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Schooner Bluenose II has a role in an upcoming TV series

PHIL WATSON

It’s beginning to feel like somebody turned the calendar back here on the waterfront. Maybe as far as the 1840s! There are barrels, crates and bales of cargo piled on the wharf and the modern 1930s look of Lunenburg waterfront is fading away. Even the museum ship Cape Sable has been towed down the waterfront to the Ocean Gear Wharf to keep the area looking period appropriate.

All this kerfuffle is because a television series production crew has descended on Nova Scotia. The book being adapted is Washington Black by Canadian author Esi Edugyan, who has won many awards and is “a great teller of yarns” as you might say here on the south shore of Nova Scotia.

It’s a well-crafted story, worth reading. Bluenose II, Picton Castle and various small boats will have parts of the story to tell. The ships will have different names and be barely recognizable, but we and the Lunenburg waterfront will be there.

In other news, could it please stop raining for a bit? It is hard to get outside paint and varnish work done on a big glossy schooner if it’s five degrees and drizzling.

The crew is noticing as well and we are increasingly asked about when we are taking our winter cover off the ship. It’s like waiting for Christmas morning!

The only drawback is the simple act of removing the cover will cause it to rain for several days in a row. By occupation I am a superstitious person, the certainty of rain and the cover coming off moves from superstition to the failure of the laws of statistics. It’s so obvious other captains ask me so they can plan inside work for those few days.

The crew keeps working long days on the never-ending list to complete. The blocks have finally been put away and the mahogany life jacket boxes are now being attended to along with steps, flag poles, boxes to stand on for the helmsman, etc. It’s amazing how many little varnished bits we have on the ship.

In exciting news, our schedule for the season has been published and we have all kinds of public harbour cruises scheduled. These twohour cruises are a chance for Nova Scotians and visitors alike to step back in history and sail aboard a Grand Banks schooner. Once clear of the harbour, near battery point, the sails are raised and the engines shut off, passengers

and crew alike are always delighted and fascinated as the ship heels to the wind and accelerates away out the bay. Returning to Lunenburg sometime later the town comes into view and you have a real appreciation of what it must have felt like to return home from the Grand Banks and see home. It’s a special moment in the cruise.

I also recently had the chance to pop into the Bluenose II Company Store. I was staggered by the amount of folding to be done. All the clothing is shipped laid flat and each T-shirt, sweatshirt and jacket must be pulled, cataloged and folded. They will be open soon, all proceeds help keep your favourite schooner underway and telling the story of the fishing and racing in Nova Scotia.

Captain Phil Watson has been onboard Bluenose II for 36 years and this is his

21st year as captain. Follow along as he chronicles the

2022 Bluenose II season. Visit bluenose.novascotia.ca for more information on Bluenose II.

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2022-05-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-18T07:00:00.0000000Z

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