As always, it becomes time to sail.
All Picton Castle hands had had a lovely visit at St Helena. It’s a spot that I have grown to like more with each visit. After making the rounds saying fond goodbyes, clearing out with passports stamped, final emailings done, time to up anchor and head back to sea. Miles to go to Grenada. And much tradewind seafaring ahead.
Yards braced aback, sails loosed to their bunt gaskets, we hove in the 4 shots of anchor chain. The anchor broke free and we drifted away from the sheer rock cliffs of St. Helena and got sail on the ship. We had gone full circle around the anchor one calm day so I expected that the anchor stock would have a turn of chain on it. And so it proved once in sight. Dustin and Line got the big port anchor catted and cleared and lashed for the long sea road to the Caribbean. Winds were light and flukey in the lee of the island but these breezes blew us away from land anyway. We steered various courses until about a mile and half towards the north we picked up the southeast trades again and fell off on a NWly course and on our way, bound out to sea and for the Caribbees.
The crew had done a great job onboard getting decks oiled, topsides painted and new sails through their second layouts all ready for finish work. Now at sea we will be getting grommets stuck into the new fore topmast staysail, main topmast staysail and a course that will fit either main or fore. After grommets comes rope roping and cringles in the corners. A new mast boot is going on the mizzen mast. A “mast boot” is a canvas coat around the base of the a mast wher it penetrates the deck. It keeps the seas out and the mast wedges dry. Ours just now we made ages ago and are all due for replacement. Its a nice example of the sailmaker’s art to make a good mast boot. A new heavy canvas hatch cover is all but done. Seamed by hand, needs tabling and to get painted. The old one one will get cut up into small paint tarps. The cargo hatch coaming is getting painted, wires and topmasts greased. Julien trying to reassemble our welding machine that went ashore in Cape Town to get overhauled and came back to us in pieces in a box. Pretty disappointed in that, to say the least. Emergency drills of Man Overboard, Fire, Abandon Ship, and damage control in various forms are on the docket, as are workshops in navigation, Rules of the Road, canvas/leather work and sundry rigging wrinkles.
The first day at sea is smooth seas with a small swell, flying fish scattering about ahead of us. The two cats dispatching such flying fish unlucky enough to fly onboard. Then the cats have fishy breath. Crew getting back in the sea-going groove. The day ends with a rising and waxing moon off to the east. Watch on deck, stay on deck. Watch below, go below.
