Bermuda Sloop Foundation’s (BSF) Spirit of Bermuda set sail on a three-week ambassadorial voyage to the US East Coast at the weekend.With colourful, 11ft decals depicting Bermuda’s crest (donated by Signworx) proudly displayed on the triple masted sloop’s flying jib, captain Scott Jackson and a crew of 24 sailed off into the horizon on a course that will take them to Virginia and Newport, Rhode Island before returning home next month.While in Virginia Spirit will take part in the OpSail 2012 in Yorktown (June 1 to 3) and Norfolk (June 8 to 10). The OpSail 2012 is a major tall ships and naval rally and port festival celebrating the War of 1812 by declaration of the US Congress.Both Norfolk and Yorktown have strong historical ties to Bermuda dating from the 18th century and the American Revolution.Norfolk was largely developed by Bermudian merchant mariners in the 18th century and Yorktown, located near Jamestown, is where the British surrendered to the rebel colonies.“Spirit of Bermuda was invited to participate based on her design which is the same as the Royal Navy sloops that would’ve fought against the Americans during the time,” said BSF co-founder and consultant Malcolm Kirkland.BSF executive director, Denise Riviere, says Americans have long been fascinated with Spirit and her crew of courageous, young Bermudians.“Spirit always evokes great interest overseas, whether it be her sleek look from afar or in the paper or TV or a ship tour,” she said. “It is not only her cool look but also the young Bermudians on board who do the face talk representing us.“Americans are always keen and curious to come on board and learn all about life on the ship and Bermuda. I actually think they admire the courage of these young people who have come from across the sea.“None of our tourism competitors can begin to compare with Spirit’s allure. If we only had the regiment and Gombeys, we could take over.”Once the tourism mission in Virginia concludes Spirit will sprint up the coast to Newport, Rhode Island to begin preparations for the Newport Bermuda Race.Spirit was invited to compete in this year’s 635-nautical mile race all alone in the ‘Spirit of Tradition’ Division which is an experiment with the reintroduction of traditional schooner rigged vessels.The ‘Spirit of Tradition’ Division will highlight Spirit’s traditional design and the prevalence of the schooner rig in yacht racing in the early years of the Newport Bermuda Race.“The opportunity to participate in the Newport to Bermuda Race will help us to achieve our goal of providing experiences that instil Bermuda pride in our youth,” said BSF Chairman Alan Burland. “We are honoured to be launching the new Spirit of Tradition Division.”The Royal Gazette will be among the crew of 32 aboard Spirit for the Newport Bermuda Race and will provide daily updates on the sloop’s progress from Castle Hill, Newport to St David’s, Bermuda on our website.In all, there are four local entries (Nasty Medicine, 40 Degrees, Tiburón and Spirit) competing in this year’s Newport Bermuda Race to commence June 15.Meanwhile, Spirit’s travel itinerary for this summer also includes a service mission voyage to Haiti in early July.In collaboration with Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS), Spirit will also do two coastal voyages in August exploring the Sargasso Sea surrounding Bermuda as part of a global appeal to make the region plastic -free.Spirit is a purpose-built sail-training vessel based on civilian Bermudian-type schooners built in Bermuda by blacks and whites between 1810 and 1840.The original hull shape was adapted from the Bermuda-built Royal Navy “Shamrock” class (fast dispatch/patrol vessels that ran from the Royal Naval Dockyard northwest to Halifax and southwest to Jamaica to contain the rebel colonies).The 118ft, 230,000lb schooner was designed by noted naval architect Bill Langan of Langan Design Associates of Newport, Rhode Island, built by Rockport Marine in Rockport, Maine and launched in 2006.In nearly six years of operation since September, 2006, Spirit has provided a character development programme for over 2,600 young people and has sailed over 38,000 miles in overseas voyages to 17 ports in ten countries.