The day Canada almost lost Bluenose II — and did lose a Bluenoser
CBC
The ill-fated winter crew of Bluenose II came aboard the ship in dribs and drabs in late 1968. By New Year's Eve, they were all aboard and ready for what should have been an easy run to the Caribbean.
Craig Harding had grown up in Liverpool, N.S., and had just flunked out of Acadia University. His dad found him work on a fishing trawler, but that dried up.
He went to Lunenburg to land work on a scallop dragger, but no one was hiring.
"There was a sign along Water Street with a picture of the Bluenose on it. I thought, out of the blue, I wonder if they're hiring anybody?"
The original Bluenose launched in 1921 and won multiple International Fisherman's Cups, becoming a Canadian icon worthy of a spot on the 10-cent coin. But Bluenose struck a reef and sank off Haiti in 1946.
Bluenose II was built privately in 1963 to continue the legacy. And, in 1968, it needed crew.
Harding, 21, was hired on the spot. His longtime best friend, Dave Rawding, also came aboard — a happy coincidence for both men.
Rawding brought a film camera to record the trip. The footage has never before been shown in public.
Stephen Boyd, 20, had also flunked out of university before signing up to the Bluenose II. The ship had 14 crew and five guests for the Caribbean trip.
The last day of 1968 found Boyd scheduled for watch duty on the private vessel, while the bright lights of Halifax sparkled onshore.
Crew member Neil Robitaille, a seasoned sailor by age 22 from Tusket, N.S., took pity on him.
"Neil came up and said, 'Look, I'm not going home. Why don't you take off. I'll look after everything for you.' So it was fun on New Year's Eve. But Neil made it fun. He allowed me to go and join my friends," Boyd says.
Bluenose II sailed out of Halifax harbour on Monday, Jan. 6, 1969. They sailed past Sable Island to catch the Gulf Stream to Bermuda.
An ominous red moon hung full over the black seas. Creedence Clearwater Revival would release Bad Moon Rising that year, connecting its apocalyptic lyrics forever to that trip in Harding's mind.
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.
The toxic drug crisis has taken more than 47,000 lives in Canada since 2016 and the synthetic opioid fentanyl has become a household name. But now, what's believed to be an even more potent class of synthetic drugs is showing up in drug busts across the country: nitazenes.
The Liberal government and the NDP have agreed to introduce a two-month GST vacation on certain items before the holiday season, Radio-Canada has learned.
Veterinarians are warning Londoners to make sure their dogs are vaccinated and keeping clean after a deadly virus outbreak was declared in London this week.