MARITIME TRAVELER
Discovffin9 Bemuufa!s Maritime History by RADM Joseph F. Callo ermuda is fam ous fo r its asto nishing visual beauty: pink beaches, gleaming passenger ships at rest along Front Street, multicolored currents of mopeds, cascades of brilliant roadside flowers, and emerald coas tal waters-all are pieces of the panorama. But there's something beyond Bermuda's amazi ng surface beauty, something that's more profo undly engaging. T his tighdy knit gro up of small islands boas rs a culture that was born of the sea and has matured under a pervasive maritim e influence. It is generally accepted that Juan de Bermudez discovered Bermuda in the early 1500s. However, it is unclear if he came ashore when he first sighted the isolated string of Atlantic islands 650 miles east of Cape H atteras. Some early charts refer to the area as rhe habitat "de demonios, " and rhe islands-there are six major islands separa ted by narrow channels-were regarded as fearful navigation hazards by mariners in the 1500s. T he countless shipwrecks that haunt Bermuda's encircling reefs confirm that these fears were justified. The history of Bermuda as an inhabited land began on 28July 1609, iro nically with a lifesaving gro unding on the sam e reefs rhat were so threatening to earlier seamen. T he 300-to n ship Sea Venture had embarked from Plymouth in June 1609 with six other ships. T he minifleet, commanded by Si r George Somers, was destined fo r the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, but, after a relatively uneventful first half of the voyage, the ships were scattered by a feroc10us storm. For days, Somers and his crew fou ght a losing battle. T hen, just as Sea Venture was about to fo under, the east coast of Bermuda loomed from rhe storm. Somers drove his ship on to a reef roughly a half mile off shore, and, as the storm subsided, passe ngers and crew were rowed to the beach. Today, So mers's rol e as the unwitting fo under of inhabited Bermuda is marked in many ways. One of the mos t visible, in Sr. Geo rge's town square, is the replica of the Deliverance-the ship buil t fro m rhe wreck of the Sea Venture that eventually carried rhe survivors to Jamestown. In 16 12 rhe area then known as So mers Islands was included in the charter of the Virginia Co mpany, and in 1684 the islands became a C rown C olony of G reat Britain . A referendum that would have
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A rugged portion of Bermudas south shore (A LL p hotos by the author) ended Bermuda's status as a Crown colony was defeated in 1995.
The Bermuda Maritime Museum T he Bermuda Maritime Museum reflects much of the islands' nautical lore and, appropriately, is located at an historic site. T he Museum's eight buildings are part of the original Royal Naval Dockyard on Ireland island, where major construction for the facility began in earnest in the early 1820s. M ost of the M useum 's exhibits are located in a cl uster of rugged, purposebuilt structures that forme rly served milirary fun ctions. Among these evocative buildings are a fo rmer gunpowder magazine-renam ed the Q ueen's Exhibition H all-and ordna nce storage building. In addition, there is an impressively restored Commiss ioner's H ouse. W ithin the M useum are thought-provo king exhibi ts th at foc us attention on especially significan t aspects of Bermuda's links with the sea. O ne such exhibit is devoted to the islan ds' harbor pilots, who, like most harbo r pilots, have a long histo ry ofprofessionalism and bravery that is righ dy woven into Bermuda's large r history. An intriguing chapter in this special group's histo ry involvesa pil ot named James
D arrell. In the late 1700s, D arrell-then a slave-guid ed the 7 4-gun HMS Resolution th ro ugh a perilous channel and into what is now known as Murray's Anchorage. For the pil ot's exceptional accomplishment, Admiral George Murray declared him a free man. In 1795, D arrell purchased a house on Sr. George's Island; it was the first recorded ownership of a house by a black Bermudian. T h e building at 5Aunt Peggy's Lane, still occupied by D arrell's descendents, faces a square nam ed in his honor. T he indigenous Bermuda dinghies are also feat ured at the M useum . T hese open, 14' l "-long boats carry h uge amounts of sail for their size, and they are extremely tricky to cont ro l. T he first organized competition amo ng these spectacular boats took place in 1882, and today several clubs are devoted to their enthusiastically contested races. Strength, incredible balance, the agility of an O lympic gymnast-and, not infrequently, good swimming skills- are prerequisites fo r these exciting competitions. T he newly restored three-story Co mmissioner's House occupies a crow ning bluff that overlooks the ramparts and the other buildings in rhe D ockyard's keep. T he h ousewascompletedin rhe late 1820s; it consists of a cast iron frame prefabri cated in England and exterior walls ofl ocal limestone. T he handsome interior, which now contains exhibits and is used fo r special events, speaks of an elegant pas t era.
Two Special Perspectives In addition to the maritime museum, two other museums illuminate fasc inating aspects of Bermuda's sea history. T he first, the M useum of the Bermuda H istorical Society, is located in H am il to n. T here, in a charming two-story building buil t in 18 14 by prominent merchant W ill iam Perot, un usual nautical artifac ts are a small but interesting part of a general collecti on. Artifacts include Sir George Somers's sea chest, rare pieces such as silver tablespoons taken from a French ship by a Bermuda privateer, well-crafred ship models, and Oriental obj ects brought to Bermuda by her early sea captains. A third museum of special maritime interest is th1e Bermuda National T rust on Sr. George'!s Island. T his one-of-a-kind historical "smapshot" is located in the fo rmer Globe H oteel , once the headquarte rs of a C onfederatee agent involved in shipping
SEA HISTIORY 95, WINTER 2000- 01