Clarence St. George Burgess, locally known as "Captain Jack'', is a retired sea captain who operated ferry boats of Bermuda in the days of st eam.

His passion for life on and around the sea empowered him to make a significant contribution as a black Bermudian and his reflections take us back into history.

In 1934, at the tender age of 12, he was accustomed to taking the helm under the watchful eyes of various ferry captains.

As a young boy he was an accomplished deck hand, eager with enthusiasm, who knew his way around a boat. He loved the ocean and was drawn to it.

Despite his young years he was talented and had acquired numerous skills of seamanship. His height and strong build made him look older than he was.

He explained, "Back then when I was a boy I believe children were more mature. We were motivated to go out and be productive. We did not have the distraction of television nor computer games and I enjoyed learning about boats.

"I liked earning money and making my parents proud of me. They did not have money to give to me like parents give today's children.'' Captain Jack, of African descent, was born in Bermuda 1922 to the parents of William and Hannah Burgess at Ord Road, Paget West across from Paget School.

"My great grandfather was from Africa and ended up in Scotland. My grandfather, Henry James Burgess, came to Bermuda with the British Regiment and helped construct Huntley Towers.'' He attended Paget Glebe School and Berkeley and took his education seriously.

"My parents taught me to try to do my best in life whether it was school work or swimming and fishing, and to be friendly and respectful of everyone.'' By age five he was swimming at Simmons' Beach and later the powerful seas of the South Shore.

He enjoyed swimming with his older brother Charlie and the other boys in stormy weather during the summers and became an excellent swimmer. He loved the sea and everything to do with it.

"I was a boat rat and loved messing about boats from a very early age. In my spare time I could usually be found with my Uncle, George Henry Saltus, who was a boat builder. We boys would go to the Bermudiana Beach and help him move boats placed on rollers.'' As a youth he could read a compass and learned about navigation. He was taught how to read the clouds and the various wind directions and patterns.

"I saw myself as a sea captain as a boy. It was my dream and my goal. I seemed to have a natural instinct for it and I had terrific vision, eyes like a cat.'' Captain Jack recalled that his career began operating ferries owned by Henry Wilkinson in the early 40s when he was a young student at Berkeley.

There were two vessels, Golden Days and Flying Eagle and they ran from Hamilton to Darrell's Wharf.

During this time traveling by ferry was very popular as the only other methods of transportation were by horse and buggy or the railway.

"I had to know the rules of the road on the sea and how to read a compass and all the standard theories of seamanship.

"I was required to know all about the different buoys, their markings and lights, safety, horn signals, first aid and how to be in charge of a crew and responsible for passengers.

"On the starboard the light was green and on the port it was red. I kept my course straight and followed through and I never had a wreck!'' "In those days the ferries ran by steam engines and down below the engineers would be supplying the ferry with steam to make the engine go.'' By 1945 young Captain Jack had an excellent reputation and went to work for Pearman Watlington who had a fleet of about a dozen steamer ferries.

"I was earning a good wage of five pounds, eight pence,'' he said with a chuckle.

His favourite ferry was Laconia as she was easy to handle.

"My lovely Laconia was 98 feet long and licensed for 94 people. Tourists and locals flocked on her. I could dock her on a dime. We had two crews which ran day and night from 6:30 am to 2:10 am and each Sunday the shifts would change.'' During this era of the 1930s to the 1950s the hotels on the water, like the Princess and the Inverurie, held dances on their large terraces and hotels all around were packed with tourists.

They enjoyed dancing the night away and then they would hop on a ferry to return to retire to their hotel.

The route was explained by Captain Jack: "One boat would leave Hamilton to Hodgson's Wharf near Newstead, on to Salt Kettle, Musson's Point and Darrell's Wharf and then to Belmont. The other ferry would take the opposite route going to Belmont first.'' Another favourite was the Corona on the Somerset run. The first trip began at 6 am and the last stop would be 5:30 pm. It specialised in taking tourists and locals to the Sea Gardens located behind Dockyard.

This involved towing a fleet of small boats about 20 feet long. Once at the gardens people would disembark from the ferry into the smaller row boats.

Two oarsmen would row about 24 or 25 people in these boats with glass bottoms which thrilled the passengers to see the fishes and the reefs.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Captain Jack retired from the ferry service in 1956 but in a few years he was an old salt once again.

He had the opportunity to work aboard the Robert D. Conrad in 1962 which was a 200 foot American research ship from Wood's Hole, Massachusetts sponsored by the US Navy. Scientists were studying the "Bermuda Triangle.'' She came into Bermuda into St. George's and was docked along Ordnance Island.

The ship's captain hired Captain Jack and his friend Muddy Tankard as part of the crew.

Captain Jack had a lot of valuable knowledge about the Bermuda waters. They left Bermuda and went about 500 miles southwest to study the "Bermuda Triangle'' for several months.

Some people believe that the "Bermuda Triangle'' is a myth. One opinion is that it lies vaguely east of Florida. Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Miami are said to be the points of this legendary triangle.

Captain Jack believes there is a magnetic field and has his theories. He has heard of many mysterious tales and believes the triangle moves about and takes a similar course as the hurricanes.

"That was an adventure that I will always remember! We encountered seas anywhere from 50 to 80 feet high on various days.

After we left Bermuda I was down below as an engineer but it wasn't long before the Captain was calling me to his deck.

"It seemed the "Bermuda Triangle'' had got a lot of the crew and he asked me if I could make some decent coffee and something to eat for him and a handful of others.

"I chuckled to myself and got right on it. I have never been seasick.

"Some times would be calm and they would do different manoeuvres like cutting the engine at night and flooding the sea with light while the scientists would jump overboard in the middle of nowhere and swim, but not me! "They had a lower deck designed for diving with a "Jacob's ladder'' over the side.

"The thing I enjoyed the most about my career was meeting people. I took my responsibilities with a smile everyday and if given the chance of youth I would do it all over again,'' he said.

Captain Jack continues to give out a lot of smiles and is a jolly good fellow.

He is well known in St. George's.

He has worked at Crystal Caves since 1976 and manages "Captain Jack's Treasure Trove.'' He received a "Sunshine Award'' in 1999 following a letter from a visitor, Marlene Bennett, who remarked: "He is what Bermuda is all about, helpful, friendly and informed.'' Captain Jack Burgess Young Captain Burgess at the Hamilton Ferry Dock, 1945.

Captain Jack's darling: Antique photo of his lovely steam ferry, Laconia , 98 feet. "I could dock her on a dime, '' says Captain Jack.