard Spirit of Bermuda and sailing toward Bermuda
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 23:51:59 +0000