A Typical Morning in Lunenburg

Lunenburg has a population of just over 2,000, but in the summer months it fills up with visitors.

We enjoy a walk around the town in the morning, before the tourists are on the streets.

This is Monday morning, looking down to the Railway Wharf.

And across to the Bluenose Golf Course.

This is the same view on Wednesday morning.

This is the Martha Seabury schooner, which was built here in Lunenburg.

https://queensincanada.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/the-launch-of-the-martha-seabury-schooner-at-lunenburg/

During the summer months, this old fishing boat, The Cape Rouge, sits at the wharf. It is used in the filming of the TV series, Haven.

The Adams and Knickle building is undergoing renovation work.

The booths are open ready for trips on the ocean.

The nearest boat does harbour tours, the Eastern Points goes  whale watching and the Eastern Star, sailing trips.

https://queensincanada.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/a-sail-on-the-eastern-star-at-lunenburg/

The waterfront restaurants are open for breakfast.

But no one wanted to sit outside on Wednesday.

The horses are ready to take tourists on a tour of the old town.

And the Fisheries Museum will open to educate visitors on the history and past life of Lunenburg.

There is also a cruise ship in the harbour.

The Lagniappe, registered in the Marshall Islands, which you could charter for $110,000 per week!!!

The little shed beside the foundry is crooked and worn.

The latest boat at the foundry wharf. Am I back in Dundee – it is called the Discovery?

Looking across to Lunenburg from the golf course road,

to the colourful town and the Fisheries Museum.

But there was no view on Wednesday.

Even this osprey didn’t seem to see us.

He flew just above our heads.

Then back into the nest with the young.

There’s always something to see, walking around Lunenburg.

The Launch of the Martha Seabury Schooner at Lunenburg

In April 2010, I wrote about the building of  two 48′ wooden schooners in Lunenburg.

https://queensincanada.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/shipbuilding-at-lunenburg-nova-scotia

It’s been great watching the progress of these fine boats,

from start to finish.

In January of this year, despite the freezing weather, we went along to watch the final plank being fixed in the hull.

The actor, Billy Campbell, the owner of one of the twin schooners, fastened the final plank and doused it in rum. He named her Martha Seabury after his grandmother.

There was still a lot of work to be done over the next few months.

The bowsprit was added and the hull primed and painted.

Soon the Martha Seabury was ready for her launch.

CTV news was here to record the occasion.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=735445

She floated well and looked great!

It has been 30 years since the building of such a schooner in Lunenburg. There is still the second schooner to be sold and then another exciting launch.

Hopefully, this is just the beginning of a new boat building phase at the Dory shop.

Reconstruction of the Bluenose II at Lunenburg

The Bluenose II is a replica of the famous fishing schooner depicted on the Canadian dime. The original Bluenose was launched in Lunenburg in March 1921 and won sailing races throughout the 1920s and 1930s. It was sold and converted into a coastal freighter for work in the Caribbean Sea. Laden with bananas, she struck a coral reef off Haiti in 1946. Wrecked beyond repair, she was abandoned and broke apart on the reef.

Nova Scotia owns the Bluenose II, which is used to promote tourism and trade in the province.

It was found that the hull of the Bluenose II was warped and that massive restoration work was required, at a price tag of $15 million, paid for by both Federal and Provincial Governments.

Seemingly restoration was a better option than building a new ship.

So the Bluenose II was towed to the foundry to be ‘deconstructed’ and I watched with interest as this shed was built for the reconstruction.

A strong steel frame was built and covered, to keep out the weather.

A visitor’s information centre was opened opposite the shed to keep the public informed of the work in progress.

But the  restoration is not without controversy. Seemingly, it is not intended to create an authentic replica of the original Bluenose and the builders will not be using the original plans.

Also, 80% of the ship has been put through a wood chipper, leaving only the masts, sails, rigging, ironwork and railings as original.

Many people, probably the majority, feel that parts of the old Bluenose II should have been sold in the Bluenose shop and that the public would have been very happy to buy a piece of history.

No one was aware of how much of the ship was going to be discarded.

So, is this a ‘restoration’ project or a ‘new build’?

Would it not have been possible to keep the Bluenose II as a museum, either on the waterfront, or at the Academy building (whose future is also uncertain)?

Too late for that now!

More shipping News from Lunenburg

Yesterday, we were enjoying lunch on our deck when this large vessel came into view, entering the waters of Lunenburg Harbour.  It was obviously a new ship to town, so we went out later to have a look.  It was not berthed in the harbour but at the private wharf of Clearwater.

Other locals were curious too, but we could see no name on the ship.

We eventually found out it was called the Meteor.

So I went home to do some Googling.

I found this  video, that shows the captain, Dean Maggio, describing this classic yacht.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_rHfRRiCVQ&feature=youtube_gdata

And this article from the Super Yacht Times takes you on board.

http://www.superyachttimes.com/editorial/3/article/id/698

It seems that this schooner is owned jointly by John Risley, owner of Clearwater, and Dan Meyers. This explained it being berthed in their wharf, alongside Tenacity, a scallop boat.

http://www.clearwater.ca/en/home/default.aspx

The Yacht is Flagged in the British Virgin Islands, but it was also flying the flag of Nova Scotia, with the rampant lion in the centre.

You can see this yacht in action at the St. Barth’s Bucket Regatta.  Seemingly it is now for sale – if you have a spare 32Million Euros.

http://www.liveyachting.com/sailing-yacht-meteor-at-the-2010-st-barths-bucket-regatta