Spirit of Bermuda Sails Home Once Again

The Sail Training Vessel Spirit of Bermuda raced from Newport to Bermuda for the fourth time, finishing the 635-mile race in an elapsed time of 92 hours, 25 minutes, 9 seconds. As the sole entry in the Spirit of Tradition division, she crossed the starting line alongside the fishing schooner Colombia and both reveled in the spirited southwest breeze. Four days later, the pair finished only five hours apart.

Designed for the Bermuda Sloop Foundation, Spirit of Bermuda was built in cold-molded wood by Rockport Marine and was launched in 2006 with semi free-standing carbon masts. She has 23 berths and can accommodate 19 to 20 students.

For this year’s race, her crew of 26 included eight professionals, who watched over both trainees and the more experienced sailors on board. Alexander Peacock has been Spirit’s captain since 2018, and before the start, he told the Newport Bermuda media team that he was hoping for a strong breeze. “She can stand up to a lot of wind. On a good day, we’ll average 12 knots to the mid-teens. I’ve seen 17.5 as a top speed.”

LDP partner Sam Howell worked with Bill Langan on the design for close to three years. “We were so excited to see Spirit of Bermuda back in Newport and dominating the starting area,” Sam says. “I have great memories of working closely with Bill, and I know he would be proud that this mix of Bermudian heritage with modern design continues her work, teaching the skills of offshore seamanship while serving as a well-loved island flagship.”