Blue Moon Sailing Challenge Adventure on a Tancook Whaler an authentic open fishing schooner

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"Great or Big Tancook Island and her smaller sister Island, little Tancook, lie across the mouth of the Mahone Bay, some thirty miles to the west of Halifax, Nova Scotia. According to Place Names of Nova Scotia, T. J. Brown, 1922, the name Tancook is derived from the Indian uktankook, which means " facing the open sea", ant this is what the fisherman of Tancook Island had to do. In their coastal or inshore fishing they had to deal with very rugged conditions, strong winds, rough seas and a rocky coast. Their fishing boats had to be of a fair size, fast, seaworthy, and also capable of being rowed in calm weather.

It is likely that the early fishing craft in the area were chebacco boats, dogbodies, possibly "heel tappers" and pinkies. About 1860-70 a double-ended, fore and aft schooner-rigged vessel was build, first at or near Lunenburg, and then on Tancook Island. This was the whaler, to which the name Tancook was added, and so it became a particular type of schooner-rigged vessel. The early whalers were from 24 to 28 feet in length. By about 1900 vessels up to 50 feet were being built.

The whaler had a wide or plank keel, through which an iron centerboard of boiler-plate was fitted. Ballast consisted of beach stone, and it has been said that when the whaler tacked, you could hear the boulders rolling about inside her. Those vessels had a simple bald clipper bow and a very racking stern post. Two pole masts and a short bowsprit were fitted. All the sails were tanned. The sail plan included one big jib and a loose-footed foresail with a club on the clew. .... The main sail had a boom.

In Fair weather a big fisherman staysail was also set. This had clubs at the peak and clew, which helped to set the sail properly. The Stevens, Masons and Langilles, all of Great Tancook, were the whaler builders, with the late Mr. Amos Stevens being chiefly responsible for the development of the particular type.

The Tancook whaler was somewhat similar to the pinky. But with much shaper lines. It was a fast and seaworthy vessel, which lasted until the gasoline engine arrived to make the life of fisherman a little easier. Whalers are still being built in and about Mahone Bay by descendants of the original "whaler" families. They now grace the sea as yachts, beautiful, fast and handy vessels.

For further information readers should consult H. I. Chapelle's American Small Sailing Craft."

1. Source of this historical information is from Rear-Admiral H.F. Pullen's Atlantic Schooners Brunswick Press, 1967.

This authentic Tancook whaler, "Son of a Gun", was built by David Westergard of Lobster Bay Nova Scotia. The boat is 41 feet long, .....and can be sailed in the heaviest of weather or rowed by the crew. It has a very shallow draft and is ideal for tucking into isolated coves and anchorages throughout Mahone Bay.