Join an adventure on the Spirit of Bermuda

Youngsters can explore the wonders of the Sargasso Sea this summer on a five-day voyage on the Spirit of Bermuda.

The Bermuda Sloop Foundation is offering the adventure to 21 boys and girls, aged 12-15.

The sloop will leave Dockyard on August 12 and return on August 16, and is the only overnight voyage taking place this summer.

Tina Nash, business and fund development manager for the Bermuda Sloop Foundation, explained that the recession has forced the charity to limit its programmes.

“Typically we would have a lot of programmes this summer, such as sailing to the Canadian Maritimes and a service project to Haiti, but unfortunately, because of the way the economy is, funding has become a challenge,” she said.

‘Exploring the Sargasso Sea’ will cost $1,785 per berth. There are no scholarships or bursaries available this year for families on a limited income.

The Bermuda Sloop Foundation is focusing on fund-raising at home this summer. Earlier this month it held a fun student art contest, ‘Art in Sailing’.

“This aimed to raise the profile of the sloop and get young people involved,” said Mrs Nash.

The contest was open to primary, middle and secondary school students. Prizes included iPads and a berth on a future voyage of the Spirit of Bermuda.

The Bermuda Sloop Foundation also teamed up with Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art for a joint fund-raiser along the same theme of ‘Art in Sailing’.

The museum chose five paintings from its collection and reproduced five prints, using the giclee method, to auction off online at an event on April 19.

The ‘Pirates of Bermuda’ was another fund-raising initiative in which 50 members of the community were captured and had to raise funds to pay for their own ransom. The ‘prisoners’ included politicians and other prominent islanders .

People could also donate online towards someone having to walk the plank instead, into the waters of Hamilton Harbour on
April 6. The fundraiser raised more than $100,000 for the Spirit of Bermuda.

This summer the Spirit of Bermuda will also be available for tourists to sail around the island.

Mrs Nash said: “We’re a non-profit and a charity but are having to rely more on commercial ventures to help us to raise funds.

“This is the first time we will be staying at home this summer since the sloop was built. We will be running charter trips around the island for tourists, plus sunset cruises.

“We have the only tall ship on the island and so the Spirit of Bermuda is a real attraction. There are a lot of people excited about it. We hope the charters will help us to protect our youth development programme. We aim to make the Spirit of Bermuda experience a rite of passage for every M3 (middle school) student in Bermuda. That’s our goal.

“The five-day Spirit of Bermuda sailing experience is all about resilience, teamwork and celebrating Bermuda’s history.”

Mrs Nash said: “We are trying to get the community on board to save the Spirit of Bermuda. We have a $1.8 million-a-year budget which has to pay for staff, crew and maintaining the boat, but this year our fund-raising goal is $3 million. This would help to pay off our mortgage and to ensure we are sustainable in the future.”

For more information on the Spirit of Bermuda and Bermuda Sloop Foundation call 737-5667 or e-mail [email protected]. See www.bermudasloop.org and Facebook.To make a donation online to the Bermuda Sloop Foundation go to www.savespiritofbermuda.com or www.premierticketsglobal.com.