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Outdoor Nova Scotia: Features ... an Indepth Look at 'The Great Outdoors' in Nova Scotia!
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The Launching
of the 'Avon Spirit'! by Glen Parker
It was a cold July day. A stark contrast to the hot and humid summer the Annapolis Valley had been experiencing all summer. But July 20th was a special day and the gusting wind almost seemed to be proper for the launching of a new wooden, topsail schooner named Avon Spirit. A crowd estimated between 3000 and 4000 strong lined the edge of the Avon River - some standing knee-deep in water as the highest tides in the world crept up over the salt marsh grass. They came from all over to see this unique event. The first wooden ship in a century to be launched from the once bustling shipbuilding center. It was history in the making and the culmination of a year of hard work for a crew of Nova Scotia traditional boatbuilders and project organizers. The activity centered around the new Avon Spirit Shipyard and museum, an impressive complex here in this tiny Hants County community, situated directly across the river from Windsor, Nova Scotia. The Avon Spirit is a reproduction of the "FBG" which was built in Kingsport, Kings County, in 1929 and was the last cargo schooner built in Nova Scotia. She carried coal around the ports of the Minas Basin and the Avon River, and ended her days wrecked by Hurricane Edna in 1954, near her home port of Kingsport. Retired Vice Admiral Hugh MacNeil, an Avondale resident and the driving force behind this project reflected on the ceremony. "The launch went splendidly...there seemed to be a very positive atmosphere in the crowd," he said. "Many people thought it was a very moving ceremony." He must have had a tremendous feeling of pride in this accomplishment, and the fact that no government money was spent building the ship. A private company was formed with a group of principle investors. A co-operative was also formed to channel smaller amounts from supporters, including some from other parts of Canada, into the project.
Then came the moment everyone had been waiting for. "I name this ship Avon Spirit...may God bless her and all who sail in her", Patricia (Mosher) Parker stated as she christened the schooner and the crowd cheered when, after a gentle nudge, the 35 ton vessel slipped into the water. The 40-piece Halifax City Concert Band directed by Ron MacKay played during the afternoon. It was Mr. MacKay who had written the "Avon Spirit March", which was heard as the clean, new ship hit the water. The Avon Spirit is now back in the shipyard building, where she will be finished and stored over the winter months. MacNeil explained that she will be used as a cruise ship on the Avon River and Minas Basin starting in the spring of 1998, calling on ports such as Avondale/Newport Landing, Hantsport, Windsor (if a suitable berth can be found), Parrsboro, Summerville, Wolfville and Kingsport. "In the fall it is hoped that we will have a meeting of interested, potential participants in the various ports who run bed and breakfasts, golf clubs, restaurants, theatres, etc. to work out a sensible business plan for the cruise ship operation in the spring of 1998," MacNeil said. Of course, the mighty Minas Basin tides will determine the schedule. The ship is able to carry 40 passengers during daylight hours. A typical charter could see a group leave Newport Landing on flood tide and make it to Parrsboro on the same tide. The participants could attend the theatre, play a round of golf, stay in a B&B, then come back on the following tide to Wolfville, for lunch the next day. And it won't end there. MacNeil hopes to get people together who would be interested in establishing a small, self-supporting, wooden shipbuilding school in the shipyard /museum. The aim would be to give courses by knowledgeable people for building kayaks, dinghies and other small boats. That project, could get under way as early as this fall. There are now three skilled local carpenters working on the Avon Spirit, for the shipbuilders, Snyder's Shipyards of Dayspring, Lunenburg County. "We hope that local skilled builders will be in on the very beginning, on the next vessel." The public is welcome to come and visit the shipyard/museum and watch first hand, the progress and completion of the Avon Spirit. Glen Parker is a resident of Avondale, Hants County, Nova Scotia. He is a director of the Avon Spirit Co-Op and editor of the local weekly newspaper, The Hants Journal, Windsor, Nova Scotia.
The Launching of the 'Avon Spirit'!, first published July, 1997. Designed & maintained by Outdoor Nova Scotia, Liverpool, N.S. BOT 1KO. Material protected by copyright. Last revised: January 17, 2004 |
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