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A Halifax Pier

God damn them all! I was told
We'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns, shed no tears
But I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's Privateers

I, too, found myself on a Halifax pier, but not in the same manner as described in Stan Roger's now-classic sea shanty. We were even greeted by a piper.

Approaching Halifax we slowed for the pilot to board the Fram and lead us into what is billed as the world's second largest natural harbor behind Sydney. But we were just one of three or four vessels waiting to be guided to the quay: Mein Schiff 6, with berths for more than 2,500 passengers; Holland-America's Rotterdam, just over 1,400; and Ocean's Insignia can carry more than 800. By comparison the MV Fram's maximum capacity is about 250, but only 84 passengers are aboard for this trip. We squeezed our way into the narrow channel between Pier 24 and the adjacent grain pier, seemingly inches away from the Insignia, and doing it like Ginger Rogers danced: backwards.

 Once secured to the dock, a full-fledged ballet began as trucks arrived landside and barges waterside to resupply the Fram, amid the bustle of Canadian uniformed officialdom, longshoremen working in Bermuda shorts (it was 54ºF), buses waiting for disembarking passengers and crew members taking care of all the details necessary for a port call.
Although we arrived before 11 a.m. disembarkation didn't begin until nearly 1 p.m., with preference given to those taking an excursion to Peggy's Cove and Halifax's Titanic sites. (Note: one of the jigsaw puzzles in the Fram's game closet, and completed by a pair of guests during the voyage, is of the Titanic. Not an encouraging past time when traveling through the same waters.) Because of my "upgrade" to a new cabin for the Halifax-New York segment, I couldn't disembark to tour Halifax until after 2 p.m.
The Rotterdam slides away on sunset. She was built in 1997 and has classic lines, unlike Mein Schiff 6

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