Bluenose

(Ulrich Rudolfsky Special)

Service: Bluenose was designed by William J. Roue specifically to race for the International Trophy, a prize established by publisher W. H. Dennis of Halifax, as an alternative to the America's Cup races between yachts rather than working fishing vessels. Her first skipper was Agnus Walters, one of the most successful fishermen on the Grand Banks. Bluenose handily won the 1921 race over the Gloucester schooner Elsie and the 1922 race against Henry Ford. The controversial 1923 race against Columbia ended in a draw. The International Trophy was not contested again for eight years, but in 1930 she raced for the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup and lost to the Gertrude L. Thebaud. However, she successfully held on to the International Trophy when faced by the same challenger in 1931. Bluenose finally retired the Trophy in 1935 by winning three out five races against Thebaud. In the lulls between races, she was a working fishing vessel in the long-line cod fisheries on the Grand Banks. World War II laid her up for several years, before she ended up in the Caribbean as a trading vessel. In 1946 she grounded off Haiti, broke her back, and sank. Bluenose is depicted on the Canadian dime, and a replica, the Bluenose II was built in 1963 that continues to sail as a goodwill ambassador for Nova Scotia.