The day came in mostly cloudy but, while still hazy, it has cleared up. The Picton Castle is romping along in fresh tradewinds just ahead of the beam.
Ships work: The Bosun and his assistants continue work on the port breezeway head. The teak door is being scraped and sanded and the hardware has been removed to be overhauled. Another coating of varnish was brushed onto the wooden toilet seats and the capstan bars were scuffed and sanded. To ensure that these items are not hit by salt spray or speckled with dust from a shipmate sanding near by, these items are being varnished below decks in the hold of the ship. It simply won’t do to have crew member carefully varnishing as another shipmate scrapes and sands up wind.
In between the ship’s work we manage to find time to have fun. Today we have two occasions to celebrate. First is that it’s our 2nd mate Anne-Laure’s birthday (of France) and second it’s Norway’s Constitutional Day, like Canada Day or the 4th of July. Captain Moreland found the Picton Castle in Norway back in the 1990s and brought her to Canada to retrofit her into the barque she is today, so the ship has a tie to Norway, and we have two Norwegian crew aboard, lead seaman Lars and trainee Rune.
From: Panama
Towards: New Orleans
Date: May 17 2018
Noon Position: 16 07,9’N – 080 12,0’W
Course + Speed: Full & By + 3.7kts
Wind direction + Force: ESE + 5
Swell Height + Direction: 2m + SE
Weather: Slightly overcast + sunny
Day’s Run: 87.7nm
Passage Log: 89.9 nm
Distance to Port: 403 nm
Voyage: 1487.5 nm
Sail Set: Outer jib, inner jib, fore topmast staysail, foresail, fore lower topsail, fore upper topsail, fore t’gallant, main sail, main lower topsail, main upper topsail, main t’gallant, main topmast staysail, main t’gallant staysail, mizzen topmast staysail, mizzen staysail, spanker