
Designed by
William Roué and built by
Smith and Rhuland, Bluenose was launched at
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on
March 26,
1921, as a racing ship and fishing vessel. This was in response to the defeat of the Nova Scotian Fishing Schooner Delawana by the Gloucester fishing schooner
Esperanto in 1920. That race was sponsored by the
Halifax Herald newspaper.
After a season fishing on the
Grand Banks, Bluenose defeated Elsie (out of
Gloucester,
Massachusetts), returning the International Fishermen's Trophy to Nova Scotia. During the next 17 years of racing, no challenger, American or Canadian, could wrest the International Fishermen's Trophy from her. It is notable that she was no mere racing ship, but also a general fishing craft that was worked hard throughout her lifetime. She fished scallops and other kinds of sea-food, and at least once won competitions for largest catches of the season and similar awards.Fishing schooners became obsolete after
World War II, and despite efforts to keep her in Nova Scotia, the undefeated Bluenose was sold to work as a freighter in the
West Indies. She foundered on a Haitian reef on
January 28,
1946.