The camera ran for three years as Rockport Marine built the wood composite vessel SPIRIT OF BERMUDA.
Rockport Marine rockportmarine.com
Spirit of Bermuda bermudasloop.org
The Spirit of Bermuda is a modern-built Bermuda sloop. She is a replica of a Royal Navy Sloop-of-war, depicted in a well-known 1831 painting.
History of the Bermuda Sloop
Design and Construction of the Spirit of Bermuda
Unlike the original vessel, which would have been built primarily from wood, the Spirit of Bermuda was manufactured from modern materials.
“The vessel utilizes modern wood composite construction (seven layers of wood and epoxy), it has carbon fiber spars, outside ballast, and up-to-date systems to ensure longevity, performance and comfort. She was designed by Langan Design Associates of Newport, Rhode Island.” rockportmarine.com/boat_details
She was built in the US for the charitable Bermuda Sloop Foundation (BSF) to serve as a sail training ship for Bermuda’s youths.
Bermuda sloops were built with up to three masts, although purists might insist the term sloop be applied only to single-masted vessels. The single masted ships, with their huge sails, and the tremendous wind energy they harnessed, were demanding to sail, and required large, experienced crews. The Royal Navy favoured multi-masted versions as it was perennially short of sailors, at the end of the Eighteenth Century, and such crewmembers as it had, particularly in the Western Atlantic (given the continuing wars with France for control of Europe), received insufficient training. The longer decks of the multi-masted vessels also had the advantage of allowing more guns to be carried.
The Bermuda Sloop Foundation chose a three-masted design for one of the reasons the navy had: it was easier to handle (and less dangerous) for the inexperienced youths who would crew her. A design with Bermuda rig was also favoured, although the majority of Bermuda sloops historically built probably were fitted with Gaff rig.
The final design, naval architecture and engineering of the vessel was accomplished in Newport, Rhode Island by Langan Design Associates, headed at the time by company founder Bill Langan.
The Bermuda Sloop Foundation
The BSF was founded in 1996 by Malcolm Kirkland, Alan Burland and Jay Kempe. During the next eight years, the Foundation grew as donations were sought, and the design decided upon. Bermudian singer-songwriter Heather Nova recorded the single Sailing to raise funds for the project. Rockport Marine, in Rockport, Maine, was contracted to build the ship in 2004. The Spirit of Bermuda was completed in August, 2006, and sailed to Bermuda that October. Since then she has operated locally and internationally on sail training cruises.
source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_Bermuda
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| Career | Bermuda (UK)  |
|---|---|
| Name: | Spirit of Bermuda |
| Owner: | Bermuda Sloop Foundation (BSF) |
| Operator: | Bermuda Sloop Foundation (BSF) |
| Port of registry: | Hamilton |
| Builder: | Rockport Marine, in Rockport Maine |
| Launched: | August 2006 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Sail Training Vessel |
| Tonnage: | 88 GRT |
| Length: | 112 feet hull length 86 feet |
| Beam: | 23 feet |
| Draught: | 9 feet 6 inches |
| Installed power: | 385 hp diesel engine |
| Sail plan: | Bermuda-rigged Bermuda sloop/Ballyhoo schooner |
