Bermuda National Gallery & City Hall - Hamilton, Bermuda
N 32° 17.670 W 064° 47.107
20S E 331915 N 3574478
This unique weathervane is located on top of the Bermuda National Gallery & City Hall. Notice the wind direction indicator on the tower under the weathervane.
Waymark Code: WM419P
Location: Bermuda
Date Posted: 06/22/2008
Views: 38
The weathervane is a model of the British ship Sea Venture. Here is a short history of the Sea Venture.
On June 2, 1609, the Sea Venture set sail from Plymouth as the flagship of a seven-ship fleet (towing two additional pinnaces) destined for Jamestown, Virginia as part of the Third Supply, carrying 500-to-600 people (unclear whether that number includes crew, or only settlers). On July 24, the fleet ran into a strong storm, likely a hurricane, and the ships were separated. The Sea Venture fought the storm for three days. Comparably-sized ships had survived such weather, but the Sea Venture had a critical flaw in her newness, as her timbers had not set. The caulking was forced from between them, and the ship began to leak rapidly. All hands were applied to bailing, but the water continued to rise in the hold. The ship's guns were reportedly jettisoned (though two were salvaged from the wreck in 1612) to raise her buoyancy, but this only delayed the inevitable. The Admiral of the Company, Sir George Somers himself, was at the helm through the storm. When he spied land on the morning of July 25, the water in the hold had risen to nine feet, and crew and passengers had been driven past the point of exhaustion. Somers deliberately drove the ship onto the reefs of what proved to be Bermuda in order to prevent its foundering. This allowed all 150 people, and one dog, aboard to be landed safely ashore.
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