The sky was low'ring and the wind blew strong.

The waves ran high and spread abroad their foam

A fragile boat that swiftly sail'd along

Seem'd hast'ning onward to her destin'd home.

But no, the ruthless sea rushing on her prize,

Sinks the devoted bark and all her crew!

Who raised to Heaven their agonizing cries,

One only liv'd death claim'd the other two.

On a Late Melancholy Catastrophe, "C. C.", The Royal Gazette, February 13, 1834.

One definition of a "reach", in maritime terms, is the stretch of water visible between bends in a river or channel. Given the absence of rivers in these parts, excepting possibly the small stream that once emptied the Pembroke Marshes into Mill Creek, any local reaches would be related to sea channels, one such being "Ferry Reach", between St. George's and the Bermuda mainland at Coney Island. While one always is in the channel to be corrected, Ferry Reach may be the only such body of water so named as a reach in Bermuda. It marks the length of water between the channel out of St. George's or Castle Harbours, the "bend" marking the point at which it joins the open sea on the southern side of Murray's Anchorage.

As it also happens, Ferry Reach is part of the only stretch of water at Bermuda, which, a few reefs (and since 1871, the "Causeway') intervening, streams straight through the island, from Murray's Anchorage in the north to the open Atlantic Ocean to the south, via Castle Harbour. Hence in strong winds, it is possible to be blown out to sea at either end.

That the waters of Ferry Reach could thus be treacherous was proven in the Causeway calamity of the great storm of September 5, 2003. Hurricane Fabian, the fourth of that name, but the first of the 2003 season, developed as a tropical wave, passing through the Cape Verde Islands on August 27. By August 30, some 500 miles west of Cape Verde, the storm was upgraded to hurricane force, packing winds upwards of 125 miles per hour. On September 1, the winds reached a peak of 145 mph, about 300 miles from the north end of the Lesser Antilles, where shortly thereafter it began to track north for Bermuda.

When Fabian struck Bermuda on September 5, it had weakened to a Category Three hurricane, but landed an almost direct hit with winds of 120 mph, the centre passing only 14 miles to the west. The Causeway, completed in 1871 to connect the Town of St. George's with the mainland via Longbird Island (now nearly all submerged under the runways of the airport, built by American Forces in 1941), was largely demolished, its parapet walls washed overboard and channels cut through the roadbed.

It was there that four people lost their lives, as they attempted to cross the Causeway at the height of the hurricane. Only one body was recovered; the treacherous waters of Ferry Reach and Castle Harbour, agitated by Fabian, likely swept the others out to sea. These were the first deaths to occur in such a great storm at Bermuda since the hurricane of 1926, Fabian being the biggest to strike the island since Hurricane Arlene in 1963. In addition to severe damage to many homes, almost 80 per cent of the island lost electrical power, which took some weeks to restore fully. Because of the damage at Bermuda, "Fabian" was retired by the list of names to be assigned to Atlantic hurricanes by the weather authorities, the "World Meteorological Organisation".

One hundred and sixty-nine years earlier, in the year of the Emancipation of Slaves throughout British Dominions, Ferry Reach had claimed two other victims, not from a hurricane, but from a sudden squall of the type that can hit with extreme and unexpected violence. Evidence for that catastrophe is to be found in a commemorative Tea Set, as well as articles in this newspaper of the day, relating to the event of February 10, 1834.

Yet in the possession of the family of the man honoured, the inscription engraved on the teapot is as follows.

Presented

to

Mr. I. H. PEARMAN,

by H.E. Sir S. R. Chapman, C.B. K.C.H. and

THE OFFICERS of the GARRISON

at Bermuda,

as a token of their sense of his Merit in going to the

aid of a small sail Boat upset in a heavy squall

10th Febry, 1834,

and thereby saving the life of an Officer

On the other side of the teapot is inscribed:

A Sugar Bason & Milk Jug

PRESENTED

with this Tea Pot

As the account in The Royal Gazette of October 28, 1834 contains some typographical errors (a problem not unknown in present issues!), the wording has been taken directly from the teapot. Though you may think the engraver made a mistake, "bason" is an old variation of basin, and the "I" in Mr. Pearman may be taken as a "J", for at a time, those two letters may have been very similar typographically. The "Keeper of the Public Ferry" was John Harford Pearman, born in Hamilton Parish in 1793.

On February 10, 1834, three men were returning to St. George's from the Dockyard, namely, Lieut. Orlebar, Royal Engineers, Mr. Scott of the Ordnance Department and Mr. Sands, Clerk of Works. Just as the party left the open sea at Murray's Anchorage and gained access to the waters of Ferry Reach, their boat was upended by a squall and only Mr. Sands survived. The shouts of distress were heard by Mr. Pearman, who put to sea in his boat without regard to his own safety and rescued Mr. Sands and recovered the bodies of the others, one of who was "let" a lot of blood, but to no avail in his return to life. A soldier, William Lyall, 71st Regiment, swam out to the capsized boat to assist in the rescue, for which he was ultimately given an engraved "Patent Silver Lever Watch", the present whereabouts of which being unknown.

Such heroic actions continue to this day and are often noted at ceremonies at Government House. As one writer to The Royal Gazette noted: "When humanity does not prompt to exertion, where the life of a fellow being is at stake, it may perhaps be an incentive to the sordid mind to know, that he who undertakes and perseveres in his efforts, on such an occasion, even though his exertions were to prove of no avail, will meet with some reward. In this instance, however, the thought of other gratification than that which springs from a conscientious heart, in doing a benevolent act, was all that was expected, as was evidenced by Mr. Pearman's refusing to receive an remuneration at the time."

The writer thanks the descendants of John Harford Pearman for the viewing of his commemorative Tea Set.

Edward Cecil Harris, MBE, JP, PHD, FSA is Executive Director of the National Museum of Bermuda, incorporating the Bermuda Maritime Museum. Comments may be made to drharris@logic.bm or 704-5480.