Spirit crew enjoys Canada's history and wildlife

A welcoming party of seals and wild ponies greeted the crew of the Spirit of Bermuda as they dropped anchor in the Canadian Maritimes this week.

The iconic sloop made the first stop of a month long voyage at Sable Island — a drifting sand bar off the north-western coast of Canada that is home to just nine people.

The crew, of eight professional sailors and 13 Bermudian ­students aged between 13 and 20, waded through chest deep surf, bobbing with seals, to reach the remote sandbar.

They walked through the sand dunes to visit the research and weather centre. The Spirit has also made stops at Fortress Louisbourg and Lunenberg in Nova Scotia and is ­currently on route to Rockport, Maine. At Fort Louisbourg the students spent their time practicing French and delving into the history of the fortress — a living museum of an 18th century French port.

Aboard the sloop the students have had lessons in the use of ­old-fashioned navigation equipment, chemical oceanography and cod history.

The Sloop will take part in the Gloucester Schooner Race in ­Massachusetts on September 5 ­before returning to Bermuda.

All photographs are by Gavin Howarth. To see more of his work go to www.gavinhowarth.com or follow the sloop’s progress in pictures on his blog at www.gavinhowarthblog.com.