Maritimers can expect to see tall ships in ports across the region this Canada Day weekend.
It’s all part of Rendez-vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta. The event will see tall ships make their way to Halifax and Sydney near the end of July.
The ships are spread out across Canada over the long weekend, with stops in Hamilton, Ont., Caraquet, N.B., Charlottetown and Summerside in P.E.I., and Pictou, Pugwash, and Port Hawkesbury in Nova Scotia.
There are currently five ships docked on the Pictou waterfront.
“Pictou has a huge seafaring tradition. We built all kinds of ships here during the war years,” says Pictou tall ships organizer Darlene MacDonald. “Pictou’s port has always been very busy. It’s important to the fishing industry, important to shipping and boat building. It's just a natural fit for us to be part of tall ships.”
The vessels are from Ecuador, the Netherlands, and Latvia. Nova Scotia’s own Bluenose II is there as well.
Edward Pilla of St. Louis, Missouri, has waited four decades to see Canada’s sailing ambassador.
“My daughter has lived here 40 years and we've been trying to see this in all that time. It's finally got to where we can see it and I’m not going to miss it,” says Pilla.
The Bluenose captain says he loves meeting with tourists and residents alike.
“You get to represent Nova Scotia. You got the best province in Canada and probably the best place to live in the world. To help represent that and be an ambassador for that is, that's a life's dream,” says Phil Watson.
The ships will be in Pictou all weekend before heading on to Quebec, and finally returning to Nova Scotia at the end of July.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Dan MacIntosh
