It was a beautiful, misty morning on the Lunenburg waterfront as the Picton Castle team hung the final touch on the Chandlery storefront before the Yuletide Sale: a hand painted sign made by our Bosun School students, to celebrate the official opening of the Picton Castle’s Ship & Boat Chandlery at our wharf and warehouse on Lunenburg’s working waterfront.
The week before the opening, it seemed all of Lunenburg had been preparing for holidays; the Bluenose II was in preparation to be tied snugly at its winter dock at the Fisheries Museum, wreaths and decorations were being hung on the fronts of homes in town, and lights were soon to be strung from the masts of the ships on the waterfront (a much-anticipated Lunenburg annual tradition). We also had a thick blanket of snow only two weeks earlier, which had stayed just a few days before disappearing again.
In the Picton Castle office, the energy was high as we were all preparing to open to the public on November 14th. The biggest project was to organize and display the beautiful handwoven baskets and exotic items that had been brought to Lunenburg from all over the world in the Picton Castle’s cargo hold. For most of our staff, many of these items brought back wonderful memories of having sailed on previous world voyages, while for others these items brought forward dreams of someday visiting the incredible places where these items had been made. As well as all sorts of seagoing tools and gear. As the team worked together over the weeks leading up to the opening, many stories were shared amongst crew who had sailed with the Picton Castle with those who had not yet had the opportunity, with discussions about how each item had been specially handpicked to bring back to the Chandlery.
On the morning of the opening for the Yuletide Sale, holiday cheer was abundant with Christmas lights strung along the Chandlery’s storefront, and beautiful tropical music playing inside. A few of our team members set up a table outdoors to serve delicious hot spiced apple cider safely to visitors as they came by the shop. The shop was busy and in high spirits all day, with shoppers of all ages discovering “finds” of all varieties – from pirate gold to a wooden rum cask, from woven straw animals to handmade knives, the Chandlery has something for everyone. Many people had come to do their holiday shopping, and it was lovely to hear from visitors as we rung them through at the counter that they had found the perfect gift, both from the Picton Castle’s section of the shop, and from John Edelman’s section selling beautiful brass marine hardware.
At the end of day of the Yuletide Sale, the positive energy was still in the air. It had been many years that opening the Picton Castle’s Ship & Boat Chandlery on the Lunenburg waterfront had been a dream, and now it is finally open for visitors. The online store is coming along too. We are so happy to share with you all the wonderful items we have for sale, and we thank everyone who came and supported the shop on November 14th for making it such a happy and successful day.
If you did not have the opportunity to join us at the Chandlery during the Yuletide Sale, we will be open on each Friday until December 18th leading up to the holidays from 11:00am to 6:00pm. If you are unable to make it on Fridays, please let us know at [email protected] and we’d be happy to arrange an appointment with you to visit the shop!
If you are unable to come and shop in person, we have also carefully photographed and catalogued the collection on our new online store! Visit picton-castle.myshopify.com for worldwide shipping or local pick-up!
