Trot In Time

visitors as of 9/5/2010

Welcome

Hi folks

I'm Basil Oickle, owner of Trot in Time Buggy Tours. A warm welcome to my world here in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. I was born and raised here in the County of Lunenburg and I can tell you first hand that, in my opinion, this is one of the best places in the world to live … or visit; so I'm so pleased you are thinking of stopping by. Let me tell you just a little about it to wet your appetite.

The British founded Lunenburg in 1753: their task was to find folks to come here and settle. A total of close to 1400 folks came here from Switzerland, France and Germany. They began farming but soon discovered that the land was too rugged. So they turned to the sea, eventually making Lunenburg the fishing capital of Canada with one of the largest fish processing plants in the world. But going to sea comes with a price and on the waterfront you will find the Fisherman's Memorial , in the shape of a compass rose, honouring the hundreds of "men that have gone down to the sea in ships".

Lunenburg also became very famous for building wooden vessels. The one I am most proud of is Bluenose, of course. Please let me brag of her: Some Lunenburgers and their American friends decided to hold annual International Fishermen's races using their fishing schooners. From 1921 until 1938 Bluenose was never defeated and became known as the Queen of the North Atlantic; the fastest schooner on the Grand Banks.

While Bluenose was lost in 1946, in 1963 an exact replica, Bluenose II, was built as a sailing ambassador for Nova Scotia and the pride of Canada. She's on the back of our Canadian dime and I can tell you that many; many people come from far and wide every year to see her and go for a sail.

The replica of the HMS Bounty, which MGM had built for their 1962 film Mutiny on the Bounty, was also built in Lunenburg along with The Rose and countless other magnificent ships.

Lunenburg's waterfront is home to The Picton Castle, a tall ship that sails around the world offering adventure and education. Sadly, the SV Concordia, flagship of Class Afloat, an international sea school based in our town, as lost off Brazil in February, 2010. Thankfully, there was no loss of life and the students continue to study in Lunenburg.

In 1995 Lunenburg was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization. This is something I am very proud of, along with our abundant history. I could sit here and write about Lunenburg for years but instead please do drop in and see us some time. I can promise that you will have a wonderful time.

Best regards to all.

Basil