The bank schooners that brought fishing to its heyday in Nova Scotia were marvels of strength and speed. A vessel had to be sturdy to withstand constant beatings by North Atlantic winds and waves. It had to be strong to freight heavy loads of fish and cargoes along Atlantic trade routes. But it also had to be fast, for once the fish were secured in the hold it was imperative to reach home with a fresh, quality product that would fetch the best prices.

 Of the many grand vessels that have sliced the waters of Lunenburg Harbour, none has inspired such pride as the legendary fishing and racing schooner Bluenose.

 Competition among fishermen and vessels had existed since ships had first gathered on the banks. However, while yachting vessels had been racing since the 1850s with British and American ships competing for the coveted America's Cup, there was no official race for fishing vessels.

 In 1920, Halifax newspaperman William H. Dennis established an international race between Canadian and American working vessels. The International Fishermen's Trophy and the $3000.00 cash prize that came with it became the pinnacle of success for any fishing schooner and the basis of a long term and competitive friendship between Nova Scotia and New England.

 The first international challenge was issued that year and the elimination race held off Halifax. What a sight it must have been on that October day to see the schooners Delawana, Gilbert Walters, Ruby L. Pentz, Independence, Mona Marie, Bernice Zinck, Democracy Alcala, and Freda Himmelman battle all day in winds of 25 knots for the right to represent Canada in the quest to win the International Fishermen's Trophy. Each was 140 feet long with masts that rose 120 feet above deck and carried 9000 square feet of sail. Though very evenly matched, Captain Thomas Himmelman and Delawana managed to beat Captain Angus Walters and Gilbert Walters by three minutes and twelve seconds. An American entry, Esperanto later went on to beat the Delawana and thus claimed the coveted trophy for the first time.

 Determined to redeem their pride and win the trophy for Canada, Captain Angus Walters and a group of Nova Scotia businessmen formed the Bluenose Schooner Company to search for the funding and designs to build a Canadian champion.

 Though the famous Lunenburg schooners were traditionally built off wooden half models, the Americans had begun building vessels from mathematically calculated blueprints. The Bluenose Schooner Company's search for a qualified naval architect led them to an unlikely source-Roué's Carbonated Water Ltd in Dartmouth.

 William J. Roué was working full time in his father's beverage company but his passion for sailing and vessel design had already brought him to the attention of local yachtsmen. Aside from classes in mechanical drafting at the Victoria School of Art and Design in Halifax, Roué had no formal training. But he had virtually memorized Dixon-Kemp's Naval Architecture, and had already drawn more than a dozen successful designs. Though he had never designed a fishing vessel, Roué accepted the challenge.

  Two venerable Lunenburg companies, Zwicker & Company and Smith & Rhuland, were driving forces behind the new vessel. The former acted as agents for the new schooner, while the shipyards at Smith & Rhuland were to build the vessel. Eventually, many Canadians could claim some ownership in the new champion as a nationwide sale of shares raised $35,000 for the project.

 In December 1920 a golden spike was driven into the keel by The Duke of Devonshire, the Governor General of Canada. Roué closely monitored construction as the community's best shipwrights shaped and molded the Nova Scotia wood to his specifications. Men working on her remarked how "she was a fine vessel but different to the others in the fleet." Only one alteration was made in the original design-at Captain Walter's insistence, the forward upper deck and topside was raised 18 inches to allow more space for the crew. He was well aware of the importance of a good bunk to a fisherman after a 16 hour day of fishing.

 On March 26, 1921, the distinctive line of the new schooner Bluenose graced the waters of Lunenburg Harbour for the first time. Unlike today's christenings where the bottle is broken on the bow from a platform, Lunenburg custom then was to ride the ship into the harbour. As Captain Walters' 19-year-old niece Audrey Marie Smith released a bottle of champagne against the bow, the Bluenose turned out to sea, which in those days was taken as an omen of good luck.

 Angus Walters captained Bluenose on its maiden fishing voyage in April. In order to qualify for the Fishermen's International, the Bluenose had to spend at least one season on the fishing grounds. Operating out on the fishing banks, the crews averaged 20 men; two to a dory, eight dories plus header, throater, cook and captain. One of those aboard the Bluenose on her maiden voyage was 17 year old Charles Beck from Lunenburg. In an interview from November 10, 1984 he recollected how "Angus Walters came out to my father to see if I'd go with him and finally I made up my mind that I'd go. Not because it was the Bluenose, you know. Bluenose at that time didn't mean any more than any other vessel. Just an ordinary vessel."

 The Bluenose made two trips to the banks that year and Mr. Beck recalled that Captain Angus was one to lead by example. "He was a good worker himself and you had to put your shoulder to the wheel same as him, or he wouldn't be long in telling you. He worked with the fish. He didn't sit back and look on."

 While anchored on the banks, the new schooner narrowly avoided a freak collision by another vessel. "One night, two o'clock, we was all called out. There was a full-rigged ship heading right for her, bearing right down for us. Everybody was holding their breath but she just went down past the side. It was pretty close. Captain Walters didn't feel too good about it," Mr. Beck added. "I won't say the words he said about it but he wasn't pleased about it at all."

 That summer, perhaps as a portent of things to come, Bluenose left port in Newfoundland at the same time as five other vessels. Over a 140 - 150 mile haul, Bluenose arrived at her destination about six hours ahead of her fastest competitor and 18 hours ahead of the third schooner. Bluenose returned home with a record catch and as highliner of the Lunenburg fleet in the summer of 1921, quickly proving its success as a fishing schooner.

 When racing, the crew of the Bluenose averaged 28 - 30 men. When fully rigged, she had 29 halyards, with sheets and downhauls secured to belaying pins. Each had its own place and purpose. Every crew member had to know them by name and where to find them. Several captains of other schooners forsook their rank for the chance to race on the Bluenose.

 The test of the vessel's racing ability came in October when the Elsie arrived in Nova Scotia to defend the US title in the Fishermen's International. The Elsie had won the elimination races off Gloucester and would replace Esperanto to defend the Trophy. Esperanto had sunk that May while fishing off Sable Island. She had struck the sunken vessel S/S State of Virginia and sank in less than 30 minutes. The crew boarded the dories and saw Esperanto sink in eleven fathoms of water with 140,000 lbs of salt cod onboard. Ironically, they were rescued later that same day by Elsie.

 In a series of elimination races, Bluenose had defeated seven other salt-bankers for the right to challenge Elsie. Bluenose went on to handily defeat Elsie in the first two races and brought the trophy home to a cheering nation.

 In October, 1922, after another successful fishing season, Bluenose raced in the elimination series in Halifax and was awarded first place over Canadia, Mahaska and Margaret K. Smith. She then sailed to Gloucester to defend the Trophy. The Henry Ford had defeated Yankee, Elizabeth Howard and L.A. Dunton at Gloucester for the right to challenge for the Trophy. Captain Clayton Morrissey of the Henry Ford and Captain Walters were both highline captains and old acquaintances. The Henry Ford proved to be a worthy adversary by winning the first race in light winds but the winds later freshened to 25 knots and once again Bluenose proved her superiority by winning the next two races to retain the title of Champion.

 In the spring of 1923, a new fishing schooner was launched from the A.D. Story yard in Essex, Massachusetts. Columbia was a beautiful vessel with a trim hull, large sail area and rated very fast on the return trip from the fishing banks. Her captain in the elimination races that year was Ben Pine from Gloucester. Over the years, Captain Walters and Captain Pine were to meet three times in the International Fishermen's Races and a mutual respect developed between the two that lasted through the years. Columbia handily beat Henry Ford and Elizabeth Howard for the honour to challenge Bluenose in Canadian waters.

 On October 29, 1923, the much anticipated match between Bluenose and Columbia began in a moderate westerly wind. As the wind increased, a luffing match developed which resulted in a near collision and entanglement. The Bluenose sailed on to the finish line, winning the first race. To discourage a repeat of the luffing matches, the Race Committee made an amendment to the rules stating that navigation buoys were to be passed on a certain side. There is some dispute as to the interpretation of these new rules and whether the rule changes were relayed properly to the captains but on November 1 the schooners met again. Bluenose led the whole way, passing the Light House Buoy to starboard while Columbia passed it to port. Though there was no interference or advantage gained by the maneuver, the Columbia lodged a protest over this technicality and the Race Committee, rather than declare a 'no race', gave the win to Columbia. Captain Walters was furious and returned to Lunenburg. Captain Pine refused to sail Columbia around the Halifax course uncontested and returned to Gloucester. As a result, no winner was declared.

 As its fame grew, Bluenose continued to operate as a working schooner in the fishing season, bringing home the largest catch recorded in Lunenburg in the 1920s. The love the vessel inspired among crews though was not solely for its racing ability. Some of Bluenose's greatest victories were over Mother Nature and the schooner was almost lost off Sable Island in 1927.

 On board during the spring fishing trip that year was a 13-year old Lunenburg boy named Clem Hiltz. He recalls one morning, while the Bluenose was anchored off Sable Island "it was blowing quite a breeze. You couldn't go out in a dory. Blew all day, and around four o'clock, he [Captain Angus] said we'll have an early supper, [and that] we may be able to run the trawls because, he said, I think the wind is going to die down." As the men ate their supper, the wind didn't die down but began to gather into a howling fury. Mr. Hiltz recollects at that point thinking about his last ship that had been caught in a blow off Sable. "We lost two anchors with the Francis Spindler and I no more than had that out of my mouth when, snap, there goes the cable. We had no anchor!"

 With no anchor and driven by gale force winds the Bluenose was soon in serious trouble. "We were in between two bars, and now we had to get out of there. The only way out, I heard him [Captain Angus] say, was over the bar." As the men looked at each other, Clem says Angus gave the order to lash him to the wheel. "They lashed him to the wheel, and all the men went down below in the forecastle," convinced that there was little chance of survival. "Anyway, the night went on, and she used to stop sometimes and just shake, and then she'd shoot ahead again. About two o'clock in the morning there was this awful crash and I said to myself, 'that's it'." The crash was the Bluenose taking a vicious blow from the sea and the sand. "It was on the starboard side of her and it took every stanchion off her from bow right back to mid-ships." Captain Angus somehow guided the Bluenose over the bar to safety and though the schooner took a terrible beating in the process, she made it through alive, luckier than many of her sisters who went down in the same storm. The next day, they returned to Sable to see if they could recover any of their fishing gear but everything was gone.

 That evening, much to the consternation of the first mate who was worried about the Bluenose's condition, the captain said "tomorrow morning will be Easter and I'll be eating my Easter eggs in Lunenburg Harbour." 'He's crazy' thought Mr. Hiltz. "But he wasn't crazy. When I got out of bed in the morning, here we were coming into Lunenburg Harbour. I never saw anything go like that boat sailed that night. We were going like a kite. When the Bluenose showed up in Lunenburg that morning, people couldn't believe it. They never expected to see her again. They all knew that we were somewhere in that area."

 "Eighty-five men were lost in that storm and four ships from Lunenburg went down. Most all of the men from a village called Blue Rocks [near Lunenburg]. It practically wiped out the male population there. And had it not been for the bravery of the captain, Angus Walters, and the man that he was, none of us would have got out of there. The bravery of Angus Walters, and the boat Bluenose, saved our lives, there's no question."

 In 1930, Gloucester celebrated its 300th anniversary and a challenge was issued to Bluenose to race for the Lipton Cup. This cup had been given to Gloucester by Sir Thomas Lipton some time previously for Gloucester fishing schooners to compete for annually. The deed of gift was altered to allow outside entries for that year and the stage was set for another showdown between the best schooners of their respective fleets.

 The Gertrude L. Thebaud was designed and built with the hope that she would be an interesting challenger in international racing. She proved herself an able fishing schooner during the winter season of 1929-1930 when she went haddocking and again on a salt trip the following summer. Though Bluenose was beginning to show the scars of ten years of Grand Bank fishing, she accepted the challenge.

 The winds were light for the first race and Captain Ben Pine brought the Thebaud across the finish line comfortably ahead of Bluenose. The second race started in a gusty 30 knot wind with rain squalls, ideal conditions for Bluenose. She had a comfortable two mile lead when the rain began to make it difficult to sight the marker buoys. The Race Committee decided to call off the race, much to the chagrin of Captain Walters who was having no trouble with the wind or sea. Three days later they raced again in light and 'shifty' winds. Charlie Johnson, who had replaced Ben Pine as captain on Thebaud, was familiar with the conditions of the area and hung on to defeat Bluenose and win the Lipton Cup.

 The outcome of the Lipton Cup renewed interest in the Fishermen's International series. As Bluenose and Thebaud were about the only remaining schooners operating in Gloucester and Lunenburg, there was no need for elimination races. They would race off Halifax and hopefully complete what Bluenose and Columbia had failed to finish eight years before.

 Gertrude L. Thebaud , captained by Ben Pine, arrived at Halifax in October 1931 ready to repeat her success of the Lipton Cup but Captain Walters and crew could not be kept down. The first race was canceled due to light wind. Two days later, Bluenose easily beat Thebaud by a comfortable three mile margin for the first win. The next day's race was closer at the start, with both schooners sailing side by side for the first few legs but Bluenose pulled away and went on to cross the finish line two miles ahead of Thebaud. The International Fishermen's Trophy would remain at home.

 Journeys to the Chicago World Fair in 1933, Toronto in 1934 and the Silver Jubilee of King George V in 1935 cemented the vessel's worldwide reputation, as Bluenose was welcomed in every port and boarded by thousands of admiring visitors. On the return voyage from England Bluenose was battered by a fierce Atlantic storm, keeling over on its beam ends and flooding belowdecks. But repairs were made to the stern at Plymouth and Bluenose returned to Lunenburg.

 In 1938 a final challenge from Gertrude L. Thebaud brought the aging fishing schooner to the International for the last time. When Bluenose lost the first race off New England, William Roué was summoned from Nova Scotia to examine the vessel's condition. With a few adjustments Bluenose took races two and three, but lost race four. In a thrilling tie breaker, Bluenose edged past Thebaud at the finish line to maintain the title.

 Like many great ships from the age of sail, Bluenose met an inauspicious end. Despite an attempt by retired captain Angus Walters-who eventually purchased all the shares to save the vessel from the auction block-Bluenose was sold in 1942 to the West Indies Trading Company. Bluenose was lost in January 1946 off the coast of Haiti.

 In 1960, the Lunenburg launch of Bounty, a replica ship for a Hollywood movie, fanned the embers of hope for a Bluenose replica. In July 1963 a sleek vessel built on Roué's original plans was launched from the Smith & Rhuland Shipyards. Today, Bluenose II sails the waters of the world as an ambassador for Canada and as a living tribute to the original Bluenose, Queen of the North Atlantic.

 Sources: Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic; Backman, Bluenose, 1965; Joan E. Roue, A Spirit Deep Within, 1995; Claude Darrah, Race To Fame, The Inside Story of the Bluenose, 1985; Mike Parker, Historic Lunenburg, The Days of Sail, 1999; The Chronicle Herald, November 10, 1984; The Boston Herald, September 4, 1938.

Compiled by Tony Colaiacovo.