No sail set so PRIDE rolls equally from side to side upwards of ten degrees. Mostly not more than five degrees. Likely to motor till late afternoon or longer before new wind shows up. Expected from southeast. Would be a beam breeze. If and when.

 

The stay in Lunenburg is always friendly. Welcoming. Appreciative. PRIDE sailed in last Thursday, June 5, with full sail (main and main topsail, foresail, square topsail, and three headsails). After a sail-by near BLUENOSE II crew training in outer bay, PRIDE broad reached right up to near the dock. Took sail during the reach. All but the square topsail, main, and main topsail. Rounded up into the wind while taking in square topsail. Used the mainsail backed to the lee side of the turn (in this instance STBD side with a turn to PORT into the wind). This backing of the mainsail stopped PRIDE’s forward glide immediately. Turned on engines. Held her just so with propellers. Head to wind. While the crew “mast headed” the main gaff topsail to clear the mainsail peak halyards ahead of lowering the mainsail. Lowered the mainsail with tidy flaking (folding of sail). Turned PRIDE beam to breeze and towards entry into slip. While PRIDE had wind abeam, lowered mast-headed main gaff topsail down to along lee side of the doubling of the lower mast for final furling. Turned downwind and into slip and moored. An appreciative welcoming crowd on the dock.

Most of PRIDE’s crew responded to an invitation by BLUENOSE II to sail aboard for the Sunday morning 2-hour sail. I enjoyed watching her Master, Captain Phil Watson, manage all so very smoothly. That is a very powerful vessel. Captain Watson started as deckhand on her 40 years ago. Has been her skipper for a long time. He knows BLUENOSE II. Sunday evening he, Captain Dan Moreland, and I enjoyed time together. Between us it seems we represent about 146 years of professional sailing experience. Of which together we represent 112 years of command time. We three recognize there were other ways to work a mariner’s profession. Likely higher paying. It seems we stumbled into ships and missions that had no equal to woo us away. And family partnerships that accepted this truth. Not reluctantly either. We three count ourselves very fortunate.

Signed,

Jan C. Miles, Senior Captain