The lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove is the most famous in the world!

If you disagree, what lighthouse is more famous?

I go to Nova Scotia about three times a year to visit family. We always have a ton of fun. I rarely have time to do touristy things. At the end of the summer, we had a day to spare and decided to take a drive to Peggy’s Cove, about 40 kilometres from Halifax.

The day was cloudy and windy. If you don’t like the weather in Nova Scotia, you can wait ten minutes or drive ten kilometres. We went from clouds to sun all day. It was perfect!

The Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse is an iconic Canadian image

The classic red-and-white Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse is the most recognizable in the world

Will the Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse be demolished?

The need for lighthouses has diminished with advances in navigational technology.

The Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse was declared surplus in 2010 by the Canadian Coast Guard, along with most lighthouses in Canada. The Coast Guard wants to get rid of lighthouses.

The Government is hell-bent on tearing them down or abandoning them

Who needs a beacon of light to guide them away from dangers?

Canada has the world’s largest coastline. Since Confederation in 1867, Canada developed its own unique architecture and style for building the vast infrastructure of lighthouses that was critical for an economy built on fishing and maritime trade.

Nova Scotia has the largest number of lighthouses in Canada. Now many of those lighthouses have fallen into a state of disrepair. Who is going to take responsibility for the repair and upkeep of lighthouses that are not needed for navigation? The Coast Guard does not want them.

The Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse is a designated federal heritage building but who pays for its upkeep?

Lighthouses are neglected national symbols in Canada

Don’t get too close to those waves!

One minute, the waters surrounding the Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse seem almost serene. The next minute, a four-story wave can wash over the granite rocks that were deposited in Peggy’s Cove at the end of the ice age.

Don’t get swept away!

Barriers, warning signs to go up at Peggy’s Cove after tourists swept off rocks

Tourists planning to visit one of Atlantic Canada’s most recognizable landmarks this season will be greeted by new safety measures that the Nova Scotia government hopes will keep them away from the pounding surf that sweeps across its famous weathered rocks.

 

There was only so much that could be done to stop people who want to get close to see the water hit the rocks.

 

Almost 500,000 people visit Peggy’s Cove every year and incidents where waves have swept people off the rocks are rare, according to the province.

Look at this tourist …. phone in hand …. up close to get a photo … too close.

I watched the tourist in the previous image snap her photo and retreat.

I then watched the next wave sweep over the very place where she had been standing only a minute before.

She was oblivious to her near-death experience.

The waves were like sirens, luring tourists ever closer for the perfect photo

I took a hundred photos of waves from what I considered a save and healthy distance from danger. Norman was content to wait on higher ground. While waiting, a tourist was berating her husband about getting too close to the water, “like that crazy woman out there.” Norman then interjected that the crazy woman was his wife. I survived, with just a touch of salt spray on my camera.

Can we harness the power of the ocean? Nova Scotia is trying. The Bay of Fundy, about an hour from Peggy’s Cove, has the highest tides in the world. This week, Nova Scotia flipped the switch on a massive tidal turbine experiment.

Turbine can power up to 500 homes — but the electricity is some of the costliest ever produced in N.S.

Nova Scotia hailed North America’s first successful grid-connected tidal turbine Tuesday with a ceremonial flipping of a switch at a substation.

“We are ushering in a new era and taking an unprecedented step towards a lower carbon future,” said Energy Minister Michel Samson.

The 1,000-tonne, five-storey turbine was lowered onto the floor earlier this month. It was quickly connected to land via a subsea cable and started producing electricity almost right away.

The turbine generates two megawatts of electricity — enough to power 500 homes. The deployment is part of a large-scale demonstration project to test the technology in the powerful tides of the Bay of Fundy over the next several years.

The first deployment in 2009 failed within days when the turbine blades were destroyed by the powerful tides.

CBC News

This tidal  power is eight times more expensive. Nova Scotians are paying the price in their power bills. Let’s hope tidal power works and becomes cheaper!

You need to be hearty to live in Peggy’s Cove

You can live next to the ocean in Peggy’s Cove but you cannot take a stroll along the shore.

The population of Peggy’s Cove is 300.

Would you take this fishing dory for a ride into the open waters of Peggy’s Cove?

I think this dory is permanently anchored in the harbour at Peggy’s Cove so that tourists can snap an authentic picture. This is a real dory that would have been used for fishing in an earlier time.

Fishing and tourism are the mainstays of Peggy’s Cove

The village of Peggy’s Cove was established for fishing. The residents still fish but tourism dominates the local economy. Peggy’s Cove has been declared a preservation area. Land-use regulations in Peggy’s Cove and the surrounding region prohibit most property development. The rustic feel of a traditional fishing village is protected. As well, there are restrictions on who can live in Peggy’s Cove. This protects the village from escalating property prices. They can live in Peggy’s Cove but they can’t cash out and sell to developers who would love to pave over paradise.

The rugged beauty of Peggy’s Cove is protected

Don’t touch a lobster in the ocean!

First, it might bite you! Second, you need a license to catch lobsters. The licenses are very pricey. The conservation management system for lobsters is highly structured, regulated and complex.

The method of catching lobsters has not changed in 150 years. Each lobster trap is baited with herring or mackerel. Each trap is attached to a long line. A line of traps is lowered to the ocean floor. Each trap is hauled up and checked and re-baited every day during the designated fishing season for that area. This labour-intensive method has protected a sustainable fishery in an environmentally sensitive way.

Half of the world’s supply of lobsters comes from Canada. Lobster is our most valuable seafood export, valued at more than a $1 billion.

The lobster is an iconic Canadian image

The heart of Peggy’s Cove is a fishing village

This is the view of Peggy’s Cove from the site of the crash of Swissair Flight 111

We stopped to see the memorial for the victims of the crash of Swissair Flight 111. The flight from New York to Geneva crashed 8 kilometres from the shores of Peggy’s Cove. There were no survivors. The simple stone monument reads:

In memory of the 229 men, women and children aboard Swissair Flight 111 who perished off these shores September 2nd, 1998. They have been joined to the sea, and the sky. May they rest in peace.

I should have taken a picture of the memorial but it was just too sad. Instead I took a picture of the view.

If you like to sail, visit the village of Chester

If you have time, combine your trip to Peggy’s Cove with a visit to the village of Chester, popular with sailors and Americans. We just had time to stop for a photo but will return for a future blog on this charming and expensive village.

If you are half-way around the world and find yourself in Thailand, you can visit Peggy’s Cove!

The resort promises ‘you will experience a unique taste of the western fishermen theme’

CBC News

‘I [would] love to tell our guests the true story,’ says Anusit Sahachok

The owner of a theme resort in Thailand fashioned after Peggys Cove, N.S., is asking for Nova Scotians to help teach him and his staff about the tourism icon.

 

The 38-room resort is about 225 kilometres east of Bangkok on Chanthaburi, Kung Wiman Beach. Each room is designed to resemble a small fishing house and they are connected by wharves that run through the resort.

 

Owner Anusit Sahachok said in an email to CBC News he got the idea from his parents.

 

“The main idea of building this resort has come from my parents’ dream to share the beautiful feeling of travelling in Peggy’s Cove,” he wrote.

 

“I do believe that nothing would be comparable with the beauty of [the] real Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia.”

 

Sahachok said guests always leave saying how amazing it would be to travel to the real Peggys Cove.

 

He said no Nova Scotians helped with the project. Rather, the architect who designed the resort did all of their research online for it.

 

“We have tried to give customers the charm of the Canadian fishermen village,” he said.

A request to Nova Scotians

Sahachok hopes residents of the original Peggys Cove aren’t offended by the reproduction.

 

“Our brand does not claim to be another Peggy’s Cove,” he said. “Indirectly, our product is promoting the real Peggy’s Cove, located in Nova Scotia.”

 

Sahachok also encouraged Nova Scotians to visit the resort’s website to help teach him and the staff about the iconic Nova Scotia tourism site.

 

CBC News

The only outdoor swimming pool in Peggy’s Cove is in Thailand!

500,000 tourists a year visit Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia

It is worth the visit!

If you like this post, you may be interested in our winter visit to Peggy’s Cove … bundle up!

Peggy’s Cove in Winter
https://boomervoice.ca/peggys-cove-in-winter/