By Pat Saxton
Museum Administrator
On Saturday morning we had a visit from the Captain and crew of the Spirit of Bermuda, a sail training ship designed and built to provide students an authentic learning experience on board a replica Bermudian-type schooner built between 1810 and 1840.
Spirit of Bermuda Captain and crew arrive at the Museum
Captain Simon Colley and his crew learned about the Molasses Reef Wreck, and how Bermuda and Turks and Caicos were very much intertwined in the early 18th century. Many of the residents of the Turks and Caicos are decedents of Bermudian families. Some of the teachers came upstairs to view the new Hutchings collection (see other blog) as the Hutchings name is a popular name in Bermuda.
On Saturday evening we were invited by Captain Colley to a reception at the Cruise Center, where plaques were exchanged between Governor Wetherell and the Captain. Students took anyone on the ship that wanted to tour the Spirit of Bermuda. A slab of Bermudian limestone was also presented to Salt Cay’s “White House”. We watched on Sunday as the Spirit of Bermuda, under full sail made its way to Salt Cay for a day, then onto Dominican Republic to help construct homes as part of the students learning experience.to learn about the islands history and the many differences between Bermuda and the TCI.