An organization called Queen of the North Atlantic Enterprises (QNAE) has commissioned the Snyder Shipyard of Dayspring, Nova Scotia, to build a replica of the famed Grand Banks schooner Bluenose. Whether or not the vessel will carry the Bluenose name is currently a matter of dispute — between QNAE and the Government of Nova Scotia.
QNAE president Joan Roué, who announced the shipyard commission in May, began a campaign to build and operate the Bluenose III last summer (WWF Nov. 2005). For Roué the project is a family affair. Her great-grandfather was William James Roué, designer of the original Bluenose.
Apart from the shipyard announcement Roué has declined comment on the dispute. “Because we decided at the outset to resolve this issue privately rather than publicly, we will remain true to course and decline commenting at this time,” she said in mid-May.
Wendy Barnable, spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage, says, “The Government of Nova Scotia owns the official marque for Bluenose, Bluenose II, and Bluenose III.” She adds, “We operate the Bluenose II through the Lunenburg Marine Museum Society, and we recently invested $650,000 into its operation and maintenance.”
Barnable noted that the schooner is 43 years old but is “well maintained.: She added, “There is definitely no need to replace her, and we certainly don’t want competing vessels. Furthermore, Queen of the North Atlantic is a private corporation, and we want to keep the Bluenose name as a public entity.”
Barnable said of the Bluenose II, “She’s a heritage asset. She belongs to every one of us, and we want to keep it that way. If and when the time comes for a Bluenose III, we will make that decision.”
For her part Roué said when making the shipyard announcement, “It is our desire to help preserve the hallowed legacy of our beloved schooner Bluenose for generations to come, and to pay homage to Maritime shipbuilding skills.”
She adds, “Master shipbuilder Philip Snyder, along with Snyder’s Shipyard co-owner Wade Croft, will assemble the core team of shipwrights charged with building a vessel for tomorrow with the skills of yesterday.”
Past projects at the Snyder yard the construction of Theodore Too, the refit of the schooner Highlander Sea, and the 1994 refit of Bluenose II.
Roué expects that the project will employ 40 people and says that the launch date will be July 24, 2010. “Lunenburg will be her registered homeport, as it was for the original Bluenose, and is for Bluenose II,” she added.
She maintains that she owns the intellectual properties — including construction rights — for the plans and design of Bluenose, Bluenose II, and subsequent replicas.
“We are also exploring the possibility of establishing a permanent Wooden Shipbuilding Interpretation Center with the construction of Bluenose III as the centerpiece,” she says.
Roué adds that a 25-point Bluenose Study and Reference Guide has been created to help teachers interactively incorporate Bluenose in their curriculum. The Guide (www.schoonerbluenose.ca) has been distributed to teacher resource centers across Canada.
In 1921, William James Roué was commissioned to design a schooner that could work the Grand Banks and also be “the fastest fishing schooner on the water.” The Bluenose was born, and ably fulfilled both demands as she dominated the International Fishermen’s Trophy races from 1920 to 1938.
And of course she also graces the Canadian dime.