Here on Lunenburg’s working waterfront, with the Picton Castle’s Voyage to the South Pacific on hold, we want to do something worthwhile and interesting. So, we are looking to do a modified short and sweet summertime Bosun School in July and August with a big emphasis on small boat sailing and handling. Summertime on Lunenburg Harbour, what a perfect time to “mess about in boats!”
As always the emphasis will be on building up nautical hand skills and small boat handling for all those that can join. Skills such as ropework, splicing, and knots, rigging work like wire splicing, parceling and serving wire rigging, how to make good varnish work, ship, and boat caulking, and getting all kinds of boats ready for the water then, of course, sailing them lots! Small boat handling is key to any mariner. It is also a good deal of fun! We want to keep the excellent energy of this growing program going, give folks a chance to have a ship experience and learn a lot of marine skills without going to sea. It would be a shame not to see lots of activity on and near the ship at our wharf on this fine summer approaching swiftly. Lots of interesting rigging projects to do, including sending some yards and a topmast back up, lots of great small boat sailing in all our many small craft. Keeps things ticking over and lived in.
This will do some material good for the ship, for all the boats and our wharf and warehouse. It is best if all these things get used and ‘lived in’ so to speak. And it is only right to make the waterfront, the ship and boats accessible in the nice summertime days in Lunenburg Harbour. Messing about in boats on a working waterfront at our wharf and at the venerable cool old Dory Shop is just the best thing. A combination of teaching, learning, practice and service making a ship better, the seafarers’ creed. We figure that we will start early in the day with projects on the ship, boats and wharf fitting out the boats and learning skills used on ships, then mid-afternoon get out in boats to sail around the harbour, weather permitting. Wednesday evenings we usually see the Hump Cup craft sailing around. This is spontaneous Wednesday regatta of lots of boats sailing just for fun is a great tradition in our harbour.
We have lots of boats to sail, row and motor around in. We have Dory Shop-built motor skiffs and dories, a Bequia “two bow” boat called No Monkey, South Pacific atoll fishing/copra sloops Karl and Sydney rebuilt by former crew and Bosun School gangs, our faithful 23’ long-boat monomoy which has ranged all over South Pacific lagoons, and a 20 foot deep-sea fishing boat Kousteau from near Madagascar. We have the exquisite small schooner Calanova for those more advanced and the fine modern fiberglass sloop Bosun to learn on, practice and have a good time. These boats run the gamut of types and we learn different things from each one. Some can be worked by one person, some need a crew, all broaden our abilities in boats.
To make this program as accessible as possible there will be no charge. Due to COVID-19 safety requirements there may be geographical restrictions to who may participate. For now this will be limited to ten participants. This could change with the number expanding, hopefully as we get closer. If you are interested, get in touch with us soon.
Right now this Bosun School plan is tentative. Its execution will depend on the public health requirements in place in Nova Scotia in July. If we can proceed, this Bosun School will be set up within the requirements and we will follow all recommended guidelines and restrictions designed to keep us all healthy.
For more information, click here.
– Captain Daniel Moreland
