Vexed Bermoothes

A group of volunteers spent this week repainting the 175 crests left on Dockyard’s walls by visiting ships over the years.

I was sad to hear that “this will be the last time they will ever be repainted as these fabulous memories of our maritime history are doomed to be destroyed as Dockyard is developed within the next few years.”

Allowing these quirky records of Dockyard’s history to fade away would be a profound mistake.  The crests – often roughly painted by crew members to record their stay, and updated on subsequent voyages – capture the history of the Cold War in these warm waters and show the sheer variety of naval interests that have passed through Bermuda over the years.

In short, they are EXACTLY the type of thing that tourists like to see.

UPDATE:  An article on the ships’ crests from the head of the Maritime Museum.