Sunny, sunny, hot day on board Picton Castle. As we sway from port to starboard, the swells have increased slightly, resulting in more water washing over the deck. With a rather calm passage, 26 days to be exact since we left Bali, and suddenly we’re on a starboard tack. It’s as if our world has been turned upside down. Suddenly the lee side is now on port, this is rather important when you discard water buckets over the rail as throwing it to weather causes the water to come back in your face, or the old coffee grounds to end up on the topsides of our white hull, so situational awareness must always be at play.
Checking off the items of today’s work list, the riggers, Anne-Laure and apprentice Nic, sent up the fish tackle after being re-served and having new chafe gear stitched on. It lives on the most forward pinrail on the foc’sle head. Once that was finished they moved onto cutting new gaskets to be whipped and sent aloft and are now working on end for ending the flying jib halyard. End for ending means to swap the ends, the standing end, that lives high up on the foremast will now become the hauling end that is made off to a metal pin on the well deck. James lent the riggers a hand this morning by adding chafe gear to the main topmast shrouds. The carpenters, Carlos and Valerian, got a coat of primer on the new kitty litter box as well as a coat of bottom paint on our Lunenburg Dory Shop Dory, Sea Never Dry. The sailmaking duo, John and Ted, have stretched out royal CT 15, which stands for Cape Town 2015, making that sail 4 years old, and they are replacing the rope cover on this young sail. Lots of sunscreen is being used today. We will sure miss this warm, shorts-wearing, sarong-sporting summer weather days once we get closer to South Africa and the Cape of Good Hope. We’ll enjoy these days while we have them!
From: Bali, Indonesia
Towards: Rodrigues
Date: Friday January 4th, 2019
Noon Position: 19°13.3’S x 67°50.9’E
Course + Speed: NW + 4.3 kts
Wind direction + Force: E by N + 4
Swell Height + Direction: 2 1/2 m + NE, SE
Weather: Hot, sunny
Day’s Run: 102.3 nm
Passage Log: 2,750.8 nm
Distance to Port: 251.5 nm
Voyage: 16897.8 nm
Sails Set: All square sails, outer jib, inner jib, main t’gallant stays’l, mizzen topmast stays’l
