A day chilling in Old Town Lunenburg

 

The old town of Lunenburg was shrouded by misty rain this morning when we heard an enormous bang along with cheering from the harbourfront. From the cockpit we could just make out the commencement of a boat race off the town dock.  Throughout the morning the drizzle gradually gave way to clearer skies and watery sunshine and from the cockpit we watched the Canadians versus the Americans in their annual dory (row boat) races.  The starts and finishes were announced by the firing of a cannon ball from a neighbouring boat along with some billowing smoke on the water.

So grateful to have blue skies although we could see mare's tails (the telltale sign of warm winds bringing rain to the forecast) VMG stands for Vendor Managed Gas

Dory racing in Lunenburg Harbour

Paradigm dried out beautifully in the sunshine and we launched the dinghy to go exploring ashore along with a multitude of tourists speaking all different languages.  The British roading grid system was easy to follow, the beautifully painted buildings quaint and we just meandered the streets working our way higher and higher with the hope we could find a panoramic shot of the harbour. 

The waterfront at Lunenburg

Paradigm just to the right of Bluenose II's bowsprit

Note Bluenose II's interpretation of a bow thruster!

We met and chatted to George tending to his garden outside his heritage home, one of the oldest in Lunenburg.  He told us his heating bill for last winter was Canadian $7,500 for a small two storied house and he was looking at an alternative heat source.  George was a fascinating history buff but also a chemist and he explained how his slate cobbled driveway came from the ocean all those years ago.

A wedding was in progress at St Andrew’s Church, the first Anglican church to be built so we were unable to visit inside this beautiful gothic inspired church.  From Paradigm we can count the spires of 6 churches including Lutheran and Presbyterian.

The neo-gothic St Andrew's Church dates from 1828

While meandering the streets we also discovered Nova Scotia played a big part in the rum running days during prohibition.  Rum was transported on the fishing boats and offloaded outside the 12 mile limit off the coast of America, so technically this was not illegal.  Many of the rum carrying boats were built in Lunenburg where there is still a big shipyard here today.

       Iron artwork of a bygone sailing ship and octopus

We enjoyed an early dinner and glass of vino at a seafood restaurant called Salt and Shaker sitting outside in the sunshine and brisk air before heading back to Paradigm for a well deserved cup of tea.

It’s been a very special day.