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The Spirit of adventure

Date Posted: Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Author: Christen Pears

It was an incident that would have challenged the most experienced sailor but for the young crew of Spirit of Bermuda, some of whom had never sailed before, it was a real test of character. The sail training vessel was two hours into the Tall Ships race from Portsmouth to Halifax when the skies to the west began to darken and the waves began to pick up. The crew watched as the Dutch ship Urania heeled over. Pride of Baltimore II was then hit by a strong gust of wind and later had to return to port. Spirit was struck by a sudden gust of 55 knots. The crew on the foredeck, some of whom had only joined the ship the previous day, were harnessed onto the rails for safety. As the waves crashed over the bow they struggled to bring in the sails.

“It was a difficult situation. All the voyage crew came under pressure and they worked brilliantly to bring everything under control. Some of them had never been on a sailing ship before but they pulled together as a team,” explains Captain Chris Blake.“Within an hour Spirit was back in the race to Halifax and won. This is what spirit of Bermuda is all about. It brings out the best in young people.” 

A life-changing experience 

Spirit of Bermuda has been bringing out the best in young people since she arrived on the island at the end of September 2006. More than 270 young Bermudians have taken part in local and international voyages and many have described it as a “life-changing experience”. Their time on board has taken them out of their comfort zones, taught them new skills and challenged them in ways they never imagined.

 

Seventeen-year-old Tyneisha O’ Connor, who spent the summer sailing with Spirit in the US and Canada, says: “Spirit of Bermuda is a vessel full of challenges which I have faced for the last four months thought I would never have to come across in my life. There have been times when I have wanted to give up but the crew members that I have been sailing with have always pushed me back to succeed and finish the voyage that I’ve started.”

 

Fellow crew member, Rayanne Brangman, a 17-year-old student, adds: “Life at times on the sea can be frustrating but it is simple. You are not faced with the big problems you get on land. There aren’t any worries over fights and you don’t get distractions like drugs and sex.

 

“Being on Spirit has changed me. It has made me appreciate home more than I did before and it has also made me more responsible and open-minded.”

 

Lyn Fitzgerald, a Bermudian teacher who sailed on several legs of the international voyage, sums up the experience. “It is not enough to say that Spirit of Bermuda is a sail training vessel – it would be more accurate to say that it is a life training vessel.” 

Innovative programmes

The idea for Spirit of Bermuda was conceived more than 10 years ago as a means of tackling the island’s growing youth problems. Racial and social division, a burgeoning gang and drug culture and a struggling public education system all pose problems for many young Bermudians. The Bermuda Sloop Foundation (BSF) believes that Spirit has the potential to make a meaningful difference to their lives by educating and developing them through its innovative programmes.

BSF runs two programmes, one of which is geared towards M3 students and the other to over-16s. Five-day voyages around the island provide younger students with an opportunity to take part in both the sailing and day-to-day running of the ship. Keeping anchor watches, taking the wheel, helping in the galley, and cleaning are among the daily activities while the education programme includes lectures from local experts in oceanography, Bermudian history and meteorology.

Sharmaine Nusum, a teacher at Spice Valley Middle School, joined the first all-female M3 voyage in November last year.“The idea of sailing on the water while engaging in a multitude of tasks to maintain the ship promoted teamwork, a spirit of togetherness and leadership skills. Journal writing exercises were an excellent way of allowing students to become more introspective and allowed for quiet moments of reflection. 

“The five-day voyage proved to be rewarding not only for the students but for the teachers as well.  The experience assisted me in learning much more about myself and I am again grateful to have been a part of it. I do hope that this opportunity becomes a permanent component of our students’ educational experience.”

For over-16s Spirit of Bermuda offers skiller voyages. The programme follows National Training Board pathways and certification milestones and is designed to introduce them to the opportunities available in engineering, catering and navigation.

During the summer the vessel participated in the Tall Ships Challenge, visiting seven ports in Canada and the US. Some of the crew took part in just one or two legs of the voyage while others spent the entire summer on board.As well as developing their personal and professional skills, they met other young people both from Bermuda and abroad.

Madeline Gardner, a 19-year-old student was particularly impressed with this aspect of the voyage. She says: “Although this is not the first time I have sailed on board a tall ships training vessel I found this summer to be a step beyond my previous experiences. One reason for this was because this was a Bermudian programme which placed me with other young adults from the same country although each with very different life experiences.”

Sixteen-year-old Reid Perinchief adds: “The programme has opened my eyes to new places and people and I am thankful to have the chance to expand my mind.”International friendships were also forged over the summer months during the Tall Ships Challenge. There were a number of crew exchanges with other tall ships, including the German square rigger Gorch Foch, Dutch naval training ship Urania and the British youth development vessel Prince William.

The Tall Ships races also marked the first real test for Spirit in terms of sailing performance. The vessel’s design was inspired by the Bermuda sloops of the 19th century. Fast and highly manoeuvrable, they were popular with the Royal Navy and merchants, as well as pirates, privateers and smugglers.Spirit of Bermuda led the field in both races in which she took part, impressing with her speed and handling and earning her the title “the jewel of the fleet”.

Captain Blake says: “This enabled the Spirit to show off her sailing abilities to a wider international audience. The young Bermudian crew proved that they had lost nothing of their ancestors’ seafaring abilities and seem to have an affinity with the ocean”.

 

He adds: “It’s been a challenging first year in setting up the programme and getting it operational but I believe that we’ve made a real impression on a number of older students who sailed with this during the year and have given them a positive direction for their future.

“The middle school students who sailed with us have been shown that not all learning is classroom-oriented and they’ve benefited from the ship’s experiential programme. The permanent crew – Sarah Robinson, Colin Kinsella and Curtis Azhar – are looking  forward to our second year in operation sailing with young Bermudians.” 

For more information visit www.bermudasloop.org

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