A productive Saturday morning aboard the Picton Castle! To start the day off, as the bright golden sun rose on our stern, the on duty watch tacked the ship at 0545, putting us on a starboard tack.
The work day rolled out as like any other day. Tyler, of Ontario, spruced up our three-step ladder that gets up to the rail by painting a coat of stone (that’s a
Up on the quarterdeck, Katie and Arne coat the seams of the deck planks with a mixture of linseed oil and putty to add an extra layer to seal the caulking. The sailmakers stitched away on the Royal CT 15’s sun patch, a sun patch is an extra layer of light canvas, roughly a foot and a half depth that is sewn onto the back of the sail at the head so that when the sail is furled, rolled up into itself, and sits on the yard it is protected from the sun. The sun, rain and mold can wear away at the material of the sun patch without harming the sail, protecting the sail and enhancing its longevity.
Preparations are being made for arrival into port. We will be docking in Rodrigues, an island that is part of the country of Mauritius. The last time we came alongside was in Vanuatu three months ago. The Captain has been mentally preparing us, discussing how he goes about docking the ship, the commands he uses, the tools we use like heaving lines and the names, positions and importance of our mooring lines. To end the day off we took in and stowed royals, making it the first time in four weeks that they had been put to bed.
From: Bali, Indonesia
Towards: Rodrigues
Date: Saturday January 5th, 2019
Noon Position: 19°13.6’S x 066°05.1’E
Course + Speed: NW by W + 4.3′
Wind direction + Force: E + 4
Swell Height + Direction: 2-3m + SE/E
Weather: Sunny
Day’s Run: 99.8 nm
Passage Log: 2855 nm
Distance to Port: 152.6 nm
Voyage: 17002.0 nm
Sails Set: All square sails, inner and outer jib