May 3, 2018
The day comes in fair and clear on the Picton Castle, a cool northeasterly breeze. Big ships and tugs and barges making their way up and down this big river at New Orleans. Big currents swirling about. A chicory coffee in the early morning light of dawn is pleasant enough way to start the day.
We have work to do. With all these new hands excited and anxious to get to sea we have to teach and they have to learn the ship. And we have to stow the ship. We also have to catch up with looking after her cosmetics after a long south bound North Atlantic passage in the dead of winter, followed by a demanding series of grand Tall Ship events here in the Gulf of Mexico. Neither the North Atlantic nor tall ship festivals allow much room for making things their nicest in the never ending maintenance department. Sure, of course, anything looking to break gets attention right away but things like painting, tarring, varnishing all take second fiddle to just ‘getting there’.
But now, in good weather and some pressure reduced with the Tall Ships festivals ended and with a gang aboard dedicated to learning and absorbing the ‘way of a ship’ we can and shall turn our attention to not only the obvious preparations for the voyage but to give some kind attention to things to look after this ship which will carry us these many tens of thousands of miles westward around the world.
Today being sunny and dry and the decks a bit dry after any number of wash downs we figured to oil the decks. These white pine decks have seen a lot of tropical sun and hundreds of thousands of sea-miles in the last 22 years and are holding up well. One reason this is so is because we keep them coated with linseed oil. A little varnish on the engine room telegraph, so pretty with its Bali carvings on the side. A bit of caulking on the quarter-deck. The good old “Norwegian Steam” anchor windlass could use some love (chipping, painting, greasing). A few lines could get replaced. And of course, we must stow the ship. So many supplies have been landed on the wharf; stuff for Pitcairn Island and for the ship – paint, hawsers, timber, rope, bits and pieces for the engine room, tools, and lots of food – all must get stowed in the ship. And so it all is under the able direction of Chief Mate Erin from Bermuda.
Anne Laure and Machus work on the panels of the engine control box (carved in Bali)
Brittni and Tristan work on the windlass