Plans for Bluenose III sink with province

A descendant of the man who designed Nova Scotia's most famous schooner plans to build a Bluenose III, though the province has alreadyturned down a request to use the name.

Joan Roue, great-granddaughter of William James Roue, announced her plans Thursday. She has set a fundraising target of $15 million for the new vessel, which she hopes to have in the water by July 2010.

Provincial government officials were not invited tothe news conference in Dayspring, near Bridgewater.

Roue was told last yearthe government wasnot prepared to endorse the plan for a Bluenose III or give permission to use the Bluenose name, said Wendy Barnable, spokeswoman for the Department of Tourism, Culture and Heritage.

"It's our position that nobody can build a boat and call it Bluenose III because that name belongs to the province," Barnable told CBC News.

The province owns the Bluenose II vessel, which is used to promote tourism and trade in Nova Scotia,and also claims to own the rights to the namesBluenose, Bluenose II and Bluenose III.

Roue claims ownership of theoriginal design of the ship, which she said will be used for the latest replica.

The original Bluenose was launched in Lunenburg in March 1921 and won races throughout the 1920s and 1930s. After the vessel was sold and eventually wrecked, a replica was built in 1963 from William James Roue's plans. The Bluenose II was donated to the province.

Joan Roue first floatedplans for another Bluenose replicalast summer.

Barnable said theBluenose II still has plenty of years of sailing left and there's no need to build anotherversion of the famous schooner.