Here on Wednesday, June 14 in the early AM the Picton Castle is about halfway from Saint Martin to the Panama Canal. The overall distance is about 1,100 miles. The ship is bowling along at 6-7 knots under upper topsails in very warm (hot?) tradewinds, about 80 miles north of the east end of Colombia. 550 miles to go. Seas are pretty lumpy and piled up as they do hereabouts, in this Caribbean Basin, making for a dancing ship and steering is an exercise. All is bright blue. Flying fish scatter out of our way with every wave it seems but none have hopped the rail yet. Sea birds fly around us, some land for a rest on a yard arm. Evidence of their residence aloft splatters on deck in spots. Last evening we took in and furled both t’gallants as the breeze was making up. Seems to do this here as you sail over the hump of Colombia . Or it has done this the last few times i have sailed this way.
Good work is getting done too. The jibboom is getting scraped and will be oiled soon. Varnish here and there is getting scraped down to wood and restored from crackled blackened yellow to bright rose. This will take some time but its all coming back. We hope to be looking sharp again by Tahiti. The ship was strong and made stronger over the last many months but winter is not the time to get rid of her scruffiness. All in good time.
Some squalls about. Nothing serious. But nothing wrong with treating them seriously – so lets take in a t’gallant or two and get them stowed. We could use the practice. Indeed we can…