True to our new reality, the weather is really playing a huge part in our operations here on Bluenose II. The water temperature has been fluctuating a great deal and we have seen temperatures as high as 16 degrees and yesterday, during our return from Halifax the water was a consistent 8 degrees Celsius. These temperatures combined with the warm humid air we have been seeing means fog the likes of which we don't always see. The fog bank is so thick that we often have visibility of 300 feet or less. That means that our bowsprit is starting to look misty and on big ships the bow would be obscured completely. When the fog creeps into the harbours, especially Halifax, you can hear the fog horns blowing. The ferries all have their own pitch as do the tug boats. I can lie in my bunk in the predawn light and hear all the horns. Occasionally a big ship will come in with its deep bass horn. From my bunk I can hear the horn and the whoosh, whoosh of the giant propellers slicing through the water. It’s quite surreal at times.

Bluenose II has many missions in her operational life, this week we were called upon to exercise our more formal ambassadorial role and we welcomed the Canadian premiers aboard. Ship and crew were very pleased to support Premier Houston in welcoming his counterparts from across the country. We also managed to make an appearance during the final press conference held at Pier 21 as we sailed past in the background.

During our recent passage to Halifax the weather was not at all conducive to our planned Peggy’s Cove sail past, so we anchored in nearby Shad Bay for the evening. With quite a narrow entrance and zero visibility it was challenging to navigate to our anchorage. Modern instruments sure make life easier. Navigating around with just a clock and compass must have been a challenge back in the day!

From Shad Bay, we moved to Halifax in another fog-filled adventure! As always, we docked near the HMCS Sackville behind the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. We certainly miss having museum ship CSS Acadia in her regular berth and look forward to her return. The museum is making great changes and is developing their boat building program. With young people from all walks of life and abilities, they are building boats and paddle boards and dreams. A willing heart seems to be the requirement to be involved. The quality of leadership is well reflected in the quality of workmanship. Incredible, amazing, fantastic. The museum staff are to be commended in their vision and drive to move forward. I do hope other institutions across the province will see this model as a way forward for them as well. Being involved in boats, ships and the ocean can do amazing things for young people.