Bluenose II is expected to sail once again early this summer, after four years of costly repairs.

Transportation Minister Geoff MacLellan confirmed the news on May 19 after meeting the ship’s crew and getting a tour of the ship from Captain Phil Watson.

“This is a happy day that we’re getting to that point where we can leave the politics aside, leave the public relations aside and really get the Bluenose on the water for all Nova Scotians,” said Minister MacLellan.

Watson said there will be training for the 18-member crew next month, and the famed schooner should be ready to sail in early July.

“If you get a week of rain that will set us back in the painting end of things, and if it’s nice weather we’ll blast ahead,” said Watson.

With no fanfare, Bluenose II went for its first brief sail of the season last Friday morning. The early morning training exercise lasted a couple of hours as the steering system and hydraulics were tested.

“That was the biggest grin you could possibly imagine from me,” said Watson of the schooner’s first training exercise. “It went so well.”

The problem-ridden rebuild is years late, with a price tag close to $20 million. That’s roughly $5 million over the original budget, and millions remain in dispute between the province and shipbuilders.

In January, a scathing report by the auditor general found that the Heritage Department grossly mismanaged the project. Premier Stephen McNeil, who asked for the report, has called the whole thing a “boondoggle.”

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