Port Highlights 2009
Summer 2009's voyage to Canada's east coast was quite a change from Fair Jeanne's usual haunt, Lake Ontario. From sea breeze and salt-water deck scrubs to 20-foot tides and 6m waves, the ocean was an exhilarating (and occasionally nauseating) experience for everyone. Along the way we visited ports of all sizes on the shores of Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, each one a different experience.
Portneuf, QC
A small town on the St. Lawrence which served as a shelter for us to wait out gale-force wind warnings near Quebec City, our original destination. Here is where many of the crew first experienced tides – after a half-hour of frantic line-easing, some of the more tide-experienced crew revealed that slacking the lines after the ship was secured would allow the lines to tend themselves. Good lesson. Our handy American taught the ship's company how to wrap old fire hoses to the mooring lines to protect them from chafing on the dock when the tide went out.
Rimouski, QC
Exposed docks are bad.
(Return trip: Extremely foggy)
Caraquet, NB
A quiet fishing town, our first truly salt-water port. We docked late ate night, greeted by a sheltered dock and the bizarre sight of two lit-up tallships in cradles up on the neighbouring breakwater. Caraquet also featured a beautiful cliff-lined beach, an armada of jellyfish, and a marina with amazing showers (give or take some drainage difficulties).
Port Hawkesbury, NS
Taking the Straight of Canso from the Gulf of St. Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean leads mariners through this small shipping town. While the town itself is tiny, we learned from the friendly locals that Port Hawkesbury is actually the second biggest port in Canada based on tonnage!
Halifax, NS
The host of the main event, Tall Ships Festival 2009! Here, 42 tall and tall-ish ships gathered to celebrate the tradition of tall ship sailing, the end of an Atlantic Challenge race leg, and the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Navy Dockyard in Halifax. That's a lot for one festival! The celebrations ran for four days, during which time ships were open for deck tours. Crew and trainees were able to explore other tall ships, meet sailors from around the world, compare experiences and swap stories with the other crews. The city hosted a variety of crew events and dinners, as well as several nights of spectacular fireworks. On an eerily misty morning we bid farewell to our fantastic trainees who had voyaged all the way from southern Ontario with us, and welcomed new crew who would travel with us to the Nova Scotian outports. The festival came to a glorious conclusion with the Parade of Sail around Halifax harbour, with all ships lining up and flaunting full canvas for the excited crowds on shore.
Port Hawkesbury, NS: Take 2
Our second visit to this port was part of a series of smaller tall ship festivals taking place around Nova Scotia. We docked in company with the tall ships the Roseway, the Picton Castle, and the Pride of Baltimore II, who would be visiting most of the same north shore ports as us. With only four ships, it was a great opportunity to get to know the other crews better. We found that we had a lot in common with the Roseway, a schooner from the British Virgin Islands dedicated to youth education and sail training. One evening saw sailors from Pride and Picton Castle bring instruments aboard, sparking a sea shanty evening on the aft deck for the entire ship's company.
Sydney, NS
After a wet but scenic trip though the Bras D'Ors Lakes, we re-entered the ocean for the short stretch to Sydney. The calm, misty morning quickly became pitching seas worse than those we'd faced on the way to Halifax. Lunch was partially abandoned into a make-it-yourself-project in a sink for those still inclined to eat, while a line was strung across the wardroom to keep people from meeting intimately with the octagon table. Loose items and breakables were stowed away, but a crash from belowdecks indicated that the wardroom chandelier and the deckhead were not on good terms in this weather. The Sydney festival was a bigger affair, with the Amistad, Mist of Avalon, and Theodore II (the tugboat) joining as well. During deck tours we visited the Picton Castle, which stocks traditional seamanship supplies such as needles, wooden fids, and marlinspikes, and proceeded to empty our wallets and stock our diddy bags. Volunteers were available to drive us into town, so some of the crew were able to enjoy a movie at the cinema, while down at the dock a Cape Breton band held a free concert.
Pictou, NS
In Pictou we said farewell to the volunteers who sailed with us from Halifax and welcomed a small new group of trainees. The morning consisted of introductions and in-house routine, while the afternoon gave the new trainees a chance to see the other ships before our departure early the next morning. Pictou has a long, beautiful waterfront which which showcases its Scottish heritage. A few minutes from the tall ships' dock, a replica of the Hector, the famous ship that carried the first Scottish immigrants to Nova Scotia, is docked as a piece of living history. Pictou is also home to a lobster farm, a great fish'n'chip place, and a lot of jellyfish, one of which spent the afternoon being thoroughly examined in a bucket on the aft deck.
Charlottetown, PEI
As a break from the Nova Scotian ports, Fair Jeanne took a quick pit stop to PEI and spent the night in Charlottetown at the most peculiar dock we've ever encountered. Little soundboxes in all the lampposts emitted predatory animal noises at frequent intervals, presumably to keep seagulls away from the dock. As a result, a chorus of eagle cries and barking sea otters kept people sleeping on the port side company through the night.
Pugwash, NS
The last port in the TSNS festival, Pugwash had a packed schedule planned for locals and ships. The beautiful red sand beaches were fantastic for a bonfire the first night there and dory racing the next day. A local man had organized teams of two to race, and even let us borrow a dory for some much-needed practice beforehand. Fair Jeanne stepped up and entered three teams, even winning women's first place against the Picton Castle! What can we say, Bytown girls do it better. On our final night, the Picton Castle hosted a party to celebrate the the end of the 2009 festival in style. We said our goodbyes to new friends among the other crews, as we would all be leaving for separate destinations in the morning.
Summerside, PEI
In Summerside we were greeted by costumed islanders who welcomed us quite officially and presented our cook with an enormous sack of PEI potatoes. Summerside had a fantastic waterfront to explore and a rec centre further into town where we had a great time swimming. The second night there, the city hosted a wonderful seafood dinner for everyone, complete with a ritual to make us all official “Spud Islanders.” Not as simple as it sounds! The ritual involves racing each other in a potato sack while holding a potato, drinking a glass of apple juice, and then kissing your potato before you can become an honorary islander. After the dinner and events, we were very lucky to receive a tour of the Marine Training Centre where everyone had the chance to helm virtual tugboats and tankers, the setup used to teach aspiring captains and mates for the real world.
Miramichi, NB
The dock here featured the masts and rig of a bark sunk into concrete, rather confusing to dock next to at night. Here we said goodbye to our trainees, restocked for the next voyage (made easier by the generosity of a local dealership, who lent us a car!), and had a dinner with the city mayor and other officials. The next day we greeted the new trainees who would be with us all the way to Montreal and set sail for Gaspe.
Gaspe, QC
We reached the city just after dawn and spotted masts at the dock... another fake boat? But no, it was instead the Pride of Baltimore II and the Arctic research ship Sedna IV. Once alongside, we held Tallships Olympics between watches to get the trainees to practice some of their new nautical skills. During the day the water became too rough for deck tours, so we took the chance to do some sanding and cetoling on Fair Jeanne's brightwork. When off-watch, we were able to explore the area, which was quite stunning, but a long walk from the town. That evening we hosted a delicious barbecue on board for the crew of Pride and learned that they would be sailing in the same direction as us the next day, but bound for Montreal while we would be stopping in Quebec City.
Quebec City, QC
In Quebec we docked in the Louise Basin, which was right next to the bustling old city, and also meant no worrying about tides or freighter wakes in the night. During the day, watches worked to make the boat look sharp for the upcoming festival in Montreal. Off-watch groups explored the old city, took in the busker's festival, talked their way into a personal tour of the Citadel, and made the trek out to the Fields of Abraham. In the evening we were all a little mystified when hordes of people crowded the city side of the basin, many with lawn chairs, apparently waiting for something. The obvious answer would have been fireworks, but instead, the huge warehouse on the other side of the basin was lit up by a bizarre yet spectacular video celebrating Quebec's 400th anniversary.
Sorel-Tracy, QC
We stopped here on our second-last night to have the end-of-voyage dinner and ship's concert. Everyone got creative with costumes, McLaren produced a meal of epic proportions (and correspondingly epic dishes), and everyone pitched in for, dare I say it, an epic galley clean-up. After dinner we held ship's concert on the aft deck, which included some hilarious skits, all sorts of music, a few unexpected buckets of water, and ended with the rigging song and dessert. Definitely a memorable evening.
Montreal, QC
In Montreal we were a part of the Antique Boat Festival, with a great dock downtown that we shared with a classic wooden powerboat. Here we were struck by the sad end-of-summer feeling as we said goodbye not only to our great trainees, but also to some of the crew and to our officers-in-training, many of whom had been with us since the beginning of July. The Boat Festival was a success, though a little quiet for Fair Jeanne as she wasn't docked with most of the other boats. After the weekend, we were joined by our new trainees for the last session of the summer season.
Morrisburg, ON
We took advantage of the park here to have a great night of Capture the Flag, Manhunt, and link-tag! In the morning we took a trip to nearby Upper Canada Village to see a (different) traditional way of life. Some of the girls even managed to borrow period costumes and take the fantastic picture which won the official Bytown UCV photo competition with flying colours.
Brockville, ON
It felt strange to see a familiar waterfront as Fair Jeanne docked in her spot on Blockhouse Island. We'd been to the east coast and back again, and were now officially home. Stepping onto the dock we'd left two months before, it felt like we'd been gone forever and yet no time at all. We greeted parents onshore, finished happy hour and last-minute levels, then said goodbye to our energetic trainees, all of whom had stepped up to the challenge of sailing the 'big kids' boat.
And that, believe it or not, is just a small part of Fair Jeanne's summer. What's missing is all the adventure on the water in between ports, but you'll just have to come along sometime to experience that part!
