SAILING TO CAPE BRETON
Rendez-vous 2017 Tall Ships in three Cape Breton ports this weekend
Rendez-vous 2017 Tall Ships are on their way.
The Rendez-vous 2017 Tall Ships will sail into three Cape Breton ports on Friday.
Sydney, Louisbourg and St. Peter’s will be welcoming a total of 13 ships for the weekend, before they all set sail for Lunenburg.
In all three Cape Breton locations there are events that the public can enjoy while they stop to see the Tall Ships.
In Sydney, three vessels will be docked at the Sydney waterfront at the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion. Tours of the ships will begin at noon on Friday. Nicole MacAulay, acting manager of marketing and administration for the Port of Sydney, said the ships are in Sydney during the Sydney Waterfront Festival, so that the festival can offer something for all ages.
“The fact that the Tall Ships are in Sydney and it’s coinciding with the Sydney Waterfront Festival and the free CBC concerts, there’s just going to be so much happening at the port and along the boardwalk and downtown, there’s going to be something for everyone to do,” said MacAulay.
In St. Peter’s, four Tall Ships will be arriving at the tail end of the town’s annual summer celebration, Nicholas Denys Days. The vessels will be docked at St. Peter’s Canal. Amanda Mombourquette, chair of the Village on the Canal Association, said viewing the ships in St. Peter’s would be a unique experience.
“The Tall Ships sort of wrap our festival up with a big, giant bang,” said Mombourquette. “It’s going to be a busy, busy week. St. Peter’s is going to be pretty unique.
“We have four ships coming in that are confirmed and on Sunday we actually have Swim the Canal happening at the same time, so people will be swimming alongside the ships — it’s kind of a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity.”
In Louisbourg there will be six ships arriving in Louisbourg harbour at 10 a.m. on Friday. The Canadian Coast Guard will guide the vessels in and traditional cannon fire from Parks Canada will also be part of the welcome, with tours starting on Friday at noon.
The sailing vessels will also
be docked during Louisbourg’s annual Crab Fest. Mark Barber, manager for media, cruise and visitor services for Destination Cape Breton, said it will be exciting to see Louisbourg packed with crowds on the weekend.
“What we’re so excited about is to just see the town filled up with people. It just does a tremendous amount of good to the spirits of the community when they have so many visitors,” said Barber, “I think with Crab Fest being the pillar and the Tall Ships being a backdrop, it’s going to be a pretty electric weekend in Louisbourg.”
Touring the sailing vessels is free and open to all ages, photo ID is required for anyone over 16 who wishes to tour the ships.
For more information on the Rendez-vous 2017 Tall Ships and their journey, visit http://www. rdv2017.com/en/