Last Saturday, I was able to witness relaunch of Bluenose II in the UNESCO World Heritage Town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. We had to leave Halifax at 5am to make it in time for the early morning launch. There was a whole line-up of cars heading into Lunenburg that early morning, and many many people were there already when we arrived.
As we were catching a dory-ride out to the boat from which to observe the launch, we noticed the spectators lined up.
The lowering of the boat into the water was, contrary to my expectations, done incredibly slowly and carefully. No big splash here. Following is an image of her gently being eased into the harbour; the whole process took the better part of an hour.
We were lucky to be able to observe the launch from the water, from aboard the PaPa.
Everyone was very excited upon the moment when the Bluenose II was finally released from the cradle, and actually floated. Horns were tooted, and canons went off.
By lunchtime, the wind and rain had driven everyone inside somewhere. We went back on land to have a look up close.
Next, she will get her rigging, masts and so forth. And then she’ll be back in service! It was pretty cool to be there for this historic relaunch.
