Fall 2020 The Bermuda Sloop Foundation Bermuda Day 2020: Speaker of the Mr Lister and wife Miranda were also She said that it was a nice change of House Dennis Lister, centre, and his joined by members of the East End pace to be on board the boat for leisure wife Miranda, right, get ready to set Mini Yacht Club and David Goodwin, rather than work. sail aboard the Spirit of Bermuda. the chairman of the Bermuda Sloop Also pictured: David Goodwin, the Foundation, which operates Spirit Mrs Lister said: “It was very relaxing Chairman of the Bermuda Sloop Foun- of Bermuda. and refreshing to be out in the sunny dation (Photograph by Akil Simmons) Bermuda weather.” Mr Lister did not have a lot of experi- The Speaker of the House of Assembly ence sailing, but was surprised how fast “It was very nice and it was good enjoyed a day of sun and sea in a he got used to the sails. company.” Bermuda Day celebration on board sail training ship Spirit of Bermuda He explained: “I’m normally a power- She toured the boat and spoke to yesterday. boat person, so I’m used to a lot more the crew about their backgrounds speed — this is much more relaxing. and experiences. Dennis Lister is used to steering the She handled the wind extremely well course of parliamentary debate, but in- and, as someone who doesn’t sail that She added: “I like how diverse they are stead took the helm of the replica sloop much, I found it to be a lot more respon- — they all come from different areas, as guest of honour — an experience he sive than I was expecting.” but they all love the water.” admitted was a first. Mr Lister said that he also enjoyed Spirit of Bermuda hoisted the message He said: “This was my first time sailing speaking to the crew and learning about “Bermuda be safe” in naval signal flags on the Spirit — I’ve been on while she the charity’s youth programmes. for the trip. was docked, but never sailed.” He added: “This is one of those initia- Mr Goodwin said the event was part Mr Lister added: “This was a totally tives that must stay alive in Bermuda. of a worldwide call-to-action by Sail different Bermuda Day experience. Training International, set up to promote “It has had a positive impact on our traditional sea life for young people. “I’m normally very much involved with children — our students benefit from the Bermuda Day activities like sponsor- it greatly and the challenge that they He added: “Every single tall vessel in the ing the Junior Race, so this was the first get from being on the water and world was asked to go out on May 30 Bermuda Day that I’ve had as a holiday having to rely on each other is key in solidarity of what we all do for our for a long time.” to their growth.” community through the group.” Spirit of Bermuda set sail from Dockyard Mrs Lister had been on the Spirit of “As the Government relaxed a little bit yesterday morning with a five-strong Bermuda before through her job as on the restrictions, we knew that, for crew and sailed through the Great a teacher at Dellwood Middle School Bermuda Day, we had set sail one Sound in the West End and Hamilton in Pembroke. day early.” Harbour. This article is used with permission from The Royal Gazette. Spirit of Bermuda • bermudasloop.org • 441-737-5667 The Bermuda Sloop Foundation MEMBERS Keith Battersbee - Sea Cadets Alan Burland - Founder David Goodwin, Rees Fletcher - OB Jay Kempe - Founder Chairman Malcolm Kirkland - Founder The effects of this pandemic on the lives of everybody has BOARD OF DIRECTORS certainly taken us out of our comfort zone. What charities quickly recognized is the increased urgent David Goodwin - Chair & Compliance Officer need to help and support people. Government and more Alan Burland - Past Chairman fortunate folks have stepped in with their financial help to Jay Kempe - Founder, Legal Rep/Chair support the hardest-hit sectors of the community. Malcolm Kirkland - Founder Jennifer Goodwin - Education Rep/Chair What the BSF has always had as a mission is to give the youth Jim Butterfield - Fundraising Rep of Bermuda a real life-changing experience of being taken Diana Martin - Fundraising Committee out of their comfort zone, where they can learn new skills Andrew Burnett-Herkes - Marine Ops Rep to survive anything, even what they may have thought of as Deanna Durham - HR Rep/Chair unsurmountable. Survival skills today means learning fast from John Cooper - Governance Rep/Chair experiences one never wants to repeat or to remember those George Cubbon - Finance Committee Chair awesome moments you want to treasure and repeat again. Rees Fletcher - Insurance Advice Martha Kirkland - Education We have just been through a storm and are recovering well. Pat Phillip-Fairn - Board Member We have learned something new too. There is real need to support the youth of Bermuda now to learn some important Non-Director: life lessons in different ways. Experiential learning has a Malcolm Mitchell - Secretary deeper impact and longer retention. (Max: 20) Going back to school is going to be a little different. The Board Meets Every Other Month BSF sincerely hopes its different classroom at sea will have important impact of understanding how to adjust and adapt to STAFF LISTING - 2020 new things. OFFICE We and our staff have suffered financially too, worrying if we can get through these tumultuous times, but have dwelled on Robin Hamill, CEO the long-term goals and kept focus on the positives. Lauren Yelle-Simmons, Education & Programme Manager Kelly Way, Business Development Manager Challenges, like being out on the open ocean brings on many thought processes. One gets to develop confidence in one’s CONSULTANTS self, trust in our people, tenacity to persevere and plot a new course to rejoice the experience of a successful journey. Darlene Davis, Accounts Mobile Tech, IT At no other time has youth had to think more seriously about Jocene Harmon, Human Resources sustaining themselves and to be less dependent on what was expected to being normal as the circumstances have changed, SPIRIT OF BERMUDA just as an ocean voyage teaches us, having to constantly Alex Peacock, Captain adjust the sails to maximize performance and adapt and David Goulbourne, Chief Engineer figure out what is the New Normal. Gabe St. Denise, First Officer Meeting Mother Nature face-on, on every voyage, where Jamila Hanley, Programme Officer things are constantly changing does prepare our youth that life Vacant, FT Catering Officer can change and open our eyes to the reality of engineering Edward Stovell, Watch Leader a better life. An inner meaning of life is the knowledge of Chris Brown, Watch Leader yourself. The negatives can be turned into positives. Tyler Phillips, Watch Leader I am thrilled we have the tenacity to survive and retain such Robin Hamill, community support to continue our mission, to assist in the CEO growth of our youth to become productive citizens we certainly need lots of them, more now than ever before. Dear Friends, We have recently enjoyed some well-organized events, where What an unprecedented time we have all witnessed over the Bermuda’s icon Spirit of Bermuda has been present thanks to last several months! Our last school voyage was during the all our supporters, donors, schools, teachers, parents, staff, second week of March. The ship was berthed for a period of crew and alumni of young successful past students, evidencing time until the May 29th sail with the Speaker of the House, we are still on course for serving our community well, with the Honorable Denis Lister, and his wife. great positive results. While the ship was dormant until July your management and Thank you Bermuda. staff has not been. We have been working on innovative ways to remain relevant to our community. We have used social Sincerely, media to publish educational material and have sought col- David Goodwin laboration with other like-minded not for profits. We have also organized summer day camps for students which are proving very successful. There have been significant headwinds in raising funds. The COVID-19 pandemic has attracted funding from some of our more reliable donors. We continue to work extremely hard to raise ever shrinking dollars and your support is as important now as it ever has been. Unfortunately, the Government of Bermuda slashed our funding by 66%. Not to be deterred, we believe our experiential education for young Bermudians is transformational and builds lasting character. We hosted our Awards Ceremony on Sunday July 5th which saw recognition expressed for thirty worthy junior sailors. In addition, we hosted the first ever Spirit of Bermuda Rally and the Bermuda Triangle Race in St. Georges the weekend of July 10th. It was very successful with four foreign boats arriving in Bermuda and a Festival of Sail for the Comet class on July 12th. I would like to thank our board, staff, students and donors for providing me the opportunity to serve the Bermuda Sloop Foundation. Sincerely, Robin Hamill A Message from Membership: Kelly Way, Business Development Membership is extremely important and solidifies a unique Manager and valuable programme that reaches many of Bermuda’s youth and especially benefits those who do not acquire information optimally in a classroom setting. Our on-board The BSF and Spirit of Bermuda have quickly grabbed my heart classroom also introduces and provides pathways to technical, since I stepped into the Business Development role on January mechanical and maritime-related careers for young Bermu- 6, 2020.