When visiting Halifax, Nova Scotia this June, we spotted a beautiful schooner in the harbour and discovered it was the legendary boat that appears on the Canadian dime. We had only a vague recollection of the story behind the Bluenose, but were keen to buy a ticket to set sail on this national icon. Unfortunately, there was only one seat left so Steve went and I shot some video from shore.

The Story of the Bluenose

In 1920 Halifax newspaper owner, William H. Dennis created a schooner racing series and donated a prize of the International Fisherman’s Trophy. There had long been a friendly rivalry among the schooners of the fishing fleets of the Maritime provinces and the New England states and this new competition amplified it.

Pride on the Line

The first year, two first-prize contenders emerged from the elimination series, the Esperanto of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and the Delawana of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Esperanto was victorious.

Designed for Speed

Determined to reign supreme, Nova Scotians commissioned a young naval architect named William J. Roué to design a new schooner to compete for the trophy. The Bluenose launched in March,1921. Apart from a racing, it was a working cod fishing schooner. Speed was also important in the fishing industry because boats that got back to shore quickly commanded a higher price for their catches.

The Bluenose was fast.

In October, 1921 the Bluenose, captained by Angus Walters, beat Gloucester’s ship, Elsie, and brought the trophy home to Nova Scotia. It repeated the win for the next 17 years. In the final race of the series in 1938, the Bluenose was dubbed Queen of the North Atlantic fishing fleet.

Immortalized on the Canadian Dime

The image of the Bluenose earned its place on the dime in 1937. Artist Emanuel Hahn designed the stamp.

Sad End

By 1942, fishing schooners were largely replaced with modern engine-powered steel trawlers. The Bluenose was sold to the West Indian Trading Company. In 1946 it sank to a watery grave when it hit a reef near Haiti.

Bluenose II

Not content to let the memory of the Bluenose fade into history, a group of people in Lunenburg decided to build a replica of the schooner.  Oland Brewery sponsored the reconstruction and the ship was built in the same shipyard as the original by some of the same men.

The Bluenose II Experience

Today the Bluenose II acts as an ambassador for Nova Scotia (Oland Brewery sold it to the province for $1 in 1971) and visits festivals and events at seaports around the province. The six officers, 12 deckhands, and four trainees live onboard during the ship’s six-month season (how cool would that be?).

If you don’t get a ticket for a public sailing, you can still board the docked ship to talk to the crew and take a closer look. Nova Scotia tourism lists the open deck and sailing schedule on its website.

Steve loved his experience, especially seeing the crew hoist the sails. It has the largest working mainsail in the world, measuring 4,150 square feet (386 m2).

The Bluenose II represents the finest in shipbuilding. On a beautiful day, coasting along in the harbour, it’s easy to feel the swell of Canadian pride the original crew and captain must have had with each win of that trophy.

Get a sense of the majesty of this ship from our short video:

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