Morning Departure from LaHave River

Nova Scotia fishermen work in good weather and bad, but it's always best heading out on a bright clear day like this one. The water on the LaHave River is just a little choppy but it's unlikely that it will be worse on the open ocean with a clear sky like the one above. Already the seagulls are circling in hopes of the fishermen throwing the results of 'fish-cleaning' overboard for their breakfast. This Cape Island Boat was registered at Lunenburg, one of the world's most renowned ports for fishing as well as schooner racing. The well-known Schooner Bluenose, skippered by Captain Angus Walters was world-renowned as a 'banks' fishing schooner as well as an international racing champion in the 1920s. That was long before the Cape Island boat was first built at Cape Sable Island by Ephram Atkinson who designed it to resemble the sleek and efficient floating body of the seagull. Two or three men can do all of the necessary work on the high powered and speedy Cape Islander and return home the same evening. By contrast, the large sail-powered schooners required a crew of many and worked on the Georges Bank or the Grand Bank for weeks at a time.