When the Spirit of Bermuda sloop sets sail for the Dominican Republic this weekend, it will also make a “pilgrimage stopover” in the Turks and Caicos Islands, said Malcolm Kirkland of the Bermuda Sloop Foundation.The vessel is to carry Bermuda limestone quarry block on board as ballast, stopping at Grand Turk Island and Salt Cay to connect its crew with Bermuda’s former salt-producing maritime staging post. Plans include a limited overs cricket match against the Island’s secondary school.Mr Kirkland said: “Spirit will ceremonially carry Bermuda limestone quarry block for delivery to both islands.“Limestone was traditionally used as ballast on the way down and then used for construction in TCI and other ports where needed in the Anglo-Atlantic world.“Spirit crew will also rake salt and visit the house of 18th century Bermudian and former slave and abolitionist Mary Prince’s house.”The Spirit heads out this Sunday on a service mission to the Dominican Republic, returning home June 25. There will be nearly 40 crew and chaperones onboard.Mr Kirkland said the “Skiller” voyage will make “real teams out of diverse Bermudians, on a real and challenging mission to parts of the world well known to ancestral Bermudians”.lUseful web link: www.villagemountainmission.org.