This summer, Picton Castle will take part in the Rendez-vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta. Events of this kind are quite rare; they involve tall ships from around the world racing from port to port on both sides of the Atlantic and appearing in festivals in various ports in between the races. Rendez-vous 2017 kicked off this past weekend in Royal Greenwich in England on what appears to be a wonderful Easter weekend with tall ships moored along the River Thames.
Ships can choose to sail on some or all of the race legs of the Regatta. From Royal Greenwich, the ships will race to Sines, Portugal, then to Bermuda. Picton Castle will start in the feeder port of Charleston, South Carolina, USA then meet up with more of the fleet in Bermuda.
The next race is from Bermuda to Boston, and we’ll race again from Boston to the Canadian Maritimes. Once in Canada, the fleet will divide to visit a number of ports in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and St. Lawrence River, gathering together again in Quebec City for the largest tall ships festival in Canada this summer. Before we get to Quebec City, Picton Castle will visit Summerside, PEI; Sept-Iles, Quebec; and Baie-Comeau, Quebec.
After Quebec City, the fleet will divide again, with some ships heading for Halifax and then back across the Atlantic to Le Havre in France. Other ships will continue visiting a number of Canadian ports in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Picton Castle will be bound for Norris Point, Newfoundland; Louisbourg, Nova Scotia; Lunenburg, Nova Scotia; Digby, Nova Scotia; and Saint John, New Brunswick.
So, although we haven’t yet joined up with this majestic international fleet, the Rendez-vous has begun!
