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Laurie MacDonald doesn’t believe the Ship Hector has gotten it’s due credit in Canadian history.

“This is Canada’s Mayflower,” he said. “It just has never been promoted that way.”

He and other members of the Ship Hector Society hope to help put the spotlight back on the historic ship which brought Scottish settlers to Pictou County in 1773, with some major repairs and improvements scheduled to be completed in time for the 250th anniversary of the ship’s landing in 2023.

MacDonald presented the society’s goals at a council meeting for the Municipality of Pictou County on March 2.

The presentation outlined a plan that would see the Ship Hector replica hoisted out of the Pictou Harbour in April or May 2020 and restoration work done over a two-year period.

MacDonald said the society would like to motorize the ship so it could be used for charters a couple times a day, six days a week. Because the site receives no core funding from government, he explained this revenue would help keep the tourist attraction going.

“We want to have the ship looking pristine, fully masted.”

The current estimated cost for repairs and motorizing of the ship is $1.7 million. To just do the repairs without mechanization would be $1.3 million.

In addition, the society wants to upgrade the interpretive centre, which is more than 20 years old. Those improvements are expected to cost an additional $2.14 million.

The Ship Hector Society, which is run entirely by volunteers, has committed to raise $1.5 million for the work and will be reaching out to all levels of government for support for the remaining monies.

The goal is to have the boat back in the water for the 2023 anniversary.

“We want to have the ship looking pristine, fully masted,” MacDonald said.

He said they won’t know the full extent of the repairs needed until the boat is removed from water and shipwrights have a look at it, but it’s believed the bottom of the boat should be in fair condition.

“We think it’s in pretty good shape because salt water is actually a preservative for a wooden boat. The worst thing for a wooden boat is fresh water and snow.”

MacDonald believes the construction will actually help draw more tourists to the site.

“When the ship was being built it was a huge attraction. And we figure that it will be the same. People want to come and see what’s happening to the ship and how it’s being rebuilt.”

Already, the site is one of the most-visited tourist attractions on the Northumberland Shore, second only in Pictou County to the Museum of Industry.

Darlene MacDonald, another member of the Ship Hector Society, said they’ve been seeing an increase in the number of visitors in recent years with a high percentage of those being from the U.S. and other countries.

“We’re bucking the trend on our international visits,” she said.

And she believes that interest shows the region deserves more investment.

“I think a few eyes were being opened,” she said. “It’s time to look at us and see this is a region that should start to be developed a lot more.”

SHIP HECTOR FACTS