Charles Roach Ratteray was a well-known Bermudian shipwright and master mariner in the 19th Century. The sailing ships and dinghies he built were considered examples of excellent craftsmanship, but it was his inventive method of building them on a small bay at the foot of a cliff that was extraordinary.

"Charles Ratteray came here from Nassau as a baby in 1800,'' his descendent Mr. Elsworth Ratteray related. "As far as I know there have been boat building Ratterays here ever since then, until about 1970.'' In 1855 he and his son George built a 35-ton schooner, the Rose of Sharon , at Herman's Bay in Somerset. She was a 51-foot Bermuda rigged schooner, with two raked masts and bow, having five berths and a cargo capacity of 390 barrels.

She was made of white oak and cedar.

"What is really interesting is the unique way in which they built the Rose of Sharon ,'' Mr. Ratteray said. `They made a jetty out of rocks that they dug out of the cliff. It went from the beach into the sea. They built their ship on this temporary jetty and when she was ready to be launched, they dug out the rocks and let her float off on the tide.'' The Royal Gazette took note of this unusual technique and reported: "Too much praise cannot be awarded Mr. Charles Ratteray and his son Mr. George Ratteray for their industry, skill and perseverance in constructing this fine little craft, for they were the sole builders and had to erect the wharf.

"Before commencing their task it was necessary to run over from their beds large masses of projecting rock from a bluff and hurl them down into the water below, then prepare the stone for forming the wharf, build it up and fill it in. All this was attended with much personal hazard and even now the descent to and ascent from the spot is anything but safe.

"This beautiful little schooner was launched about dusk, amidst the plaudits and best wishes of a large concourse of the good people of Sandys Parish assembled to witness the scene which was enlivened by the attendance of the Somerset Brass band with its merry airs. She at first hung on her ways but soon left them for her `ocean home' in splendid style. It is earnestly to be hoped that every success will attend this enterprise.'' "Charles used it for moving produce between Bermuda and the West Indies, and to carry goods to the Turks & Caicos Islands,'' Mr. Ratteray said.

On June 7, 1855 the Rose of Sharon left Bermuda for New York with a cargo of 308 barrels and 112 bags of potatoes, 28 barrels of onions, and 630 boxes of tomatoes, according to shipping and customs records that Mr. Ratteray found.

Charles sailed her on several voyages and then put her up for sale in September in 1857, as he was primarily a boat builder.

Details of her construction appeared in his advertisement: "Her keel is a splendid piece of white oak 12 inches by 9 inches. Every bolt from the top of the transom to the breast-hook is copper. Amidships, instead of buffers feet she has double floors and long arms some of them nine inches thick. Her pine plank was 1 7 inch thick, her cedar plank is one and 5 inch thick. Every bolt in the keelson goes through and through and `rings down outside'. Her upper work are well bolted together, ringed and headed. She is sheathed with yellow metal and her model and build altogether will test the scrutiny of any master workman in the country.'' "Charles couldn't find a buyer locally,'' Mr. Ratteray said, "so he took her down South on a rare winter passage in January, where she was sold in St Vincent for 3,000 `round dollars', which were Spanish coins I believe. That was quite a bit of money in those days "Then he built the Morning Star which was 12 tons and similar configuration, but smaller, 30 ft long. He used her for shipping produce, mostly potatoes and onions.'' Ratteray family He eventually sold the Morning Star to Josiah Hutchings of Paget Parish who was a master mariner.'' Between building ships, Charles Ratteray also built dinghies and raced them in Mangrove Bay. One of his best was Ring Dove . An annual race to celebrate the anniversary of Emancipation Day was always hotly contested. The following is a Royal Gazette account of such a race in August 1853:.

"Between the boats Ring Dove and Bluebird . The former beat the latter after a most interesting contest, though the Bluebird was two feet longer than the Ring Dove . The boats were both owned by colored men, the winning boat built by that celebrated builder Mr. Charles Ratteray. A great many coloured people from all parts of the island were present, it being a festive season with them as the day before had been the anniversary of their freedom.'' Docksider: A ship lies alongside Front Street in the 19th Century. This is the scene that the Ratterays' Rose of Sharon would have seen when it sailed into Hamilton. Image: Bermuda Archives.