My wife and I were on vacation in Halifax. We boarded the Tall Ship Silva ship crewed by 4 and we sailed around Halifax harbour. The weather was beautiful for a cruise.
The wind was slight from the north east and the crew powered out into the harbour and once clear the skipper asked if any of of the passengers would like to help with setting the sails. I immediately volunteered and it took two of us to haul up the mainsail.
It was a good day.
Tall Ship Silva was built in Karlstad, Sweden in 1939 as a 130ft, three-masted steel schooner. During the first two decades of her life, she was traded with general cargo under sail and motor in Western Europe. In the 1960's Silva was refitted as a bulk freighter, having her sailing rig removed. Silva continued coastal trading n Sweden until 1994. In the summer of 2001, she was towed to North America and restoration was undertaken.
She is now completely re-furbished and equipped with a finely appointed indoor banquet room, fully licensed pub, washrooms and and on-deck lounge, to accommodate up to 150 guests.
