the ROUTE Halifax Saint Pierre departed at noon today bound for Saint Pierre. Live race tracking will be available from https://www.routespm.com/en/race-tracking/
The Halifax Waterfront will host the ROUTE Halifax Saint-Pierre race, a prestigious international 350-mile Ocean Race running from Halifax, NS, Canada to Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, France.The Race happens Bi-annually, in the off year for the Marblehead to Halifax Race. This year the race departs at Noon on June 26. Boats will be along the waterfront beginning today.
In the past, the Race has begun off the RNSYS in the Northwest Arm.
This years race will include a group of 25 international sailboats and their 200-person crew. The boats are coming to Halifax from both sides of the Atlantic, including 14 Canadian boats (7 NS, 1 NB, 2 NFLD, 4QC), 4 French boats (3 Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, 1 France Mainland), 2 English boats and 5 American boats. The boats will be moored between Bishop’s Landing to the Summit Seawall (just north of the Stubborn Goat Beer Garden).
Details about the vessels can be found at https://www.routespm.com/en/route-halifax-saint-pierre/2018-entries/
Also in attendance will be the French Marine National ship Fulmar, which patrols the water of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, and put into Halifax today.
As part of the event, there will be two evenings of free, live, all ages, French music (June 23 and 24 from 5:30pm to 10:30pm), taking place at Foundation Place, 1549 Lower Water Street. (next to Waterfront Warehouse) Acts Performing will be:
The Portuguese navy sail training vessel NRP Sagres is Due to arrive in Halifax on Sunday at 10am. Many of her siblings and step-sibblings have stopped in Halifax in the past number of years.
NRP Sagres will be open to the public, June 18th from 10am to noon; tomorrow, June 19 from 10am to noon, 2pm to 7pm and 8pm to 11pm.
The Bluenose also arrived in Halifax today, and will be offering sailings until the 20th.
If you would like to avoid sounding like a landlubber – Brush up on your types of sailing Vessels.
Alex Thomson and his Hugo Boss Imoca 60 racing yacht arrived at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron last night. built to compete in Distance off shore races – Thomson last ran the 2016 Vendee Globe. The yacht is built for single handed operation.
The Yacht will be making stops in Canada and America in June & July this year. The dates and stops are as follows: Montreal – 2nd – 4th June Toronto – 11th – 15th June Boston 1st – 3rd July New York – 10th – 15th July
Thompson is probably best known outside sailing circles for his Hugo Boss Promotional work Which featured climbing the mast while the boat was heeled, Standing on the Keel, And wakeboarding behind the boat.
catboats are simple, and feature only a main sail. the Opti or the Laser are common Examples. Not restricted to small dingys, the Hinterhoeller built Nonsuch is a cat rigged keel boat that was built in lengths of 22-40 feet.
sloops feature 2 sails – a Main sail behind the mast, and a Jib forward. a Jib will not extend rearward beyond the mast, however a Genoa will. Genoa’s are also known as an overlapping jib, and can be seen on the examples above. this is also a Simple fore and aft rig (with a sail infront, and behind the mast) which will be repeated on larger vessels.
Dorothea is a ketch. Both vessels add a second “Mizzen” mast behind the main sail, the difference in name comes from whether that mast is located Fore or Aft of the Rudder post. In Dorothea’s case, the rudder is on the Transom, So its a Ketch. The Mizzen mast on a Yawl is typically much smaller then the main, and as far to the rear as possible.
a famous yawl was Joshua Slocum’s vessel Spray
Schooners are a complicated sail plan, because there can be so much variation. Bluenose is an example of a Gaff rigged schooner. A schooner is a ship rigged the main sail (largest) on the main mast, and a foresail on the foremast. The Gaff rig refers to the the spar member at the top of the sail, which allows for more sail area as the sail doesn’t need to be triangularly shaped to come to a point at the mast.
3 masted schooners are also common, and simply add an additional sails. (the largest schooner featured 7 masts) topsail schooners feature additional top sails on the masts, as seen on the Pride of Baltimore II.
Finally a Bermuda rig schooner features triangular sails off the fore and main masts, as you would see in a sloop. – Not surprisingly, the Bermuda rig is found on the 3 masted schooner Spirit of Bermuda. This Ship also Shows the relative hights of the Masts – the Main Mast (the center mast, carrying the largest sail) is Tallest, the foremast is next, and the mizzen is shortest. The Spirit of Bermuda’s masts are also Raked – or angled rearward. this was done to improve performance of the ship.
A brigantine is like a schooner, however it features a Gaff rigged main sail on the main mast, and is Square rigged on the foremast. While many historical examples exist, the only current examples I know both belong to Bytown Brigantine, The Black Jack, and Fair Jeanne (pictured)
A brig features 2 square rigged masts. the Main Mast features a Small Gaff rigged sail as well to improve maneuverability. the US Brig Niagara is a replica of Oliver Hazard Perry’s relief flagship on the great lakes durign the war of 1812.
A Barquentine is a vessel with 3 or more masts – the foremast being Square rigged and the others being gaff rigged. Peacemaker (above) is an example.
A barque is a vessel with 3 or more masts, the foremast and main mast being square rigged, and the Mizzen mast gaff riged. The Picton Castle is a good example of a barque.
A full rigged ship features 3 or more masts, all square rigged. The Italian Navy vessel Amerigo Vespucci is a full rigged ship, though I don’t have a photo of her with her sails up.
Finally, In Summary:
As Promised, Photos from yesterdays Parade of Sail are now posted. you can find the Flickr Gallery at https://flic.kr/s/aHsm5AySPG Or by clicking the image below
A selection of Photos are available to purchase in printed book form via http://www.blurb.ca/b/8083333-tall-ships-2017
(above) Oosterschelde (below) Golden Liew. Both at Purdys Wharf.
(above) St. Lawrence II at Saltys. (below) Bluenose at the Museum Wharf.
(above) Spirit of North Carolina at Museum Wharf (below) Alexander von Humboldt at Ectug.
(above) HMCS Oriole at Ectug (below) El Galeon at Salter block
(above sand below) Jolie Brise, Vahine, Spaniel, Rona II
(above)Regina Germania and Peter Von Danzig (below) Geronimo
(above) Atyla (below) Impossible Dream, both at bishops Landing
(above) Spirit of Bermuda (below) Mists of Avalon
(above) Wylde Swan (below) Blue Clipper
(below) USCG Eagle