Hi all,

What weather we are having! It’s been another busy week and we are trying to get as much accomplished as possible before the crew go off for their marine first aid and emergency duties courses. These two courses are a baseline of training for our crew before we head away from the wharf and follow our history around Battery Point. The first aid course is self explanatory, there is emphasis put on communications so that we can discuss patient symptoms and injuries at a competent level and also taking care of a patient for a longer term than would be expected in a workplace ashore. The officers are trained at a higher level and are expected to actively work with any sick and injured crew. We have a medical provider who supplies our medical kit and any phone advice we might need.

The Marine Emergency Duties course is a broad subject introduction for our young sailors. In less than a week they touch and practice many subjects that will help keep them safe at sea both in the preventative approach and what to do if things go really wrong. The crew practice abandoning ship, fighting fires, the use and care of inflatable liferafts, crowd control and how to use flares and other emergency signaling devices.

With all this training in hand, we then begin to build on ship based safety. Where and how to store and use PFDs, life jackets and immersion suits, how to use the fire system aboard Bluenose II, how to rescue a person in the water and how to prepare a person for evacuation. This is all layered on top of how to steer, keep watch, raise sail etc. Our crew learn a great deal in their first two months aboard!

This week we have taken the winter cover from the ship and stored away the frame. We have had a great crack at painting the hull and will hopefully soon be finished. With all the black and white aboard looked after it will be time to look at the oil and varnish on deck and then get to rigging! That’s a couple of weeks away but I’m certainly looking forward to it as are the crew and the mates.

Have a good week. Keep an eye on social media for news about the company store opening and some of their new products. Don’t forget you can book online for tickets for a harbour cruise and our schedule is posted on our website.