Part 1. A photo essay Our fine 300 ton, 180 foot long solid riveted steel sailing ship at ADAMS & KNICKLEs wharf in Lunenburg at the end of a voyage and thinking about the next one…. Getting the ship ready for sea is a big complex job calling for lots of crew and savvy direction. […]
Getting to sea, blue-water, in the Barque PICTON CASTLE Read More »
In the harbor, in the island, in the Spanish Seas,Are the tiny white houses and the orange trees,And day-long, night-long, the cool and pleasant breezeOf the steady Trade Winds blowing. There is the red wine, the nutty Spanish ale,The shuffle of the dancers, the old salt’s tale,The squeaking fiddle, and the soughing in the sailOf
In Lunenburg we love to complain about the winter hereabouts.But should I find myself on the dock having a gam with someone, in a short while into that conversation we get around to agreeing that winters really aren’t so bad here in Lunenburg. But the truth is that spring can be cold enough and can
That famous poet laureate of the ships and the sea, John Masefield, was born in 1878, a year after my grandmother. He set sail before the mast in big iron and steel British square-riggers. Rounded Cape Horn and hauled miles and miles of braces before heading ashore. His ships were much like our Barque PICTON
Our stout blue-water barque is snugly, contentedly and safely moored to the welcoming wharves of Adams & Knickle scallop fishing company here in late January. Our own wharf is condemned as we await to hear of plans for renewal. Picton Castle, Bosun School and other working waterfront marine enterprises depend on this wharf. A
Today and looking ahead for PICTON CASTLE – Jan 2025 Read More »
There is plenty to do to get a ship like the Barque Picton Castle ready for winter in these northern climes as we are now tied up in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. You need to drain all sorts of pipes so they do not freeze. Shut off various through-hull fittings for much the same reason, some
Captain’s Log – Sending Down Yards, Winter is Coming… Read More »
November 11, yesterday, is Remembrance Day in Canada. In the USA it is Veterans Day, once called Armistice Day after its founding moment, the cessation of hostilities at the end of a very grim WWI. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the guns became quiet, and the
Two weeks after the Barque Picton Castle sailed in at the end of this world circumnavigation, our wonderful Bosun School kicked in and students arrived in Lunenburg. Bosun School is our land-based, marine skills enrichment, for aspiring mariners. We love doing it. Whether you want to set off in a tall ship, get a job
The Barque Picton Castle is back in Lunenburg, phew…… It was a long haul sailing 30,000 plus miles over the last year and half (more or less). Tough enough getting going again after COVID too. Tough getting stuck on a drydock for 6 months postponing setting off. Stuck on the hard was hard, not knowing
We sailed our Barque Picton Castle from Bermuda and anchored at Rose Bay not far from Lunenburg. The last passage of this monumental circumnavigation in this wonderful sea-proven ship we call “ours.” It was an excellent passage with very little time under power. And the weather stayed quite warm almost all the way up to the coast
Captain’s Log – Sailing into Lunenburg on July 13, 2024 Read More »
