Bermuda Sails Changed the Sailing World

Who better to undertake a serious discussion of the development of the "Bermuda rig" than the Bermudians! In friday's Bermuda Royal Gazette, Dr. Edward Harris, Director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum, examines Bermuda's role in development of the sail configuration "which transformed forever the way in which boats are sailed.

The fastest boat afloat
HERITAGE MATTERS by DR. EDWARD HARRIS MBE
Nevertheless, when Bermudians look at the massive America's Cup challenger New Zealand or the simple Finn dinghy and consider the influence that Bermuda, out of all proportion to its size, has had on the development of small boat sailing, they should feel a justifiable pride.

THE reason for the pride that all Bermudians should have is something called the 'Bermuda Rig', written about in detail by Eldon H. Trimingham in 1990 in the second issue of the Bermuda Journal of Archaeology and Maritime History.

The Journal is an annual publication of the Bermuda Maritime Museum that records the results of research into the history and heritage of the island.

Richard Darrell Butterfield, OBE and Susan Masters Butterfield have supported the series through 16 issues since its inception in 1989, a singular and significant contribution to the accumulation of historical information and education resources about Bermuda.

Publication is a vital matter when it comes to archaeological remains, for the process of discovery must of necessity destroy part of the site under investigation by excavation. In earlier decades, archaeological sites were investigated without the due process of recording. Without records, the publication of discoveries is difficult, if not impossible.

The process of excavation must translate the destroyed evidence of the past into a permanent archive for the present and the future. The publication of the evidence is like a museum exhibit. Its purpose is to make the history recovered by the scientists accessible to the public, the ultimate owners of all archaeological remains and heritage data.

The evidence, archaeological and otherwise, for the Bermuda Rig being of local invention is almost entirely circumstantial, which is why Mr. Trimingham, an experienced sailor of some decades' standing, is shortly to present an expanded case for the prosecution. I believe Bermudians are guilty of creating the Rig, which transformed forever the way in which boats are sailed.

I believe the jury will convict, but you must appreciate that on the demise of a sailing vessel the first evidence likely to disappear without recall is the rigging, that is the masts, sails, and rope and tackle that power the ship.

No Bermuda Rig or associated vessel has survived from the decades of its invention. A few illustrations, such as the print of a Bermuda sloop on the Spanish Main, help with our understanding of the background of this unique maritime revolution. Mr. Trimingham's next thesis ranges world-wide to set the case for our Bermuda Rig.

The Bermuda Rig is related to another local heritage icon, the 'Bermuda Sloop'. The development of the Sloop probably led to the invention of the Rig, but the early sloops still had a gaff on their four-side mainsail.

The triangular sail of the Bermuda Rig, so well known today, eventually replaced the gaff rig. Nonetheless, with its fore and aft rig, the Bermuda Sloop was the fastest boat afloat in the 1700s.

The first HMS Pickle swiftly took the news of Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar to Britain in October 1805. Also built at Bermuda, the third HMS Pickle had success in the interception of ships engaged in the slave trade.

While a few plans of such vessels built here in the 1820s for the Royal Navy have survived, there is little archaeological evidence left of these ships. We need to find a shipwreck of a Bermuda Sloop with an intact hull, perhaps buried in a muddy estuary on the coast of North Carolina. By archaeological examination, we might recapture the essence of such vessels, encapsulated in the shape of their hulls.

After the dissolution of the Bermuda Company in 1684, Bermudians were free to develop shipbuilding, using the local juniper, called cedar. This timber had many of the qualities of oak, but is lighter and therefore the vessels built of it were faster.

Unlike oak, it was impervious to the destructive boring of the teredo worm, the death beetle for oak hulls in the warm waters of the Caribbean. With cedar hulls, coupled with a fore-and-aft rig, the Bermuda sloop could usually outrun all other vessels, especially when sailing close to the wind, the last a feature needed for travel between St. George's and Somerset.

In late years, the Bermuda Sloop caught the imagination of outstanding marine artists. The fine lines and rigging of these vessels was captured by Deryck Foster in paintings commissioned by the Bank of Bermuda and now on exhibit at the Maritime Museum. For workmanlike sloop, hull down and racing through the sea, Montague Dawson's view of the first HMS Pickle is wonderful. The local craftsmen built other vessels, such as the brigs, shown here in the image of Spheroid and 'Bermudians', a type of schooner illustrated on the right in the Deryck Foster painting.

Bermuda vessels, especially sloops were sold widely and favoured by pirates, privateers and the Royal Navy, each having a different reason for speed under sail.

A few weeks ago, the first 'Bermudian' to be built in many a decade slipped into its new home berth at the old Royal Navy Dockyard, as the Spirit of Bermuda.

This was an event and a vessel in which we can take pride and hopefully find a renewed interest in the great tradition of sailing at Bermuda, in which all sectors of the community took part. It is the hope of the Bermuda Sloop Foundation that the Spirit will be used to train and reconnect all segments of Bermuda with a tradition that has been ours nigh on four centuries. With our Sloop and Rig, we were the first and fastest in a tradition of small boat sailing that is now practised world-wide, thanks to our innovations and inventions in the search for speed under sail.

* * *

Dr. Edward Harris, MBE, JP, FSA, Bermudian, is the Executive Director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum. The views expressed here are his opinion, not necessarily those of the trustees or staff of the Museum. Comments can be sent to drharrislogic.bm, to PO Box MA 133, Sandys MABX, or by telephone at 799-5480.

Royal Gazette

Related Tags: tall, ship, bermuda, sloop, sail, Spirit of Bermuda

Tall Ship Vacations - Enjoy Them While You Can

Want the tall ship experience without the riggors of sail training? Today's Detroit Free Press spotlights a vacation aboard the schooner Yankee Clipper. A week on the YC would be a great vacation, but wouldn't a season on the YC be a great job!!??

Cruising under sail is adventure
October 22, 2006
BY GARY A. WARNER
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Monday morning, the passengers of the Yankee Clipper, a former millionaire's yacht, squint into their first sunrise.

The deck is pitched at a 20-degree angle as the schooner carves through the waves of the south Caribbean north of Grenada, its sails rattling and lines groaning against the masts.

There are those passengers who are wide-eyed and smiling, the breeze in their hair, ecstatic at being at sea under sail. Then there are those who realize they have signed on for a week sleeping in a windowless broom closet that heaves, creaks and shudders. They might agree with the 18th-Century English wag Samuel Johnson, who said going to sea has "all the comforts of jail, plus the chance to drown."

The first group are veteran "Jammers," lovers of Windjammer Barefoot Cruises' highly eclectic collection of vintage sailing ships, along with new converts. "I have been on all the Windjammer ships, and from a sailing standpoint, this is the best," says Bill Fleming of Omaha, Neb.

A Windjammer cruise is not for you if you need luxurious accommodations, tight schedules, defined itineraries, fine dining, don't drink or don't like to be around people who do, and can't stand off-color jokes.

For my seven-day cruise, I chose the smallest and fastest of the four sailing ships in the Windjammer fleet: the Yankee Clipper. It sails the most unique itinerary, threading between the small islands of the Grenadines in the far southern end of the Caribbean chain.

My fellow passengers, mostly couples in their 40s and 50s with a smattering of older folks and a quartet of 30-ish professionals, meet on Sunday night at a gritty wharf in St. George's, the capital of Grenada.

We would soon be off to the beaches and snorkeling spots of Carricaou, Union Island, Bequia and Mayreau. But in what order, for how long and where else we might go was up to providence and Capt. Julian Peterson. "The Caribbean is La-La land," the captain says. "We don't ask where we're going or when we're going to get there."

The 197-foot white schooner pulls out at 11:30 p.m., motoring from the harbor before the notes of "Amazing Grace" come on the sound system, first a bagpipe version, then a dreamy vocal version. This is the signal that it is time to raise the sails, and guests scramble to join the crew in grappling with the great ropes that lift the sheets into the stiff evening breeze. The ship takes on a slight tilt as the wind bites the canvas and we glide off under a star-pocked sky.

"It's just wonderful to be out here," says Joe Vulcan of Madison, Ohio. We spend a day ashore on Carricaou, sipping odd but tasty concoctions like linseed and milk.

We take a swim with the brilliant small fish in Chatham Bay on Union Island. Best of all is lolling on the beach at one of the tiny Tobago Cays, the water such a brilliant azure that it seemed the bottom of the ocean had been painted as white as a suburban swimming pool.

"I want to snorkel every day," says Frank Zellerhoff of Seattle. "On this itinerary you can do that. No shopping. No fancy restaurants."

Afternoons are spent back on the ship. Time for drinking rum swizzles and waiting for the sun to set. Dinner is in the polished mahogany dining room, then more drinks of choice, from coffee to rum and coke, served up by Oxford Toussent, a bear-like bartender and shore-excursion leader. Jimmy Buffett, Caribbean steel-drum music and the Eagles play well into the night.

The Yankee Clipper crowd is like a big cruise human manifest in miniature. There are socialites, wallflowers, jokers, drinkers, romantics, adventurers, grumps and the people who seem to be counting time until the next chance to eat. Finally each night, I head off to bed. That's the part that creates most of the grousing I hear on board.

The Yankee Clipper began life as a millionaire's party boat. But when Windjammer bought the ship in the early 1960s, the interior was sliced up. Today it can accommodate 64 passengers and 30 crew. The luckier (wealthier) passengers have larger cabins on the top deck, with windows to look out. The rest of us are below, in standard cabins with sealed portholes that are minimalist in comforts.

My 12-by-12-foot room has worn polished dark wood walls, a beat-up carpet and an open closet. Bunk beds press against the hull. Fluorescent lighting gives a harsh glow. A small bathroom with very old tiles has a sink and a toilet. My aft cabin is so small the bathroom door cannot swing open without hitting the toilet. The third night, the sink springs a leak and floods the cabin, the crew racing to help me throw my belongings out the door and onto a dry cabinet. I move to a cabin near the bow.

Despite the impromptu gusher, I find the cabins to be perfectly serviceable for a single traveler. I sometimes retreat for the solitude that is hard to find on a small ship. But if I had to share the space for a week, it might be different. In fact, after the first night, Jack and Jackie Cole of Washington, D.C., swing a deal for an upgrade, threatening to cancel the second of back-to-back trips on the Yankee Clipper. "We weren't going to stay in that small cabin for two weeks," Jackie says. "Wasn't going to happen." Many Jammer veterans prefer to forgo their cabins altogether, sleeping on the deck.

Before we know it, we are in Bequia, the northernmost point of our trip. The village cascades down the green hillsides around the harbor. It's become a popular retirement spot for Americans, French and Italians. Lobster is plentiful. You can have the monster-sized crustacean broiled at one of the bayside cafes.

Turning back south, the silly times aboard become more frequent. We are no longer strangers. A game called the Sea Hunt is organized one night, with passengers divided into teams and assigned outrageous tasks. Winners get a piece of Windjammer gold -- extra chits for the bar.

The next morning, the crew dresses in full pirate garb as we sail into Mayreau and slide up to Club Med 2, a hulking French-operated cruise ship. Capt. Julian, in a long, flowing red coat, short breeches, with a flintlock pistol in his hand, gets out a bullhorn. "Hand over your Grey Poupon or prepare to be attacked!" he bellows.

That night, we have a barbecue dinner on the beach followed by a pub crawl across the island led by Oxford, who lives on Mayreau when not at sea.

The morning of the sixth day we have Grenada in sight. By noon, we are moored next to a visiting British warship at a foul-smelling St. George's dock. The early return seems to be for the benefit of the crew. For those of us still entranced by Tobago Cays and Bequia, a night on the backside of St. George's is a letdown.

Killing time in Grenada gives me a chance to talk with Jammers about their least favorite subject: new international maritime safety rules that endanger their beloved fleet of four old sailing ships. The laws that go into force in 2010 are designed for modern cruise ships. They're almost impossible for older sailing vessels to meet.

"We don't know what is going to happen," says Yankee Clipper purser Joanne Dalaklis of Boston. "My advice is if you want to try this, do it soon."

The next morning, we all split up, some to the airport, some to resort hotels on Grenada, and a lucky few leaving with the Yankee Clipper on another loop to Bequia.

"A week has been great; you really get to unwind," says Bill Weick of Toronto as he heads down the gangplank. "Two weeks and they would have to scrape me off the deck, I'd be so relaxed."

Cruising under sail is adventure

Thanks Gary Warner. The real news here is the new international rules that endanger this kind of travel.

KW Kerr for Heidi Sawyer

technorati tags: tall, ship, schooner, Yankee Clipper, Windjammer, Cruise

A Third Schooner Bluenose?

Another Bluenose? A news item from the Chronicle Herald in Halifax reveals a very confused situation regarding any plans for Bluenose III.

Future foggy for third Bluenose
Original designer’s relative disturbed by tourism minister’s comments
By BEVERLEY WARE South Shore Bureau

LUNENBURG — The great-granddaughter of the man who designed the Bluenose is "disturbed and disappointed" by comments made by the province’s tourism minister concerning plans for Bluenose III.

Len Goucher said Bluenose II is in fine shape and does not need replacing for some time. "There’s no urgency to build a new boat when the Bluenose II is being maintained and performing her duties well," Mr. Goucher said in a release. He went on to say that "when the time comes to build a Bluenose III, the province will be doing so in partnership with the Town of Lunenburg, home port of the Bluenose, and others who have an interest."

That’s news to Joan Roue, who said her family owns the intellectual property rights to the famous racing schooner. Ms. Roue announced plans this summer to build a Bluenose III and she said the province declined to respond to a number of overtures to collaborate on the project. Mr. Goucher’s comments, she said, are "curious, considering they have not ever approached us regarding the availability of construction rights for the plans drawn by my great-grandfather W.J. Roue, which remain within the Roue family as well as the intellectual property rights associated therein."

Ms. Roue has formed a company called Queen of the North Atlantic Enterprise Inc. and is raising money to build Bluenose III. The company plans to lay the keel of the replica on July 1, 2008, and launch it on July 24, 2010.

The province sent out a news release Friday to tout the sailing ambassador’s summer successes of travelling 4,000 miles, carrying 7,000 passengers and welcoming 30,000 visitors during 12 ports of call.

Capt. Wayne Walters, director of operations for Bluenose II, said in an interview the schooner is in good shape and can sail for years to come. "She’s in great condition for her age," he said. "For a 43-year-old wooden vessel, she’s in great shape." Capt. Walters stressed the ship has been well maintained over the years and can sail for a long time yet.

The hull is being caulked at Lunenburg Foundry. Peter Kinley, the company’s president and chief executive officer, spent two summers as a deckhand on the Bluenose II beginning in 1975. "She’s in great shape," he said as he stood on scaffolding leading up to the ship’s deck. "She could go indefinitely because she has been kept up."

But Joan Roue said she fast-tracked her decision to build a second replica of the original Bluenose based, in part, on letters she received from Capt. Walters. She quotes him as writing that the Bluenose II is getting more expensive to maintain every year.

The original Bluenose was an unbeaten schooner racing champion in the ’20s and ’30s. Bluenose II was built by the Oland family in 1963 to promote Schooner beer, but was acquired by the province in the ’70s as a sailing ambassador for Nova Scotia. Bluenose II underwent a major refit in 1994 that was expected to be good for 10 years.

The ChronicleHerald.ca

KW Kerr for Heidi Sawyer

technorati tags: tall, ship, schooner, Bluenose

Poles Course - LOOK! It's Just Like a Square Rigger

Wow!!! Here it is! I said I would keep an eye out for a photo of the new tall ship poles and ropes course in Worcestershire in Britain, and I found it.

LAND-locked Worcestershire could become one of the best places in the country for young people to find their sea legs. The county council's Upton Warren Outdoor Education Centre, near Wychbold, has opened a poles course that is designed to replicate the challenges of a tall ship's mast and will give anyone that tackles it a similar experience to rigging. Phil Ascough, centre head, said: "The design of the poles course is inkeeping with our sailing heritage. The main pole at 22m is probably the tallest of its kind in the UK."

Tall Ship Challenge (from Worcester News)

There are two great photos. I like the one with 13 people out on the yards saluting. It really does look like a square rigger.

KW Kerr for Heidi Sawyer

Related Tags: tall, ship, sail, training, poles, ropes, course

Sail Training On Schooner Spirit of Massachusetts

UMass Dartmouth is taking registrations through 10/27 for SEAmester on the schooner Spirit of Massachusetts.

SEAmester is a challenging and rewarding semester at sea program aboard the schooner Spirit of Massachusetts. No prior sailing experience necessary. The voyage will sail over 3,000 miles in nine weeks, stopping at carefully selected ports of call to correspond with the curriculum of the ship. All academic coursework is related to the sea and to the cultural and natural environments visited throughout the voyage. Field studies are an integral part of each course. Classes offered may include: Navigation and Seamanship Biological Survey of Atlantic and Caribbean Coastlines Maritime History Coastal Geology Environmental Issues Biology of Zooplankton

Event Detail - UMass Dartmouth Online Calendar - University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Spirit of Massachusetts is modeled after the fishing schooner Fredonia, designed by Edward Burgess in 1889. These schooners were famous throughout the world as the "fast and able" vessels of the North Atlantic fisheries, sailing winter and summer to the rich grounds of the Grand Banks and Georges Bank. Spirit was built in Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston in 1984 for service as a sail training ship.

The US Coast Guard certified schooners of Ocean Classroom.

Sparred length 125'
Length on deck 90'
Beam 24'
Draft 11'
Rig height 103'
Sail area 7,000 sq.ft.
Crew 8
Faculty 3
Students 20


Registration through 10/27. Contact Nancy Vanasse, 508-999-8778.

Related Tags: sail, training, tall, ship, schooner, Spirit of Massachusetts

Wooden Schooner Lynx

It was really fun for me to see that great photo of the schooner Lynx. I was fortunate to be working for Nat Wilson Sailmakers (sorry, no website) when she was being built, and we built the sails. The boat is incredible and the sails are really wonderful, if I do say so (Oceanus sailcloth, by the way). We had a good time and even got to go to the boat to do some work while she was still at Rockport Marine. They are an inspiring yard that does just wonderful work.

When the Lynx came up I realised that the man who commissioned her was the same man who had had a Cherebini built at Bent Jesperson's yard in British Columbia. I was working at Port Townsend Sails at the time and we got to build those sails and sailed on that wonderful boat. This wooden boat world is tiny!

Fair winds and Following seas,
Heidi Sawyer

Related Tags: sailmaking, sailmaker, schooner, lynx, Nat Wilson, Nathaniel Wilson

Tall Ship News, Oct 16, 2006

A couple of things today: The Salinas Californian reports the Lynx was at Moss Landing for tours last weekend. That's a great photo. And The Delaware News Journal reports on the nomination of the skipjack Martha Lewis for Historic Site registration.

MOSS LANDING - Dozens of land lubbers and young, aspiring swashbucklers Friday stepped onto the deck of the Lynx, a replica of an early 19th century tall ship once used to train the crew and actors of the film "Pirates of the Caribbean." The 122-foot square top-sail schooner, built in 2001, sailed into Moss Landing Harbor with its main battery firing on Friday afternoon. She will offer dockside and adventure sails to the public through Sunday. The Lynx is an interpretation of the original Lynx, a privateer built to serve in the War of 1812. She represents a "letter of marque" Baltimore Clipper, considered one of the finest privateer schooners ever built, said Matt Oates, the ship's chief mate. The Lynx sails the West Coast today as a living history museum complete with period ordnance and flags and a crew of eight in period uniforms. Jarod Pompey, 6, of Salinas brought a costume of his own Friday, walking the deck dressed as a pirate with a hat and a plastic sword. "I like the ship's cannons," Jarod said, referring to the ship's main battery of 6-pound carronades, or short-barreled cannons, that fired upon the ship's entrance to Moss Landing. Oates said recent films like "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Master and Commander" have renewed interest in the historic ship touring industry. Prior to filming, crew and actors from "Pirates of the Caribbean" learned about sailing a period pirate ship aboard the Lynx's decks. For the Pantzloff family of Watsonville, visiting historic tall ships in Moss Landing has become a tradition. "I got to steer the captain's wheel!" exclaimed Marcus Pantzloff, 6, as he stood next to his mother, Margaret, 10-year-old sister, Analise, and her two classmates Mari Nagaoka and Alysia Martinez. The Lynx ship also will take area schoolchildren on educational trips Monday and Tuesday before departing Wednesday morning. The ship was launched July 28, 2001, in Rockport, Maine. Her port of registry is Portsmouth, N.H.

Salinas Californian - www.thecalifornian.com - Salinas, CA

The last remining vessel to work under sail in North America has moved closer to being registered as a National Historic Site. Last week, the Governor’s Consulting Committee for the Maryland Historical Trust voted unanimously to nominate the Skipjack Martha Lewis, a working oyster dredge based in Havre de Grace, Md., for registration by the National Park Service. The next step in the process, which takes 6 months to a year to complete, is for the ship to be accepted by the National Park Service.

delawareonline ¦ The News Journal ¦ Ship sails closer to protection

technorati tags: tall, ship, schooner, skipjack, Lynx, Martha, Lewis

Sailcloth for Tall Ships and Classic Yachts

Surprisingly there are a lot of sailcloth options for us who prefer a classic look and a softer hand.

Lately most people have been requesting Oceanus made by North Cloth. I like it. It lasts well doesn't stretch too badly, and seems to really hold up to UV. Duradon made in Scotland is another choice, really for the big boats. This cloth has a good hand, but doesn't hold up as well in the sun and initially some of the finish will rub off. Clipper Cloth is nice, I haven't used it as much, but really enjoyed working with it, and the customer was happy with the result. These cloths all are trying to emulate cotton for a traditional look and feel.

Now a note about the above cloths. For some reason, in all of the cloths listed above, the color lots can vary drastically. So if you think you want a full suit, buy all the cloth of the same weight at once. I have seen cream colors look pink, green, latte(my favorite) and yellow.

In the type of modern sailcloths more people are familiar with, the typical woven Dacron polyester, (the above traditional sailcloth materials are woven polyesters too) cream, tanbark and white are available and other colors by special order. My current favorite supplier is Contender. The hand is nice and the weave is tight. I have seen sailcloths that were over finished cut themselves going through a sewing machine. Let me tell you the woman sewing that sail was pretty upset!

You probably would have some idea of what you would want. Your sailmaker should have samples of everything. When I quote on sails, I try to send an example of all the sailcloths that I would be happy using.

Lots more to follow about cloth.

Fair Winds and Following Seas,
Heidi Sawyer

Related Tags: sail, cloth, sailcloth, sailmaking, sailmaker, oceanus, duradon

New Tall Ships ropes course in England!

Hey isn't this cool? I have been reading in other blogs about tall ship training, and doesn't this seem like a great skill if you are going the big boat route?

LAND-LOCKED Upton Warren could become one of the best places in the country for young people to gain the skills that will earn them their sea legs.

Worcestershire County Council's Upton Warren Outdoor Education Centre, off Worcester Road, will officially open its poles course today (Wednesday).

The course is designed to replicate the challenges of a tall ship's mast and will give anyone that tackles it a similar experience to tackling rigging.

The initial design work was done by Mike Forecast, who has many years' experience of designing and building ropes courses, while the poles were imported from Finland. Central Networks erected the poles for the cost of materials only, donating its time and expertise to the project.

Following the erection of the poles, Mike and a small team of instructors rigged the elements and the entire structure was then surveyed by Challenge Course consultancy - a commercial ropes course company to validate its construction and adherence to best practice in its operation.

Centre head Phil Ascough said: "The design of the poles course is in keeping with our sailing heritage and the main pole, at 22m, is probably the tallest single wooden pole in the UK of its kind. It was certainly the largest challenge that Central Networks has undertaken and we'd like to thank them for their input."

He added: "As a self-help project, the entire construction cost a fraction of that which it would have, had it been built commercially."

Centre Goes Up The Pole (from Bromsgrove Advertiser)

Now this particular photo doesn't show a "tall ship" ropes course. I found this photo on a general "ropes course" web page.

I think it would be alot of fun.

PS: KW Kerr here. Just wanted to throw in my two cents on this because I, too, think it is really neat. I wonder if there is any such course planned in the US. I'm sure there are many people who could attend such training here, but couldn't afford to travel to England for it. I will keep an eye out for photos of the course. I'm dying to see what it looks like with trainees swarming up the rigging!

Related Tags: tall ship, training, ropes course, poles course

More Tall Ship News, Oct 11, 2006

More tall ship news today. The Bermuda Royal Gazette announces a lecture on the building of the tall ship, Spirit of Bermuda:

Sloop Foundation to lecture on building the Spirit

The Ministry of Community Affairs and Sport has joined forces with the Bermuda National Gallery to sponsor the popular Wednesday Lunchtime Lecture series for 2006-2007.

The weekly lecture series highlights programming related to current BNG exhibitions, as well as other topics of interest, and features both local and international speakers.

The lectures include slide presentations, art-related videos, poetry, dramatic arts and panel discussions.

The next lecture in the series is today when the Bermuda Sloop Foundation will tell the story of the building of the Spirit of Bermuda, the reproduction of a traditional Bermuda-built sloop which recently completed its maiden voyage from Maine to Bermuda.

The Bermuda sloop was world famous for centuries as the fastest ship in the world, and Spirit is now an icon of Bermuda’s maritime heritage and a sail-training vessel for the Island’s youth.

“Although the Lunchtime Lecture Series has been in place for a number of years, this is the first time we have had a sponsor and we are delighted that the Ministry of Community Affairs and Sport has generously agreed to do so.

“The Ministry is a very appropriate sponsor as the Lunchtime Lectures is a series which invites the community to both attend and to present.

“It aims to spread the word about art and making it relevant to people of all ages, as well as sharing community projects, such the Bermuda Sloop Foundation,” BNG director Laura Gorham said.

Minister of Community Affairs and Sport Dale Butler said the Ministry was “excited” about its continued relationship with our National Gallery, and “encourages everyone to take advantage of this opportunity”.

Lunchtime Lectures are from 12.30 to 1.30 p.m. Admission is free for BNG members and $5 for others.

Royal Gazette

Wish I could go; but, darn it, I'm not in the neighborhood.

KW Kerr for Heidi Sawyer

Related Tags: tall+ship, spirit+of+bermuda

Tall Ship News, Oct 11, 2006

A couple of fun things happening this weekend. The Amistad will be in Poughkeepsie Thursday through Saturday. And on the Chesapeake, the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race will start on Thursday just south of the Bay Bridge.

Here comes the Amistad -
A replica of a 19th-century schooner set to dock in Poughkeepsie Thursday will put Dutchess County in touch with its history of slavery while attempting to promote interracial cooperation. The Amistad saga dates to 1838, when 53 West Africans were kidnapped, brought to Cuba on the ship, then rebelled before the Amistad was seized off Long Island. The West Africans were jailed, but successfully defended in the U.S. Supreme Court, resulting in the return of 35 survivors to Africa. The reconstructed Amistad was built by Amistad America Inc., a national, nonprofit education organization based in New Haven, Conn. This vessel is on a tour of the Hudson Valley that will stretch over a week and include a stop in Kingston. The Amistad — the original was the subject of a 1997 Steven Spielberg film — will be docked at Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie Thursday through Saturday, then sail to Kingston before returning to Poughkeepsie Oct. 19-20. Scheduled for the ship's stay in Poughkeepsie are tours of the vessel, along with theater, concerts, lectures, a symposium and many other activities set for venues throughout the city. Admission to all events is free.

PoughkeepsieJournal.com - Here comes the Amistad

BALTIMORE - Tighten the main sheet. For the 17th time, the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race will launch Thursday just south of the Bay Bridge and make a 126-mile journey to Norfolk, Va. The race was started in 1990 as a personal challenge by Lane Briggs, a captain from Norfolk, to the Pride of Baltimore II and was sailed between Baltimore and Norfolk because of the rich sailing history the two cities share. “A big part of it is to recognize the maritime heritage of the bay,” said Nan Nawrocki, the vice president of Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, Inc., and chair of the Maryland Racing Committee. The race is a partnership between the Friends of the Chesapeake Bay in Portsmouth, Va., and Baltimore, an organization that educates students about the bay. The race donates the excess participation fee funds to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Great Schooner Race launches Thursday - Examiner.com

K W Kerr for Heidi Sawyer

Related Tags: tall+ship, Amistad, schooner

Your Choice of Sailmaker

I have been thinking about those of you who purchase sails, canvas and rigging. The recent article in Cruising World was informative, but did anyone notice it was only about the "big boys"? There are so many local sailmakers that it would be hard to include us all, however....not even one?

There are many to chose from, racing, cruising, traditional, the do-it-all lofts, canvas only and rigging only. At this point I should say I don't shop at Walmart. The do-it-all lofts, buyer be wary. Is the person you are talking to a sailmaker? Are they a canvas worker, sailmaker wannabe? Are they a rigger? None of this is bad, but you should know who you are talking to. Do they sail? Race? What experience do they have? Are they a salesperson who doesn't hit the loft floor?

The kind of sails you are buying should determine who you buy from. However, you may get just as good of a deal from your local sailmaker for a sunfish sail as online. Classic boat? Put a lot of time into it? Traditional sails with traditional patches, cloth, and finishing. Cruising sail? Well built, turned edges, handsewn rings on the clews(they really do last longer). Racing? Performance cloth, cutting edge design, modern patching, titanium hardware.

Racing isn't my thing, Doug Pope up the road from my loft builds a wonderful sail at an amazing price. I referred a friend to him and they were thrilled. Another friend put a lot of miles on a Pope sail and couldn't say enough good things about him. He is a small local loft who has raced well and the whole community was paying attention when he was in the Bermuda race with his son.

Wooden Boat magazine had a great article a few years ago about traditional sails and boats. It really is a shame to see the incredible yachts with such modern and incompatible sails. Some would say that they are faster. Maybe. I have a customer with a racing yacht with a famous sailor trying to buy it every year they race. My customer will win every race. Old boat, traditional rigging and sails. Go figure.

My family has just acquired yet another boat. We have alot of work to do before she is cruise ready. Sadly she needs a dodger. I just don't do dodgers! I have, and I shouldn't have. In this case I will probably have to part with some money and buy one from John at Gemini Canvas. He is also up the street. I have worked all over the US and he builds really pretty dodgers. Some of the nicest I have seen.

I am lucky to have worked in a lot of lofts. This gives me a perspective of what is being done "on the cheap" what works and who makes what sails where. The other interesting thing is that there are sailmakers you will never hear of. Either they are tucked away in a storage space or they are the loft sailmaker and the owner just never lets it be known how valuable that sailmaker is.

Sorry about this ramble, but consider calling your local sailmaker. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Related Tags: sailmaker, sailmaking

November ASTA in South Carolina

Hey everybody, the ASTA is coming up. We at HA Sawyer sailmaker have had staff attend in the past and hope to again. We have made some of the sails that are on the USCGC Barque Eagle and it would be exciting to hear Captain Sinnett.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Measuring Success” and there are lots of exciting prsentations scheduled including an opening keynote by Captain Christopher Sinnett, the Commanding Officer of the USCGC Barque EAGLE. Professional sail trainers, marine educators, students, teachers, vessel ownver, Tall Ships festival organizers from the US, Canada, Australia, Denmark, India, Ireland and Poland will be in attendance. There will be something for everyone.

ASTA Annual Conference on Sail Training and Tall Ships is just a month away! « Tall Ships Today!

H A Sawyer Sailmaker

HA Sawyer Sailmaker - We are a small loft in midcoast Maine, specializing in traditional sails for classic sailboats of all kinds. In our dealings with customers we believe in honesty and integrity. Communication with customer is of the highest importance as we build a custom sail.

In the past year, we have built sails ranging in size from 47 square feet to almost 2300 square feet. The boats run the gamut from a 14' wherry to the USCG Barque Eagle. We are very proud to be the chosen sailmaker of owners of boats of the highest caliber, and as a result we are anxious to make the best possible sails for them.

The materials we use are premium. Never anything less. We want your sail to last, look and perform the best. Because of that, most of our bronze is custom cast, using manganese alloys (stronger than stainless), our ropes are European, and the sailcloth is the best we can buy. We currently use Contender Dacron, Oceanus, Duradon and cotton duck.

In our loft, we may floor loft your sail in the traditional fashion, or we may computer design and plot it; it really depends on the sail. Construction is well thought out, and we use time proven methods that will enable the sail to last without compromising sail set.