Angus Walters

Angus James Walters
Walters with International Fisherman's Trophy
Born	(1881-06-09)9 June 1881 Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Died	11 August 1968(1968-08-11) (aged 87) Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
Known for	First captain of Bluenose

Angus James Walters (9 June 1881 – 11 August 1968) was a sailor and sea captain who skippered Bluenose (which appears on the Canadian dime) from 1921 to 1938. Walters captained Bluenose to five international sailing races, and was undefeated for seventeen years.

Angus Walters was born in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, a fishing community, located on the south shore of Nova Scotia. He was one of twelve children of Adelaide (Lohnes) and Captain Frederick Elias Walters, a fisherman and captain of the schooner Nyanza. At age fourteen, in 1895, Walters started his career as a fisherman on his father’s boat. He started as a “throater” where he was responsible for grabbing fish, cutting their throats and slicing the belly down to the tail. His career also led him to learning about life at sea as a "header" and a "doryman." Walters sailed on his father’s ship for two years until it sank off the Magdalen Islands.

in 1905, at the age of twenty-three, Walters became captain of his first schooner, the Minnie M. Cook. He became known for the speed at which he completed voyages. In 1908 he launched his own boat, the Muriel B. Walter, named after his sister. He remained captain of this ship for eight years. World War I made the life of a fisherman very difficult. Walters sold the Muriel B. Walters and bought the Donald Silver. He then bought the larger Gilbert B. Walters, named after his sons. On this ship he set a record for the largest catch of halibut.

There was a friendly rivalry between fisherman of different areas to determine who was the fastest. In 1920, the first International Fishermen’s Race was held between fishermen of Gloucester, Massachusetts and Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, Walter’s schooner broke a mast and he lost the trial for the race. After that a group of Halifax businessmen, wanting to give Canada a better chance to win, established a racing committee. They approached William J. Roue, a Halifax marine architect to design a ship. Walters was approached to be the captain. Shipbuilders Smith and Rhuland were chosen to build Bluenose. On 26 March 1921, Bluenose was launched. On 6 October 1921, the first race was held and Walters led Bluenose to victory. He was now in a position to represent Canada in the Second International Fishermen’s Race. Bluenose won and continued to win five international titles under Walter's command.