The next morning everyone was up unusually early (before their third wakeup), seabags packed and ready to go.
We trooped down the street, hopped the fence at the Fisheries Museum, scampered down the ladder on the dock, and threw our gear aboard Pride of Baltimore II. I can’t speak for everyone else, but I was overcome by a very strange feeling after a few seconds of standing on deck. I had no idea what to do next. As the crew, we are used to being the ones who know where everything is, how it works, why, and so on. The unsettling feeling of being the useless new guy wore off quickly though, as I realized that I had absolutely no responsibility! I didn’t have to know the answers to any questions, and nobody would come to me when the head clogged, the cat threw up, or so-and-so was being a pain in the butt. How refreshing!
The second mate, Mike, gave us all an orientation to general ship’s life, as well as a safety gear and procedures overview, and got us settled in our bunks. We helped out as best we could with ship’s work while Captain Miles reviewed the weather and finished up the ship’s paperwork.
We got underway just before lunch, and sailed out of Lunenburg harbour. I love seeing Pride sail in and out of Lunenburg, but I think we all agree the view from on deck is better. As soon as we got around Cross Island we picked up a fresh breeze in fairly calm seas, and we smoked down the coast. I mean smoked! We were making 11 knots like it was nothing. The deck was covered in ear-to-ear grins. We tried to act casual, but I don’t think it worked.
We broke into watches in the early evening, and the ship settled into her routine. I keep saying ‘ship’ – actually the crew refer to Pride as a ‘boat’, but after 7 years of having ‘boat’ beaten out of me, I can’t bring myself to say it.
We made Bar Harbour on Saturday, and were greeted by one of our former crew, Chelsie, who had organized transportation for all 8 of us to come and spend the weekend at her camp.
One of the wonderful things about sailing in Picton Castle is that just about anywhere in the world you can conceivably end up, you will more than likely know someone. And they will always go out of their way to show you a good time. Chelsie and her family were great hosts, and our big adventure continued in style until we met the ferry for Yarmouth on Monday. All in all, our outing proved to be one of the most seamless, spontaneous adventures I’ve ever had.
It seemed as though the rest of the month would pale in comparison to this, but we still had a few adventures ahead of us…
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