A Nova Scotia-based replica pirate ship, Liana's Ransom, is awaiting repairs in Clark's Harbour after losing its mast off the coast of the province.

The schooner left Eastern Passage en route to St. Kitts on Dec. 13.

Two days later, in a public post on the schooner's Facebook page, Joseph Tilley wrote the schooner was dismasted 25 nautical miles southwest of Cape Sable Island.

Photos on the schooner's Facebook page show damage, including a "crushed temporary wheelhouse, steering and railing," Tilley wrote.

Ryan Tilley, Joseph Tilley's son, told CBC News in a phone interview from Halifax that the schooner ran into trouble the second night of its journey south.

"It was pretty rough," said Ryan Tilley. "Three-thirty rolls around and we just hear a huge bang."

That noise was the mainmast falling on the wheelhouse, where Ryan Tilley's 69-year-old grandfather was.

In a public post on the schooner's Facebook page Dec. 15, Joseph Tilley wrote the schooner was dismasted 25 nautical miles southwest of Cape Sable Island. (Facebook)

"He was very, very lucky because he didn't have a scratch on him," said Tilley. "He was in the wheel house when it … collapsed and it got cut in two by the mast coming down."

His grandfather, no stranger to sailing, wasn't too shaken.

"He's pretty tough, it takes a lot to faze him," said Tilley.

The family and owners of the pirate-themed ship are discussing repairs and estimate it will take about two weeks for Liana's Ransom to be back at sea.

The 26-metre schooner was towed to Clark's Harbour. Tilley recognized the "fine work" of the ship's crew and the Canadian Coast Guard in his Facebook post.

CBC News has reached out to the charter company and is waiting for a reply.

The Tilleys have owned Liana's Ransom since 2006, running trips from Halifax, the Great Lakes and the Caribbean. The family members alternate as crew, with Joseph Tilley as the ship's captain.

The gaff rigged, square topsail schooner is "crewed by a colourful pirate crew in period costumes complete with cutlasses and flintlock pistols," according to its Facebook page.

"The schooner is armed with replica black powder cannons that will fire billowing broadsides for the enjoyment of the passengers."

The Nova Scotian tall ship holds up to 70 passengers and three to five crew, offering chartered and daily sails.