COMMUNITY Continues Art teacher Steven Masters Sciences (BIOS), were included. Onboard activities included pre-dawn workouts, wakeup swims, on-deck showers, vessel cleaning, rotating kitchen duty, round-the-clock watch duty, and below-decks classes on local maritime history. “Saltus crewmembers also took part in sail-hauling contests under gleeful fire-hosing by the Spirit crew—to simulate the worst conditions at sea!” explains Masters. “And they learned correct rope-coiling, knottying, bronze-fitting and brass-shining.” On the final morning, two new crewmembers joined the boat for a sail around the Great Sound—“our Saltus Headmaster and Mrs. Staunton, both seasoned sailors who pitched right in with our student crew, hauling and trimming sails and coiling ropes,” notes Masters, adding the voyage ended with a firing of Spirit’s cannon off the stern quarter to signal the group’s return to an enthusiastic crowd of dockside parents. Some students had sailed before, others had not—but all agreed it was a remarkable week. “The focus of the trip was team-building,” says Mahon, “and from the moment we stepped aboard we began to learn how to work together as a team: pulling up sails, adjusting rigging, and living much closer to each other than we might otherwise choose to! A great deal of fun was had by all, and both staff and pupils left with a newfound respect for each other, and the ability to work as a team to achieve a common goal.” Saltus students who took part in the expedition included S10s Seamus McKittrick, Dylan Moulder, Nathaniel Hartwig and Matthew Soares; S11s Peter Cooper, Mark Godfrey, Christopher Cooper, Miles Cave, Ben Sayers, Emma Franklin, Zindzi Swan and Jessica Manderson; SGY1s Nicholas Smith, Rokeyah Brown, Brandon Morris, Brighton Swan, Nicholas Patterson and Kelsey Pichery, and SGY2s Kacee Morton-Simons, Sarai Hines and Emily Clifford. and Design Technology’s Patrick Mahon. The trip was organised by Director of Athletics, Darrin Lewis. “This was a phenomenal example of an exciting and successful programme of experiential education at work,” says Masters. “The format had us all learning all the time—without being aware we were in a highly educational environment. Three cheers for Spirit of Bermuda—a local treasure!” The group sailed from Dockyard on Monday, September 27, and finished at noon on Friday at Albuoy’s Point, Hamilton. In between, students got their sea legs aboard Spirit, sailing to St. George’s through the North Channel, back to Dockyard via the South Channel, with nights spent at anchor in various harbours. A daytime visit to the National Museum of Bermuda and a snorkelling expedition with Saltus alum JP Skinner, Education Officer at the Bermuda Institute for Ocean 18 S A LT U S M A G A Z I N E