about us
History:
Our salty tale from stem to stern
Located in the picturesque town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, the Lunenburg Seaport is a not-for-profit nautical museum and inclusive social venue. We are still finding our sea legs – and are continually refining the space and expanding our offerings.
Lunenburg was identified as the perfect location to establish the Lunenburg Seaport, as it has been steeped in the culture of building wooden boats for centuries. As the home of the Bluenose II, the town’s rich nautical heritage continues to support a thriving industry of boatbuilding, and a working warf.
Founder, Larry Glenwright, purchased the building that houses the Seaport in 2016. Glenwright, who was born in Quebec and now lives in Riverport, says he’s wanted to be a boatbuilder his whole life: “At a point in time I hope to offer boatbuilding courses, rigging courses, celestial navigation. Anything to do with building and operating boats.” His career led him elsewhere, but over the last 25 years he’s filled his home and warehouse with a collection of nautical artifacts.
When asked about the inspiration for the Seaport, Larry explains: “We live in modern age where we are losing traditions, period. In particular, the manual traditions in the building of things. My passion is to ensure that these skills do live on – not just in museums and memories – but for people to truly live them.
We need to preserve and promote tangible skills such as sewing a sail, forging metal, cutting and fitting a piece of wood and understanding how an engine works. I’ve always been Inspired by the Mystic Seaport Museum, in Connecticut, and they way they breathe life into old traditions.”
Our vision has been allowed to take shape organically over the past four years. We especially love how our Friday Night Socials have established us as a welcoming social venue for the community. As our journey continues, we hope to develop the makerspace workshop to allow for hands-on experience. Also on the horizon is a dedicated art gallery space showcasing maritime-inspired art.
VISION: What floats our boat
We strive to promote learning, provide experience and harbor appreciation of maritime history and culture, with an emphasis on “Simply messing about in boats”. We have set out to be a haven for community events and gatherings, a welcoming place to share music, art, history and new ideas – a place to connect people of all ages. We endeavour to leave nothing but good memories in our wake.
