by Captain Phil Watson

I cannot believe it's been two weeks since our last post. It seems like yesterday in Bluenose time but yet the ship looks substantially different and there is visual proof that a great deal of work has been completed by our crew.

In the red rigging shed next to the Fisheries Museum, the crew have finished servicing and varnishing the blocks. These are all now stacked carefully in the mahogany deck boxes that hold our passenger life jackets in the summer. Just now the shed is full of miscellaneous paint and varnish projects. The top of the wheel box, the A-frame that holds our life ring by the gangway, the name boards from the bow and the name and port from the stern. Although these do not necessarily look big, they are over six feet long. One of my favourite bits of trivia is that on one of the forward name boards you can see, on the back, where the craftsman who started the name, stopped and abandoned his efforts. He obviously flipped the plank over to try again! It’s such a human touch that is hidden to the eyes of our visitors. Also inside the shed are the steps to help people step over the rail cap on the wharf, and the box for the helmsman to stand on to see over the bow. Lots of small projects that take time.

We have been busy on deck as well. The exposed portions of the hull have been scraped, sanded, primed and painted. The rail around the ship is receiving a finish coat this evening. And the deckhouses have been given a good heavy sanding ready for a coat of paint. It’s such a short paragraph that represents such a great deal of work by our young crew!

We have a new visitor in Lunenburg this week. Brigantine St. Lawrence II, based in Kingston, Ontario wintered at the Bridgewater Marine Terminal near the navigable head of the LaHave River. There are many wonderful photos of tern schooners tied to the wharves there during the age of sail. With a rail yard nearby, Bridgewater was a busy port in its day! In any case, St. Lawrence II sailed around from Bridgewater to Lunenburg with a crowd aboard. I was pleased to see some Bluenose II alumni smiling on deck as they tied up in Bluenose II’s summer berth.

St. Lawrence II was in Lunenburg for the Material Matters Workshop at the Big Boat Shed in Lunenburg. With presentations by several groups the principal information was about linseed-based paint. We were unable to attend the workshop as it was during working hours but I did manage to sneak away to introduce myself as the principals attended the museum ship Theresa E. Connor.

This week coming up marks a milestone in our operational year and we will remove the cover. It will be nice to have the sky above us once again although the breeze off the water is still cold. We will get a crack at finishing the painting and then to rigging!