Back in December, before Christmas, we finalized the itinerary for Picton Castle’s seventh world circumnavigation. Just because we’ve done this six times before doesn’t mean it’s an easy voyage or one to be taken lightly. Quite the contrary, in fact. It’s an epic voyage that is demanding and challenging no matter how much experience we’ve got under our collective belts.
But oh, what a voyage. This is the kind of voyage square-rig sailors from the days of commercial sail would dream about. Mostly in the tropics, not in a particular rush to get from port to port to deliver the cargo, with an amiable crew who are all keen to be part of the experience.
Now that 2017 is here, the voyage looms large in our minds. Picton Castle will be sailing this summer, participating in the Rendezvous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta, which will build towards the excitement of this next world circumnavigation.
To say it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience sounds cliché, yet that may be the most accurate description. There’s truly nothing else like this voyage. You participate as an actively involved crew member in getting the ship around the world. Along the way you have unbelievable experiences in the ports we visit. You develop relationships with your shipmates that will last a lifetime. You learn seamanship skills and become a competent deckhand aboard a square-rigged ship. In the quiet of nights on forward lookout or in the commotion of setting all sail, you learn what you’re capable of doing, how to trust others, and how to earn their trust that you’ll do your part when it’s your turn.
If 2017 is your year for epic adventure, consider joining us. You don’t need any sailing experience, just a clean bill of health and the desire to be part of the ship’s working crew. Highlights of World Voyage 7’s itinerary include Panama, the Galapagos Islands, Pitcairn Island, French Polynesia including the Marquesas Islands, the Tuamotus, Tahiti and the Society Islands, the Cook Islands, the Kingdom of Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, Bali, Rodrigues Island, Reunion Island, South Africa, Namibia, St. Helena, a number of Eastern Caribbean islands, Bermuda and the port where the voyage begins and ends, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada.