Donald, Chief Cook
Donald joined the Picton Castle at the beginning of January when she called at his home town of St. George’s, Grenada. Donald has worked for 20 years as a chef on cruise ships, sailing around the Caribbean, the USA and Europe. His preference to use fresh local fruit, vegetables, spices and local recipes has been wildly popular among the crew and has been an authentic experience of Caribbean culture and cuisine. He prepares virtually all meals to include three main courses and desert. He even makes tuna sandwiches look pretty, but hands down the crew’s favourite is Donald’s fried chicken and potato wedges; they are unlike any we have tried anywhere in the world. As long as you do not interrupt the cricket game on his galley radio, Donald is easy to get along with, quick to make a joke and especially likes to tease Mary Anne.
Maggie, Purser
A native of Brampton, ON, Maggie has been on board the Picton Castle for two years, having joined the ship’s crew in Lunenburg in May 2005 as a trainee on the fourth world voyage. Her promotion as purser leaves her in charge of finances, communications, customs and immigration, general ship’s business, and she takes care of us. She spends a lot of time sitting at the ship’s computer tending to all the details that make training aboard the Picton Castle possible, but hers is not a typical desk job, and you cannot top the view from the office window! Although her workload has shifted to seeing to the ship’s other needs, Maggie hasn’t forgotten her deckhand skills and she helps out on deck as often as possible.