| Mainmast, height from deck |
38 metre |
| Foremast, height from deck |
36 metre |
| Sail area |
1036 m² (11,151.4 sq ft) |
| Mainsail area |
386 m² (4,154.9 sq ft) |
Bluenose was a
CanadianCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
fishing and racing
schoonerA schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
from
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
built in 1921. She was later commemorated by a replica
Bluenose IIBluenose II is a replica of the fishing schooner Bluenose which serves as Nova Scotia's sailing ambassador. Bluenose II was launched at Lunenburg on July 24, 1963, built to original plans and by many of the same workers. The original Bluenose captain Angus J. Walters took the helm of the new...
built in 1963. A celebrated racing ship and hard-working fishing vessel,
Bluenose became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia as well as important Canadian symbol in the 1930s. The name "bluenose" originated as a nickname for Nova Scotians from as early as the late 18th century.
Career
Designed by
William RouéWilliam James Roué was a naval architect, famous for his design of the Bluenose fishing schooner, which sailed to victory in the Halifax Herald International Fisherman's competition in 1921, 1922, 1923, 1931 and 1938, and held the record for the largest catch of fish ever brought into...
and built by Smith and Rhuland,
Bluenose was launched at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on March 26, 1921, and christened by Audrey Marie Smith. She was built to be a racing ship and fishing vessel. This was in response to the defeat of the Nova Scotian Fishing Schooner
Delawana by the
Gloucester, MassachusettsGloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
fishing schooner
Esperanto in 1920. That race was sponsored by the
Halifax Herald newspaper.
After a season fishing on the
Grand BanksThe Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...
,
Bluenose defeated
Elsie (out of Gloucester), returning the International Fishermen's Trophy to Nova Scotia. In 1930, off Gloucester, Massachusetts, she was defeated 2-0 in the inaugural Sir Thomas Lipton International Fishing Challenge Cup by perhaps her most celebrated competitor, the
Gertrude L. ThebaudGertrude L. Thebaud was an American fishing and racing schooner built and launched in Essex, Massachusetts in 1930. A celebrated racing competitor of the Bluenose. The vessel was designed by Frank Paine and built by Arthur D. Story for Louis A. Thebaud, and named for his wife, Gertrude Thebaud. ...
. However, over the next 17 years of racing, no challenger, American or Canadian, could wrest the International Fishermen's Trophy from her.
It is notable that she was no mere racing ship, but also a general fishing craft that was worked hard throughout her lifetime. She fished scallops and other kinds of seafood, and at least once won competitions for largest catches of the season and similar awards.
Fishing schooners became obsolete after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and despite efforts to keep her in Nova Scotia, the
Bluenose was sold to work as a freighter in the West Indies. Laden with bananas, she foundered on a Haitian reef and was lost on January 28, 1946.
While searching for Morgan’s HMS Oxford, debris from the Bluenose was discovered off Isle a’Vache on the south coast of Haiti by the Caribbean Marine Institute during June of 2005. This group held salvage rights to Haiti’s territorial waters at the time.
Fame and commemoration
Bluenose, under full sail, is portrayed on the
1929 Canadian Bluenose postage stampThe Bluenose is the nickname for a 50-cent definitive postage stamp issued by the Canadian Post Office on 8 January 1929 as part of the King George V "Scroll Issue”. Scott number is 158 with a perforation of 12...
50 cent issue. The
Bluenose has been featured on a 1982 60-cent stamp that commemorated the International Philatelic Youth Exhibition. The
Bluenose is featured on a 1988 37-cent issue that celebrated
Bluenose skipper Angus Walters.
The
Bluenose also appears on the current Nova Scotia licence plate. The fishing schooner on the
Canadian dimeIn Canada a dime is a coin worth ten cents. It is the smallest of the currently issued Canadian coins. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official national term of the coin is the 10 cent piece, but in practice the term dime is universal...
, added in 1937 at the height of fame for
Bluenose, was actually based on a composite image of
Bluenose and two other schooners, but has for years been commonly known as the
Bluenose. In 2002, the government of Canada declared the depiction on the dime to be the
Bluenose.
Bluenose and her captain, Angus J. Walters of Lunenburg, were inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1955, making her the first and only non-human CSHF inductee until 1960, when she was joined by Canadian Hydroplane Champion
Miss Supertest IIIMiss Supertest III was a Canadian-designed and built hydroplane that won the 1959 Detroit Memorial Regatta and the 1959, 1960 and 1961 Harmsworth Cup races -- the only four races it ever entered. It was the only three-time Harmsworth Cup winner and the first non-U.S. winner in 39 years.Racing out...
. That same year another honour was bestowed upon the famous sailing ship when a new Canadian National Railways passenger-vehicle ferry for the inaugural
YarmouthYarmouth is a town and fishing port located on the Gulf of Maine in rural southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the shire town of Yarmouth County. The town is located in the heart of the world's largest lobster fishing grounds and has Canada's highest lobster catch.- History :The townsite may...
-
Bar HarborBar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population is 5,235. Bar Harbor is a famous summer colony in the Down East region of Maine. It is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory and Mount Desert Island...
service was launched as the M/V
Bluenose.
Bluenose II
In 1963 a replica of
Bluenose was built at Lunenburg using the original
Bluenose plans and named
Bluenose IIBluenose II is a replica of the fishing schooner Bluenose which serves as Nova Scotia's sailing ambassador. Bluenose II was launched at Lunenburg on July 24, 1963, built to original plans and by many of the same workers. The original Bluenose captain Angus J. Walters took the helm of the new...
. Built for the Olands Brewery as a promotional yacht, the replica was later acquired by the province of
Nova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
for $1 as a sailing ambassador and continues to sail every summer based out of Lunenburg. As of 2011, Bluenose II is under going complete refit with very few original Bluenose II parts being reused.
Bluenose IV
In 2007, Joan Roué, the great-granddaughter of the designer William Roué, started raising funds to build a new
Bluenose. She cited the need for a new ambassador for Nova Scotia and Canada, listing the particulars at a Bluenose IV website. The name
Bluenose III is owned by the province of Nova Scotia, and Ms. Roué could not reach an agreement for its use on the new schooner so Ms. Roué and North Atlantic Enterprises are proceeding anyway, however, under the name
Bluenose IV. An agreement was reached with Snyder's Shipyard to build the new replica when fundraising was completed. However as of 2009, Joan Roué had not succeeded in raising the required funds.
In the media
In 1977, The Houghton Weavers, a folk group from Lancashire, England, recorded a song titled Blue Nose. They described the song as "A well known sea shanty telling of one of the famous sailing ships on the jamaican rum run". The song featured on the album "Gone are the days".
Canadian Irish folk group
The Irish RoversThe Irish Rovers is a Canadian Irish folk group created in 1963 and named after the traditional song "The Irish Rover". The group is best known for their international television series, and renditions of traditional Irish drinking songs, as well as early hits, Shel Silverstein's "The Unicorn",...
released a tribute to the
Bluenose on their 1979 album
Tall Ships and Salty Dogs- Track listing :*Side One#Day the Tall Ships Came#New York Girls#Bluenose#Cape Anne#Missionary's Child#Old Balena#Rio Grande#Blow the Man Down#Jigs*Side Two#I'm Alone at Lunenburg NS#Sloop John B#Wanderer and the Whale#Foolish Old Man...
.
Canadian
folk singerFolk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
Stan RogersStanley Allison "Stan" Rogers was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter.Rogers was noted for his rich, baritone voice and his finely crafted, traditional-sounding songs which were frequently inspired by Canadian history and the daily lives of working people, especially those from the fishing...
honours both ships in his song "Bluenose", found on his albums
Turnaround-Track listing:# Dark Eyed Molly# Oh No, Not I# Second Effort# Bluenose# The Jeannie C.# So Blue# Front Runner# Song of the Candle# Try Like the Devil# Turnaround...
, released in 1978, and
Home In HalifaxHome in Halifax is a 1993 live album by Stan Rogers. It was recorded by the CBC during a concert Rogers performed at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax, Nova Scotia in March of 1982, 11 years prior. The concert was put together as a life radio and T.V. broadcast celebrating Rogers' annual...
, released posthumously in 1994. - Michael Stanbury – Bluenose is another musical rendition of the racing history of the bluenose. A sailing ship called
Bluenose appears in the 1990s children's television program,
Theodore TugboatTheodore Tugboat is a Canadian children's television series about a tugboat named Theodore who lives in the Big Harbour with all of his friends. The show was produced in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada by the CBC , and the now defunct Cochran Entertainment, and was filmed on a model set using radio...
. The children's television series
TUGSTUGS is a British children's television series, first broadcast in 1988. It was created by the producers of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, Robert D. Cardona and David Mitton. The series dealt with the adventures of two anthropomorphized tugboat fleets, the Star Fleet and the Z-Stacks, who...
features a character named Bluenose, who may be named after the schooner.
The ship is also prominently mentioned in the
Circle-Vision 360°Circle-Vision 360° is a film technique, refined by The Walt Disney Company, that uses nine cameras for nine huge screens arranged in a circle. The cameras are usually mounted on top of an automobile for scenes through cities and highways, while films such as The Timekeeper use a static camera and...
film
O Canada!O Canada! is a Circle-Vision 360° movie. It is an attraction at the Canada Pavilion at the Epcot World Showcase at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Its name derives from Canada's national anthem...
in the
Canadian pavilionThe Canada Pavilion is part of World Showcase within Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.-Layout:The Canada Pavilion is designed to remind guests of the Canadian outdoors. It includes a canyon, a waterfall, gardens, a pool with fountains, and totem poles. The main attraction is O...
at
EpcotEpcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...
in Walt Disney World in
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
See also
- Bluenose II
Bluenose II is a replica of the fishing schooner Bluenose which serves as Nova Scotia's sailing ambassador. Bluenose II was launched at Lunenburg on July 24, 1963, built to original plans and by many of the same workers. The original Bluenose captain Angus J. Walters took the helm of the new...
- Museum ship
A museum ship, or sometimes memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public, for educational or memorial purposes...
- List of museum ships
- Ship replica
A ship replica is a reconstruction of a no longer existing ship. Replicas can range from authentically reconstructed, fully seaworthy ships, to ships of modern construction that give an impression of an historic vessel...
- Ships preserved in museums
Ships preserved in museums is list of preserved incomplete ships and smaller boats in museums around the world.* Dover Bronze Age Boat: remains of bronze age sewn plank boat preserved at the Dover Museum, England...
- List of schooners
Selected books
- Getson, Heather-Anne, Bluenose: The Ocean Knows Her Name., Halifax: Nimbus Publishing, 2006.
- Keith McLaren. A Race for Real Sailors: The Bluenose and the International Fishermen's Race 1920 - 1938. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2006.
- Marq de Villiers
Marq de Villiers, CM is an award-winning Canadian writer and journalist. He now chiefly writes non-fiction books on scientific topics. In the past he also worked as a magazine editor and foreign correspondent.-Biography:...
. Witch in the Wind:The True Story of the Legendary Bluenose. Toronto: Thomas Allen, 2007.
External links