Tall Ship Playfair Coming to Tobermory July 14-17

960
Photo: The brigantines, Pathfinder and Playfair, momentarily peaceful between journeys. On the journeys, each vessel carries a crew of 30. The Brigantine Society (www.brigs.ca) is a Canadian charity which operates two tall ships, the Pathfinder and the Playfair. The society’s purpose is to provide character building experiences for young Canadians, 13 to 18. The ships each carry a crew of 30: 18 paying crew who do most of the work, 10 volunteer crew, plus the captain and first mate. The volunteers are people of the same age group as the guests, who have done the paid program in past and have volunteered to teach/help/supervise. Cruises/journeys vary from 3 to 14 days; generally they start at one port and end at a different port. The two ships spent a few days in Tobermory at the end of July for provisioning and a crew change. This came at the end of a 7-day cruise that began in Midland; it included two days and nights sailing up the middle of Georgian Bay, entirely under sail and out of sight of land. The brigantines may return to Tobermory later in the summer for another crew change/provisioning stop.
Media Release 

July 3, 2024 – The captain of the tall ship TS Playfair invites locals and tourists to watch for her arrival in several Ontario ports this summer. Playfair’s youth crew, aged 13-18, will spend the summer sailing Lake Huron, Georgian Bay, and the North Channel. 

Playfair is scheduled to visit the following ports: 

• Owen Sound: July 4 to July 7. Deck tours available between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm July 6 by donation. 

• Tobermory: July 14 to July 17

• Parry Sound: July 26 to July 29

• Midland: Aug 4 to Aug 7

• Collingwood: Aug 9 to Aug 12. Deck tours available between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm, August 10 and 11 by donation, as part of the Sidelaunch Days festival. 

• Kincardine: Aug 22 to Aug 25. Deck tours available 11 am to 3 pm Saturday Aug 24th by donation. 

• Port Colborne: Sept 1 – Sept 2 

She may also call in at Little Current, Killarney, Lion’s Head, Kagawong, and others, depending on conditions. 

Playfair’s mission is to offer personal growth experiences to the young people on board. “Coming sailing on the brigantines as a teenager is definitely one of the neatest things you can do, and it does have a lot of different benefits,” says Captain Christine Chesterman.

Sailing-minded adults are encouraged to join the adult voyage from Sept 5-8. 

The 72-foot long ship is a steel-hulled brigantine, launched in 1974 in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR