Royal Gazette – April 22nd 2002

Govt., bank donate to sail training vessel

Work on a new sloop to teach Bermudian youngsters boat skills will begin in the autumn after a $1.2 million cash injection.

The $4 million boat is expected to be launched in July 2004 to teach teamwork, academic and trade skills. Up to 30 students at a time will engage in year-round activities with weekends aboard the self-sufficient ship every six weeks.

They will also have three hours of maintenance duties every fortnight and one-week summer participation in overseas races flying the Bermuda flag. Students will have access to all the crucial areas but will be expected to major in a specific area such as engines, navigation or electronics on the sloop which is a replica of a 1830s ship but with added electronics.

Alan Burland of the Bermuda Sloop Foundation said time aboard the ship would help students come to grips with social phenomena such as urbanisation and globalisation.

The 88-foot sloop will be named Sail Training Vessel Bermudian and will be built to American Bureau of Shipping Standards and will operate under UK marine regulations.

Sports Minister Randolph Horton said the boat would keep up Bermudians sailing traditions.

He said: “I look forward to the day when the sail boat will slip her mooring lines and stand out to sea – a proud reminder of what makes us unique as a people and a country, while offering young people an opportunity to experience the past while honing their nautical skills which hopefully will lead them towards a life of seafaring for commerce or relaxation or enjoyment.”

Mr. Burland thanked Government and the Bank of Bermuda for ploughing in $600,000 to get the project started at a ceremony at the weekend.