The replica of the ship Deliverance, which holds a place of pride in St George’s, was left battered and de-masted by Hurricane Gonzalo — with just one mast standing, and rigging strewn across the dockside at Ordnance Island.

St George’s Foundation executive director Charlotte Andrews said the charity, which looks after the Deliverance, would be conducting a detailed assessment of the vessel this week.

“It looks like two masts are down, but we need to look at her more closely,” Ms Andrews said.

The organisation will also be inspecting the World Heritage Centre at Penno’s Wharf.

The story of the Deliverance is linked closely with hurricanes: it was built by the survivors of the 1609 wreck of the Sea Venture, itself driven onto the reefs of Bermuda’s East End after being separated from the rest of the fleet and driven off course by a hurricane.

That storm-stricken arrival, along with the dramatic account written by Sea Venture passenger William Strachey, inspired William Shakespeare in writing what many believe was his last play, The Tempest.

In turn, The Tempest provided the kind-hearted character Gonzalo, the name given to the sixth hurricane of the current Atlantic season.

While the Deliverance rescued the hurricane-stranded crew of the Sea Venture in 1610, the latest incarnation of Gonzalo was anything but charitable to the Island.