From the North Shore News
Ahoy, North Shore!
"Shiver me timbers! Batten down the hatches and keep an even keel, lads. We be in North Vancouver, and there's many a loose cannon about. Don't be hoodwinked by those landlubbers in Lululemon – they're a scurvy bunch." And so on, in a pirate voice....
Sorry, but you'd be excused for being confused about what century we are in given the activity down at the docks over the past couple of weeks. Not one but two majestic tall ships tied up at Burrard Dry Dock Pier recently, providing delights for thousands of curious onlookers who came out to inspect the decks. I half expected to see Captain Jack Sparrow swagger by, his breeches full of pickpocketed iPhones.
The first ship was the Statsraad Lehmkuhl, a 110-year-old Norwegian tall ship, that arrived in North Van on Oct. 17. At 98 metres in length and 48 m in height, the three-masted barque is one of the largest (and oldest) tall ships still sailing the seas. Click here to read all about the ship's new mission and see photos from inside and out.
And just as that tall Scandanavian beauty was heading back to sea, a Colombian stunner was gliding in to take its place. On Wednesday morning as the Colombian Navy’s flagship training vessel A.R.C. Gloria docked, the atmosphere on the Shipyards District pier was full of festivity. More than 100 people, including many members of the Colombian diaspora in Vancouver, gathered to welcome the 78-metre-long, three-masted Gloria and its crew to Canada.
Our intern reporter Cara Gordon had the tough assignment of going to party onboard with the sociable South Americans, and came back with a neat story and photos of the floating fiesta. The Gloria set sail yesterday, and we're back to tugs and SeaBuses ruling our waves. But it seems like you never know when another tall beauty might pop up – make sure you keep your powder dry and your cannon loaded.
Link to story on the Gloria
