Mary Anne, Deckhand
A native of Pictou, NS, Mary Anne joined the Picton Castle in November of 2006 where she signed on as a trainee for the entire winter sailing sail training schedule in the Caribbean. A retired nurse and the daughter of a professional seaman who also sailed extensively in commercial square-riggers out of Nova Scotia, Mary Anne came aboard prepared to learn the ropes of traditional square-rig sailing for herself. She has quickly become a favourite shipmate, caring for us better than we can care for ourselves and continually keeping us laughing with her playful sense of humour. She especially enjoys teasing Donald our cook. Mary Anne has traveled the world and accomplished a long list of adventures and she has decided that her next challenge is to climb a mountain in South America probably by this time next year.
Katie, Deckhand
Katie sailed in the Picton Castle for two weeks in the summer of 2006 from Chicago to Port Huron, with a stop in Beaver Island. Katie is a member of a seasonal sail racing team (she will rejoin them for a short time this summer) and like our shipmate Ben, she had originally signed up to attend Picton Castle‘s Bosun School this winter. When the program was postponed we invited her to sail with us in the Caribbean, and without hesitation she left her home in chilly Chicago to join the ship in Dominica in February. She is adorned with countless eye-catching tattoos and therefore blends in nicely among the crew. To compliment her taste in body art, Katie is quickly honing her seafaring skills and in just these few short months she may have already convinced herself that there may not be life outside of the Picton Castle. When not playing in tar, Katie is a fantastically creative cook and is often nominated to take charge in the galley on Donald’s day off.