The Spirit of Bermuda sail training ship bypassed the usual Customs checks for vessels on a voyage where accused murder Derek Spalding allegedly smuggled guns and drugs in.The sloop did not stop off at St George's but went straight to Ireland Island, where crew members got straight off and went home, according to Supreme Court testimony yesterday.Mr Spalding is on trial accused of shooting 25-year-old Shaki Crockwell dead on August 24 2007 over an unpaid drug debt. Mr Spalding's father, who gave evidence for the prosecution last week, told the jury his son confessed the killing to him.He also told the jury Mr Spalding, 36, went on a sailing trip in 2007 and “brought back guns off the ship and some weed”.Another Crown witness, Randy Lightbourne, testified last week that Mr Spalding got the chance to travel to either North or South Carolina on The Spirit of Bermuda after he was released from prison in 2007.He met with Mr Spalding on May 26 2007 after he returned from that trip and Mr Spalding allegedly opened the trunk of his car to display “a bunch of guns and about ten pounds of marijuana”.Yesterday, Mr Spalding's trial heard from Gordon Loader, who works at Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre.He participated in a voyage that The Spirit of Bermuda took from Charleston, South Carolina, to Bermuda in May 2007, along with Mr Spalding.He said the sloop left Charleston on May 5 and arrived in Bermuda on May 25.He told the jury that the crew stayed in Charleston for around three days prior to departure and were allowed to hang out and shop.He said Mr Spalding disappeared one night after meeting a girl at a grocery store and later reported he'd had a good time with her.Mr Loader told the court his belongings were not searched in Charleston and he did not see any crew members' bags being searched either.He also explained that any vessel entering Bermuda has to dock in St George's first to clear Customs.However, some vessels, such as The Spirit of Bermuda and yachts participating in the Newport to Bermuda race have special clearance to go straight to Dockyard or Hamilton.Due to that agreement, he said, the ship proceeded straight to Dockyard rather than clearing Customs in St George's on May 25.“They will have to look at that again,” observed Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves.Mr Loader stated later in his evidence: “We had clearance to go straight to Dockyard. You would have to speak to Customs to see if they had official clearance to go to Dockyard. I can't speak for Customs.”Asked by prosecutor Maria Sofianos if the luggage belonging to the 18 crew members was searched when they arrived in Dockyard he replied: “I'm certain it was not searched.”He explained when the sloop arrived in port, he met his Godfather and went home.In answer to questions from defence lawyer Mark Pettingill he said the crew slept in “open bunks” on the vessel and there was “very minimal storage space for personal belongings” and “very little storage space for anything else”.He said the sailors were told to bring their kit in a soft-sided duffel bag. He added that he had not talked to Mr Spalding and did not know he was on parole at the time of the sailing trip.The trial heard last week that Mr Lightbourne told police of Mr Spalding's alleged involvement in the murder in September 2010.Mr Spalding's father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police in August 2011 that his son allegedly committed the crime.Yesterday, the trial heard statements from various police officers who told how Mr Spalding was arrested twice on suspicion of murder.The first arrest was made at the Rockaway ferry terminal, where Mr Spalding was working on a ferry, on September 6 2007. He was arrested again in August 2011.He denies charges of premeditated murder and using a firearm to commit that crime, and the case continues.