Relaunching Amasonia

Growing up, I spent many summers at the family cottage on the LaHave River below Bridgewater. Apart from my Dad's boat sitting out front, I could gaze upon the boats across the river including an offshore racer or two. Of particular interest were two schooners: Skylark designed and built by David Stevens, and Amasonia - a Tancook schooner. Skylark was renamed Sarah Abbot, and now calls Maryland home. Amasonia stayed closer to home, is still based here in Nova Scotia, and was relaunched this week after a restoration.

Amasonia was built in, and launched from, Big Tancook Island in 1935 by Howard and Tom Mason. A brief history appears on the Nova Scotia Schooner Association website, which I won't repeat here. She has had her share of adventures, including one previous major rebuild in 1963, and was due for another refit. Her owner since 1989, Lorne Leahey, took her to Bill Lutwick at Lutwick's Boat Building and Repair in Indian Point, near Mahone Bay, for some TLC. I only heard a few weeks ago that she was being restored, and dropped by the boat shop last week to see what progress was being made - I arrived just in time, as she was ready to return to the water within the week.

For those interested, there is a book on the Tancook schooners, called - you guessed it - The Tancook Schooners.  

The fine lines of Amasonia.

The interior of Lutwick's Boat Building and Repair.

I asked if I could be notified when she was ready to launch, and Lorne was kind enough to oblige. I was (just) able to make it down in time to see her come off her cradle earlier this week.

Amasonia still sitting on her keel in the cradle.

Still in her cradle.

Amasonia wasn't alone - there were a few other schooners present.

One of the spectators was Wawaloon - another Tancook-built schooner.

A number of years ago, I had an apartment overlooking the narrows of Halifax Harbour, right across from the shipyard. I remember seeing Wawaloon sailing up the harbour on a somewhat blustery day in 2007, and watching her respond to the wind.

Wawaloon making her way up the harbour.

Wawaloon heeling over after catching a gust.

High tide was scheduled for 1700h, but Amasonia wasn't quite ready to budge, so she received some help backing out of her cradle.

Spectators haul on Amasonia's lines to coax her from her cradle.

Efforts to haul her out were successful, and Amasonia was returned to her native element.

Amasonia is framed by another wooden boat in her cradle.

Amasonia's pleased-looking owner, Lorne Leahey, with Bill Lutwick standing behind.

Someone did the math, and there is a combined 252 years of Nova Scotia schooner history in this photo, with (from left to right) Wawaloon (built 1946), Pegasus (1971), Amasonia (1935), and Mary David (1968).

Amasonia is riding a bit high in the water at the moment, as she still needs to have her masts fitted and fuel tanks filled, among other things.

Bill has worked on many boats, and one of his recent projects - an International One Design (IOD) named Ghost - was sitting out front of the shop.

Ghost.

Bill is also working on a boat that is near and dear to my own heart - an International 18 One Design by the name of Bratt. My father owned her from 1966 to 1973, and she will be a sight to behold when completed. But that is a subject for another blog post.

Back in 2009, a sailing trip from LaHave to Chester provided a couple of chance encounters relevant to this post. First of all, off Indian Point and Bill's shop, we encountered one of his Robin L 24s (or RL24), a 24-foot adaptation of a Tancook Sloop.

An RL24 sailing off Indian Point, with the red shed of Lutwick Boat Building and Repair in the background.

RL24.

RL24.

We also encountered Amasonia herself off the shore of Nova Scotia. She's so pretty that I just had to go back and edit a few more photos just for this blog post.

Amasonia sailing along on what I assume is a beam reach.

Amasonia sails off towards the horizon.

With any luck, I will be able to catch Amasonia under sail once more this summer when she is rigged.

2017 Photography Retrospective

From flybys of First World War aircraft to spending the night within the Fortress of Louisbourg, I found there were many unique experiences to photograph this year. Here are some of my favourite images from the year.

I'm always a sucker for water-related imagery, and this flowing water over a weir in Shubie Park is like a magnet for me.

I remember that even when visiting as a child, the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park peacocks had the run of the place, and things don't seem to have changed much. 

The Black Market on Grafton Street has an interesting store front, but I never bothered to stop and take a picture until there were tall snow banks in front of it.

On the same stretch of Grafton Street, I have been photographing this tree though various seasons over the last few years. I usually look for the contrast of green leaves against the red brick, but the snow caked on the branches worked just as well.

Same tree, different season. I prefer the light green leaves of spring to the darker green of summer.

My infrequent trips to Ottawa provide the occasional change in scenery. Shooting through airplane windows is a bit of a crap shoot, but sometimes it is well worth the reduced leg room in the window seat of a Dash-8.

The new Discovery Centre is full of interesting architecture.

Heck, even the HVAC systems at the Discovery Centre are interesting.

It has been a few years since our last visit, but the kids greatly enjoyed our visit to the Oaklawn Park Zoo (as did their Dad).

Bridge? What bridge?

Oh, that bridge!

I am always focusing in on fine details of the yachts that visit Halifax, and 2017 was no different.

Yacht waterline reflections feature prominently as well, of course.

Bluenose II may not count as a yacht, but whatever - I still dig the waterline reflection.

Calm water on Halifax Harbour can provide interesting reflections, like this one of Purdy's Wharf. In this case, I flipped the image, and it reminds me of smoke leaving a series of smoke stacks.

A chopstick on the assembly bench.

Ferry Foam 1. The morning sun illuminates the foam and spray at the front of the Halifax Transit ferries.

Ferry Foam 2. I have a hard time getting these shots just right - the shutter speed needs to be high enough to prevent blurring, and often there isn't enough light during my morning commute.

2017 Royal Nova Scotia Tattoo.

2017 Royal Nova Scotia Tattoo.

Who needs a foreground? Sometimes a sky is just that interesting on its own.

And again!

The Vimy Flight toured the country for Canada 150.

The Vimy Flight planes are replicas of Nieport XIs. 

Vimy Flight.

I've been following the rebuilding of the schooner Hebridee II for a few years now, and was invited to the launching at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron.

This fellow lives at the Ross Farm Museum. 

Plowing a field at Ross Farm Museum.

2017 was a year of Tall Ships. The main festival occurred at the end of July, but there were various vessels around for the month or two before and after. In this case, Europa showed up in Lunenburg after I had hoped to catch her a month earlier.

Sails of Oosterschelde.

A lot of work went into this photo - I spent several hours dodging hornets to pick the huckleberries before taking the photo.

The view leaving Lunenburg on a whale watching boat.

An island off Lunenburg.

Schooner racing in Lunenburg.

Occasionally I show up in my own photos - I'm the silhouette to the left.

The Lunenburg waterfront usually has some boat of interest for me, but of course wooden boats are the best.

In August, we vacationed in Cape Breton, and took the opportunity to spend the night inside Fortress Louisbourg.

You could spend the night in one of four tents beside the Bastion. We stayed in a house instead, but I made sure to get photos of the tents.

I was lucky that the Big Dipper was in the sky over the Bastion that night.

The next morning, the sun rose directly in line with one of the streets in the historic town of Louisbourg.

A quick run up the hill and I caught the sun from the fortress walls.

On our way home, we stopped in on Sherbrooke Village.

Flowing water is even better when it turns a water wheel, like it does in Sherbrooke Village.

On our trip home down the Eastern Shore, there were some nice abandoned boats to finish our trip.

Floating pebbles.

I'm not a wildlife photographer by any stretch of the imagination, but sometimes I get lucky. Luckier than that sculpin, anyway.

A greenhouse at a farm near Bridgewater.

The dining car at the Tatamagouche Train Station Inn.

A tin boat near Malagash. I desaturated everything except the yellow oars.

One wonders if this road was ever straight?

In October, I managed to snag a sail onboard the rebuilt Hebridee II.

My fellow crew onboard Hebridee II.

October brings the Nocturne night art festival, and takes me to Halifax in the evening. On our way this year, I couldn't resist this image of The Alexander building under construction.

Glass blowing at Garrison Brewery during Nocturne.

Spotlights and fog in Public Gardens during Nocturne.

Dew on the compass face on HMCS SACKVILLE's bridge.

More harbour reflections - the yellow is a tower crane on the Queen's Marque site.

The Maple Building near the Halifax waterfront has been a frequent subject for my photography.

One morning, the rising sun reflected off the Maple Building and onto a passing fog.

The Nova Centre finally opened in 2017. It is difficult to get far enough away from the building to not have it tower over the camera, but there are a few angles, such as this one looking across the base of Citadel Hill.

A newly painted wall in downtown Halifax.

Shadows cast onto the base of the TD Building.

Scrap yard radiator fan in a wrecked car.

This year's Canada 150 celebrations provided a number of special opportunities for my photography, and I can only hope that 2018 brings similar opportunities!