A wreath-laying ceremony was held this weekend in honour of Bermudian pilots who have died at sea over the years.Descendants of six St George’s pilots who lost their lives in a tragic accident in 1927 were part of the annual event, held off St David’s on Saturday by the Guild of the Holy Compassion.Goulrich Richardson, George Brangman, Irving Pascoe, Edgar Smith, Ernest Tucker and Robert Gibbons lost their lives when their pilot boat, Gig Queen II, went down in stormy weather off Kitchen Schoals on January 27, 1927.At that time, pilots of St David’s and St George’s would “row out to meet the ships coming in”, Guild secretary Derek Tully explained.“They used to have a competition and, that night, in 1927, their boat sunk and they were never found.“The boat was found somewhere near Elbow Beach, but they never found those St George’s men.”Established in 1918, the Guild of the Holy Compassion cares for the graves of merchant seamen buried in Bermuda.An annual ceremony in memory of those who died at sea used to be held on Old Soul’s Day in November. It was moved to the summer in order to coincide with the cruise ship season, Dr Tully said.“[Saturday’s memorial] was a sombre, yet very lovely service held near Five Fathom Hole,” he added.The cruise ship Explorer of the Seas met up with the pilot boat St David and descendants of the six St George’s pilots, to witness the “spectacular and moving ceremony”.