Tours
Check the Festival Schedule for details about tour dates and times.
Our tours take you off the Festival grounds and into historic buildings to experience the heritage of wooden boatbuilding firsthand.Shipyard Boat Tours, Harbour Boat Tours, and Mahone Bay Island Boat Tours leave from the Mahone Bay Town Wharf. Space is limited for these fascinating tours! Tickets will be available at the Information Booth on the Festival Wharf beginning at 1:00 p.m. Thursday. First come, first served. No refunds. Limited availability.
Lunenburg Foundry and The Dory Shop are in Lunenburg and are easily accessible by car. No charge, just stop by. Don't miss this special opportunity!
Details below!
Mahone Bay Harbour Tour and Mahone Bay Island Nature Tour
Harbour Tour:
Meet us at the Mahone Bay Town Wharf for a 45-minute up-close guided tour of the visiting boats moored in beautiful Mahone Harbour. This includes touring around the Bluenose which will be at anchor in Mahone Bay on August 2 and 3. This year we welcome the Chester Classic Fleet including such well-known boats as Hayseed, Virginia,and the International One Designs - Mighty Mo, Zephe, Elida, and Diva plus the newly refitted Herreshoff Seneca. Risky Business, skippered by Chris Banfield of South Shore Boat Tours, will again be providing the transportation. Suzanne Miller is your tour guide. Tickets available at the Information Kiosk beginning at 5:00 pm on Thursday. First come, first serve. no refunds. Limited availibility.
Cost: $15pp
Island Nature Tour:
This tour around some of the beautiful Mahone Bay Islands is approximately 1.5 hours. You may spot porpoise, seals, osprey, bald eagles, loons, deer and other wildlife, while learning about local folklore as we sail past operating wooden boat building shops and the pictureque fishing community of Indian Point. Tickets will be available at the Information Booth.
Cost $35.
A Guided Walking Tour of Mahone Bay's famous shipyards
This welcoming talk, presented by Ron Hall will help you travel back in time to Mahone Bay's active shipbuilding age. The group will travel from site to site along Mahone Bay to receive an entertaining education on the who, what and where of the Mahone Bay shipping industry, and those others who depended so much on its success. Immerse yourself in days gone by. Come and imagine Mahone Bay as it was meant to be: a bustling hub of the Atlantic with its sails raised to the wind.
Meet at the Workshop Tent.
Lunenburg Foundry Tour
From "one-lunger" make and break engines, to propellers, stoves and fittings, the Lunenburg Foundry's craftsmen have been producing quality projects for the marine industry since 1891. Visit the historic buildings, watch as castings are made and see foundry patterns for many common fittings and many that you won't recognize. No charge, just stop by.
Date and Time: Friday, August 3rd, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Location - 53 Falkland Street, Lunenburg
Web site: www.lunenburgfoundry.com
The Dory Shop Tour, Lunenburg
Since 1917, The Dory Shop has been building these classic, sturdy workboats from its location on the Lunenburg waterfront. And with the exception of a few power tools, not a lot has changed in that time. White pine, red pine, red oak, spruce roots and hot dipped galvanized nails come together as they have for decades. Finished off with dory buff paint and ship's green trim, it would be hard to tell the difference between a dory made today and oen made eighty years ago. Come and see how dories are made, or discuss your other small boat needs. No charge, just stop by.
Time: Friday, August 3rd, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Location: 175 Bluenose Drive, Lunenburg
Web site: www.doryshop.com
Check the Festival Schedule for dates and times of all tours.