On possibly her first visit since the tall ships festival in 1984 (
Shipfax suggests this isn't the case, and she has been here since), the Portuguese Navy's sail training barque SAGRES paid a visit to Halifax today, docking at Pier 24 just at after 10:00 this morning. I decided to put my Father's Day gift, a new fitness tracker, to good use and walked down to the ferry and then to the seaport.
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| SAGRES was fairly small on the horizon when seen from the ferry, and was carrying minimal sail. |
SAGRES is one of a number of near sisterships that include the US Coast Guard's EAGLE, the German Navy's GORCH FOCK II, and Romania's MIRCEA. SAGRES is actually the second or third ship of that name in the Portuguese Navy, though online sources are unclear on whether she should be SAGRES II or SAGRES III - when she was here in 1984, it is my recollection that she was referred to as SAGRES II, and that is how I always think of her.
On her entry to Halifax Harbour, SAGRES pulled up to the camber containing Pier 24, and two Ville class tugs of the RCN took up lines from bow and stern, and SAGRES was guided in stern first. Around this time, Bluenose II headed out with a load of guests.
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| Bluenose II heading out while tugs bring SAGRES into Pier 24. |
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| The Navy's Ville class of small tugs often wear aprons over their bumpers to prevent marking the white hulls of certain visiting ships. |
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| The lighting was not in our favour this morning, with the ship backlit for the entire approach. |
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| Standing in the shadow of the ship's ensign yielded this image of the illuminated flag. |
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| Members of what I assume was the Stadacona Band were on hand to greet SAGRES. |
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| Pier 24 is not the most accessible or picturesque pier in the Port of Halifax - I personally would have preferred her to tie up further north in a more accessible portion of the waterfront. EAGLE has used the Cable Wharf in the past, however, the ongoing construction of the Queen's Marque development makes this impossible at the moment, and this may partly explain SAGRES berthing location. |
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| After being securely tied up, the jack is raised on a staff midway along the bowsprit. |
After finishing up with SAGRES, I headed north once more to catch the ferry back to Dartmouth. My walk was interrupted when I saw that Bluenose II was headed back to her own temporary berth in front of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Like SAGRES II, it is unclear what number the current Bluenose should be. Although formally called Bluenose II by her owners, the Province of Nova Scotia, the original Bluenose II (launched in 1963 as a mascot for the Oland Brewing Company) ended its life in a wood chipper, and the current Bluenose II is a complete new schooner from the keel up, and to slightly different lines. She should properly be called Bluenose III, and I have sometimes been known to refer to her as Bluenose v2.5. Regardless, she is an attractive sight when sailing the harbour, and without the original Bluenose II to compare her to, she is virtually indistinguishable from her namesake.
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| Although "sailing" with the wind, her sails are hauled in tight, and she was making her way past George's Island under engine power when this image was taken. |
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| I managed this angle of her approach by kneeling on the floating wharf opposite Bluenose II's berth. |
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| This early in the season, the floating wharf is unusually devoid of small boats, allowing this unencumbered viewing angle of Bluenose II and her reflection on the water. I needed a 12mm lens (18mm equivalent on my APS-C camera) to fit everything in. |
Last year was the big tall ships festival for Canada's 150th year, so this year I will have to make do with the table scraps thrown my way with the occasional barque and schooner.
