Bluenose II crew hired despite lack of sailing season

With its new steering system, all the Bluenose II needs for sea trials in the spring is a crew and the province is a step ahead.

A captain, chief mate, second mate and deckhands were all hired last summer to spend months working aboard the berthed ship, even after it was clear the 2014 sailing season would most likely be a writeoff.

"That's one of the first things they do they hire crew," said Glenn Friel, a spokesman for the Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage.

"What they've been doing during last season was three things: they were doing maintenance, rigging and training."

Training always comes well before sea trials, said Friel. In 2015, the crew will spend weeks practising and getting to know the vessel by the time they set sail.

However, last summer their full-time jobs consisted largely of maintenance, he said.

"At one point they were doing a lot of painting," said Friel.

"One of the tasks that they did last season was that at one point, the rigging all had to come down to be checked and everything like that, and put back on. That's something that the crew would do."

'Someone has to do these things'

Even if the vessel is at the dock, "Someone has to do these things," Friel said.

Part of the province's logic in staffing the schooner was that workers trained in the previous season would be ready to get to work quickly in the next, Friel said.

However, those who worked last year aren't necessarily coming back.

The schooner's deck will be covered for the winter and most of those hired last summer had temporary jobs and are no longer on the payroll. They included several university students who may not be available again this summer, said Andreas Josenhans, president of the Lunenburg Marine Museum Society, which is operating the Bluenose II on behalf of the province.

The ship's captainwas hired permanently and is paid year-round, with hissalary adjusted so he's only paid for the months that he works, said Friel. He's scheduled to return to the ship on April 1.

Capt. Wayne Walters, who is the director of operations for the Bluenose II, could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

'Not optimistic,' reporters told in June

Job applications are accepted through the Bluenose II website, which says the crew of 18 includes a captain, chief mate, second mate, chief cook, engineer and approximately 12 deckhands, including some people with no experience.

Some of last year's jobs were posted in late July, a month after deputy minister David Darrow sounded a pessimistic note after a failed sea trial.

"I must tell you that I am not optimistic we will be able to salvage much, if any, of this year's sailing season," Darrow told reporters on June 24.

The schooner was supposed to sail in the summer of 2012 after a $14.4-million rebuild, with half the costs to be paid by the federal government. At last count, the total price was nearly $19 million, with an extra $5 million or so in disputed costs.

Most recently, a new hydraulic-powered steering system was installed to make a heavy rudder manageable, at a cost of $350,000. Last week the Bluenose II was declared ready to test again next season.