The Picton Castle swung on her anchor at St. Helena for three days and many of us could easily have stayed longer at this remarkable island. Although small (it is about 5 miles wide and 9 miles long) St. Helena is a geological and ecological marvel. Almost deceiving to the approaching ship (its cliffs rugged, …
After a fine eleven day sail from Luderitz, Namibia, mostly under studding sails, the Picton Castle made landfall off St. Helena. In the hazy morning light we were all struck by the imposing cliffs and tall mountain ridges on this solitary island. St. Helena is part of a Southern Atlantic Ocean undersea mountain chain which …
Cape Town, South Africa was without a doubt one of the most anticipated port calls on this voyage, and it did not disappoint. Though we left more than two weeks ago a brief recap of our stay there seems appropriate… There is plenty to do in Cape Town itself and the crew spent the much …
During this 14-month circumnavigation the crew of the Picton Castle have visited friendly remote islands, swam in cascading waterfalls, snorkelled on coral reefs, watched dolphins play off our bowsprit, sweated out airless passages under power, climbed active volcanoes, sailed in perfect tradewind conditions with stuns’ls set, explored bustling metropolitan centres in Panama, Fiji, Bali and …
On the afternoon of January 26th the Captain held a lecture on ship handling. The rains had subsided that afternoon – and so the crew settled onto the quarterdeck to learn a thing or two. Primarily he discussed docking – a daunting and fascinating job. There are many factors one must account for including, but …
On January 23rd, after Bounty Day celebrations wrapped up, the 8-12 watch took the deck. Before we’d had a chance to muster Mates Paul and Mike ordered the crew to take in all sail. We were about to pass into a nasty little trough and rather than wallow within the mass of foul weather under …
The Picton Castle has been racing along at an average speed of 6 knots, making great time, ever since we left Reunion a week ago. We all had a fantastic time during our visit, but we are happy to be back at sea. Land tuckers you out. I have been a landlubber my entire life …
On the morning of January 13th, 2011 the Picton Castle cleared out with Reunion customs and immigration and headed back out to sea bound for Cape Town, South Africa about 2200 miles away. One of our beloved crew, Lorraine, originally having planned to sign off in Cape Town, left us here in Reunion to move …
The Picton Castle usually gets a little extra loving while in port and Reunion was no exception. The crew were not idle as they waited for our agents and then Customs and Immigration to go over our paperwork and stamp our passports. They hopped in to the skiff almost immediately after docking and began scrubbing …
On January 4th, 2011 the Captain manoeuvred the Picton Castle into an astonishingly tight docking spot in Port Ouest, La Reunion Island. It was indeed a delicate procedure. The Captain gave helm orders to Nadja who responded with strong and controlled turns of the big teak wheel. Chris manned the engine controls, putting the engine …
