The Picton Castle and crew are having one awesome seagoing day! A big blue sunny day, shiny seas, sunny skies, we are sailing along braced sharp on the port tack making easting across the Gulf Stream about 50 miles south of Cape Hatteras. The Stream is giving us about a 20 degree lift in the right direction. Today we will just tack across the Gulf Stream and let that swift ocean river haul us north. I expect the wind to shift to northeast then east later on and this easting will be all to the good.
On the eastern edge of the Gulf Stream we were catching fish like mad, all sorts of tuna and mahi mahi. The fishermen and the cook all are pleased with the fishing. Almost like the South Pacific.
The crew are excited about heading out to the South Pacific too. They all are wondering who is signing up joining us for this once in a lifetime voyage, they want to know who their new shipmates will be as we head out for Galapagos and Pitcairn Island. Carpe diem!
We just took in the fore and main royal and stowed them. This gang is getting to be like old timers and they all steer quite well too, having never steered a sailing ship before a few short weeks ago. The gang is bending on some more fore’n’aft sail and a sail is getting repaired on the quarter-deck. Life is good.