June 1, 2025

We have been to Halifax, Novia Scotia (“New Scotland”) before because many cruises to New England and Canada stop at Halifax. Our goal was to visit Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and I specifically wanted to see a special schooner.

In 1995, UNESCO designated Lunenburg a World Heritage Site. It is considered the best example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America, as it retains its original layout and appearance of the 1800s, including local wooden vernacular architecture.

No matter where you walked you were reminded of this coastal town’s rich maritime heritage.

The reason for this rich maritime heritage is because of Bluenose. Bluenose was a fishing schooner built in 1921 in Lunenburg. Bluenose became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia and an important Canadian symbol in the 1930s.  She was nicknamed the “Queen of the North Atlantic.”

On April 15, 1921, the schooner departed to fish for the first time. Bluenose, being a Lunenburg schooner, used the dory trawl method. Lunenburg schooners carried eight dories, each manned by two members of the crew, called dorymen. This was a very dangerous endeavor in the rough North Atlantic seas and each dory had a bell attached to its bow that would constantly blow in the wind. This was done to indicate the position of the dory in the deep fog of the North Atlantic. The dorymen would haul in the catch and then return to the ship. This was done up to four times a day. The fishing season stretched from April to September and schooners stayed out at sea up to 2 months at a time or until their holds were full. Many dorymen were lost at sea.

But Bluenose’s celebrity was established in another way. After a season fishing in the North Atlantic Bluenose set out to take part in the first International Fisherman’s Cup. The International Fisherman’s Cup was awarded to the fastest fishing schooner that worked in the North Atlantic deep-sea fishing industry. Bluenose defeated the American challenger Elsie, for the International Fishermen’s Trophy, returning it to Nova Scotia in October 1921. The following year, Bluenose defeated the American challenger Henry S. Ford, (financed by its namesake) this time in American waters off Gloucester. Henry S. Ford had been constructed in 1921 based on a design intended to defeat Bluenose. Bluenose easily defeated the Henry S. Ford to the embarrassment of the Ford family. Bluenose reigned supreme until 1938, the last race of the fishing schooners of the North Atlantic. Fishing schooners became obsolete displaced by motor schooners and trawlers.

During World War II, Bluenose remained at dock in Lunenburg. No longer profitable, the vessel was sold to the West Indies trading Company in 1942. The vessel was stripped of masts and rigging and converted into a coastal freighter for work in the Caribbean Sea, carrying various cargoes between the islands. Laden with bananas, she struck a coral reef off of Haiti, on January 28, 1946. Wrecked beyond repair, luckily with no loss of life, the schooner was abandoned on the reef. She broke to pierces never to be recovered. What a sad ending for a grand old lady!

In 1963, a replica of Bluenose was built at Lunenburg using the original Bluenose plans and named Bluenose II. The replica was built by Smith and Rhuland, sponsored by the Oland Company. It was used as a marketing tool for the Oland Brewery Schooner Lager beer brand. Bluenose II was sold to the government of Nova Scotia in 1971 for the sum of $1.00 paid with 10 Canadian dimes.

Currently, in the summer, the schooner tours the Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, routinely stopping in ports across Nova Scotia, as well as Montreal, Quebec City and many ports of call in the United States, serving as a goodwill ambassador and promoting tourism in Nova Scotia.

And if you think they are not proud of Bluenose in Nova Scotia look at their license plate.

We will now sail into our first American ports Portland, Maine and Boston, Massachusetts after 133 days at sea. After departing Boston, we will have four days at sea before ending our journey back in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Many of you know that I love a good quote. Let me leave you with one of my favorites.

Thanks for traveling with us.