Spirit sailing past 19th Century loading dock carved into the Somerset shorelineThe Richardson family chartered Spirit on Sunday, August 16, 2009, to celebrate a family reunion and the 65th birthday of John Richardson in a voyage of pilgrimage.
The family has deep roots in Bermuda history and maritime history in particular. Family ancestors were sailors for generations and included Stephen Benjamin Richardson, the captain of a Bermuda sloop, "Louisa", that traded locally in Bermuda waters.
The pilgrimage took the family down the North Shore to St George’s Harbour, through the old sailing ships’ channel, and back to the Great Sound to sail past the loading dock that was carved into the Somerset shore. Bermudian ships would offload goods and cargo at this site in the 19th Century for onward transport to Ely’s Harbour and the West End.
Spirit then sailed through Timlin’s Narrows, the old sailing ships’ entrance to Hamilton Harbour, before returning to Dockyard.
Spirit of Bermuda was a fitting platform for this pilgimage, being a replica of Bermuda sloops as they were built in Bermuda between 1810 and 1840.