Bluenose II – In the Water Soon?

On 3rd February, 2011,  I wrote about the restoration of the Bluenose II.

Last year, I took this photo once it was out of its shed and was hopeful that we’d see the Bluenose II sailing out of the bay this summer.

But yesterday, I took these photos in the Lunenburg fog, as the Bluenose still sits in the dry dock!

Definite progress has been made.

The masts are in place.

So why the delays?

On June 13th, the news was that they were working on the rudder.

That the refit was well over a year behind schedule and  no surprise – the $16-million pricetag for the work was expected to go up!

Then the news this week -July 22nd

The much-delayed Bluenose II rebuild has suffered another setback.

The schooner was to start sea trials this month, but Communities, Culture and Heritage spokesperson Michael Noonan told CBC News that plan has been delayed.

Noonan said a machinist suffered a serious injury this weekend and he will need to be replaced. The man’s injury has nothing to do with work, it occurred off-site.

Noonan said the machinist is one of the key members of the rebuild’s staff as builders prepare to install a steel rudder, the last step before the sea trials begin.

However, the injury means the sea trials won’t start on schedule, but will be delayed by a week or two as the builders try to find a replacement for the injured man.

We can only hope that there will be no more delays and that we will soon see the Bluenose II back in the water.

Like this photo of the old Bluenose II, I took from our window, in 2009.

The Picton Castle Returns to Lunenburg

It was March 2010, that I watched the Picton Castle sail out of Lunenburg Harbour on her 5th World trip.

She headed to Panama, Ecuador and on to Tahiti and the Cook Islands on the first leg.

From August until November she sailed to Tonga, Fiji and Bali.

Leg 3 took her from Bali, to Cape Town, then sailed on to Bermuda and back to Lunenburg.

Today, the Picton Castle returned to her home port – but I wasn’t in town to watch her sail back!

I walked to the harbour and took these photos.

Most of the crew had left the ship.

The rain wasn’t far away.

Lunenburg was pleased to see her safe return.

She proudly flies the Canadian flag, as well as that of the Cook Islands.

Wouldn’t it be something to travel the world in one of these ships?

This summer you can sail on her to Newfoundland, the most eastern piece of land in North America – as a crew member.

And discover for yourself what life is like aboard.

The Fryderyk Chopin – Tall Ship in Distress

In February, I wrote about the sinking of the Concordia, the tall ship used by the Class Afloat, which was based here in Lunenburg.

Since then, the Class Afloat have chartered the Sail Training Ship, Sorlandet, of Norway, and are at this moment heading for Barcelona.

Today I was shocked to hear of the distress of another tall ship, the Fryderik Chopin.

The BBC news report said that she was drifting at sea, about 100 miles south west of the Isles of Scilly, after losing her masts in gale force winds. On board was a crew of 47; 36 of these being 14 year olds.

Although the vessel had an engine, the skipper was reluctant to use it in case debris and rigging from the masts got caught in the propeller.

A container ship, the MSC Narissa, responded to coastguard calls for assistance and acted as a windbreak to shelter the ship from the weather. A bulk carrier, a lifeboat from the Isles of Scilly and a large fishing vessel also responded to an appeal for assistance.

The Newlyn fishing vessel, Nova Spirro, attached a line to the vessel and began towing it to Plymouth early on Friday evening.  The trip was expected to take about three days but was dependent on the weather.

There have been no reported injuries and the captain has confirmed that all are well.

The thing that drew my attention to this story was the fact that I watched last year as the Fryderyk Chopin sailed into Lunenburg with its crew. Then, it was – like the Concordia – the second ship for the Class Afloat Programme.

That it too, nearly came to the same end as the Concordia, in the same year, is scary and shows the power of the sea under difficult weather conditions.

Like the story of the Concordia, the main thing is that everyone is safe.

Tall Ship Europa, Sails into Lunenburg

Today’s excitement was watching the arrival of the Europa into the Bay at Lunenburg.  We had seen this ship at Halifax last year in the Tall Ships Festival. She looked wonderful sailing in under full sail.

She was flying the flags of the Netherlands and the European Communities.

The figurehead is the Goddess Europa with Zeus the bull.

The ship’s dog seemed happy to have arrived at port.

The ship edged slowly into a berth beside the Fisheries Museum.

And was secured.

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After Lunenburg, the Europa heads to Brazil, before sailing on to Antarctica.

This web site tell you all about the Europa and her expeditions.

http://barkeuropa.qindtest.nl/en/home/1-Tall_ship_barque_europa

Her trips to Antarctica look amazing. Here is just one of the photos from the site.

Anyone who fancies a trip of a lifetime should check out the schedules.