George and Lucy have kindly agreed to relieve us of Oscar and Oreo, and so dog less we head down to the Halifax Harbour to check out the Tall Ships. There are approximately forty sailing vessels from several nations gathered in the harbour for a four day celebration. It’s a big event so the waterfront is full of booths, displays and people. John has organized a trip on one of his tugs and we meet him at the jetty around 11:00 am. For some of you sailor types, a trip on a tug boat is no big deal, but for us it was fascinating.
The maneuverability of this tug, the Valiant, is just amazing, it really can turn on a dime and spin on the spot, which I get to do out in the middle of the harbour. It truly is a big toy for big boys. It is also a fantastic experience cruising up to, escorting to its berth and parallel parking this tanker full of crude oil. Thanks to everyone who answered all our dumb questions, worked around us and made us feel welcome.
So what about the tall ships? Well they are fantastic. Only trouble is there is about 10,000 other people down here and it is hot. So after boarding a couple of ships and looking at the 30 minute line up at Cow’s Ice Cream booth, we decide to pack it in for the rest of the day. Hey we only manage to get lost once on the way home. We also meet our sixth member of our canoe group, Karen Parusel. A librarian type who is just a great person. So the canoe group consists of all the Neatbys; Lucy, John and George, the Stewarts; Lynn, myself (and the two dogs) and Karen. I hope the park can handle all of us!