A local historian wants to talk to Bermudians who have a strong connection with the ocean, in whatever way, for a special research project.

Charlotte Andrews, a doctoral student, is looking for pilots, divers, fishermen, boat designers, builders, sailors or racers. She is also interested in people who have Bermudian ancestors who made a living at sea, were lost at sea, or were involved with maritime immigration, trade, transport, tourism or ecology. He project will include people with connections to shipbuilding, privateering, piloting, sailing, diving, fishing, whaling, turtling or the maritime aspects of slavery.

“If you can answer ‘yes’ to any of these situations, you could play a role in a new research project,” said Miss Andrews. “I am seeking participants for my study who feel they have a strong relationship to Bermuda’s maritime culture and history.”

Ms. Andrews is a PhD Candidate with the Archaeology Department at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. She is in Bermuda for most of this year conducting fieldwork. Her PhD research is generously supported by the Bank of Bermuda Foundation Sir John W. Cox Scholarship and an extended leave of absence from her role as a Curator at Bermuda Maritime Museum.

She is deliberately casting her net wide, to connect with a variety of people with maritime links.

“I’ve identified a good number of people myself but I would also like some of my participants to be self-identified, or to introduce themselves to me,” she said.

“We can then conduct an interview together so I can learn how and why they relate to the island’s maritime environment, traditions and history.”

As an anthropologist who studies heritage, her interest is in living people and how they relate to the past.

“Every participant holds unique and valuable data in their experiences and memories,” she said. “I examine these associations to help expand our understanding of what the complex idea of ‘heritage’ means.’

Ms. Andrews will interview willing participants who meet her research criteria for 1-2 hours, preferably at their home, boat or another familiar and quiet place. She hopes to record interviews using video and audio equipment, though participants’ identities can be kept anonymous and confidential. While participation in the project is unpaid, each participant plays an important role in research that aims to grow knowledge and policy for Bermuda, especially as it relates to the local heritage sector, museums and cultural tourism.

“I interview Bermudians from different backgrounds and different generations,” she said. “I am not only interested in meeting older people with a closer knowledge of history and tradition, but also younger people, over age 18, who may use and transform heritage in exciting new ways.

“My interviews feel a lot like conversations, where the participant does most of the talking. I want my participants to be comfortable and to express what is important to them in their own ways. I encourage them to tell stories and to remember, and to refer to images, objects and places during the interview that are meaningful for them.”

Ms. Andrews also wants to know about any upcoming maritime events in the community to add to her fieldwork schedule.

“My research is not only about interviews but getting out into the action of community activities and happenings,” she said. “To give you an idea of the variety of events I’m looking for, in recent weeks I’ve attended club prize-givings and committee meetings, lectures and BIFF film screenings with local maritime themes, a gathering of the families involved in the ‘Figurehead’ lost at sea memorial, learning expeditions aboard the ‘Spirit of Bermuda’, Sea Cadets training exercises, the slave trade abolition commemoration at Commissioner’s House, and the Pilot ‘Jemmy’ Darrell celebration in St. George’s.”

She has been whale watching and has tagged along with fishermen, divers and tour operators.

“I’m lucky that this year’s May Heritage Month theme is ‘Our Maritime Connections’, so there will be some good fieldwork opportunities there for me. But I also need notice from members of the public about other maritime events. This information can really make a difference to what I’m able to accomplish during my fieldwork here over the next six months.”

Please contact Charlotte Andrews on email cea34@cam.ac.uk or telephone 234-6127 If you are interested in participating or have event information for her Bermuda maritime heritage study.