Nova Scotia Schooners

Halifax, Nova Scotia.

On the back of the Canadian dime you will find the world famous wooden schooner Bluenose, the pride of Nova Scotia, and the fastest of her kind in the 20th century.

The Nova Scotia schooners were home for fishermen on the Grand Banks who fished from dories carried on deck during the heyday of the cod fishery.

But schooners aren’t just a relic from a bygone era. In fact, there’s a resurgence in wooden schooner building happening in Nova Scotia and membership in the Nova Scotia Schooner Association has increased steadily during the past decade.



Nova Scotia Schooners is a film featuring four men of different backgrounds who share a passion for schooners and are each doing their part to keep these wooden vessels alive. The documentary was filmed during the summer of 2011 and includes scenes from the Nova Scotia Schooner Association annual race week as well as the reconstruction of Bluenose II, currently underway in Lunenburg.








Nova Scotia Schooners is written and directed by Tom Gallant and produced by Edward Peill for Canadian national public broadcasting.

“This documentary demonstrates what happens when people come together around something they find both important and beautiful” says director Tom Gallant. “It highlights one of our most significant Canadian cultural icons and underscores why these traditional skills need to be passed onto future generations. The beauty and grace of these schooners is captivating and I'll wager that anyone with even a drop of salt water in their veins will love this film."

Nova Scotia Schooners will broadcast on CBC Television’s "Land & Sea" on Sunday, December 4, 2011 at 12 PM (check local listings).

For those of us outside Canada, following the broadcast, the documentary can be viewed on the CBC TV website. I've had the privilege of screening this documentary and it's excellent.