We are going to sea! Getting the Barque Picton Castle ready for blue-water. Loving up the ship. After three years of being tied up hard and quietly alongside the wharf in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia during this worldwide pandemic, the stately square-rigger we love, Picton Castle, is now swarming with activity once again, gearing up for […]
My first vessel of any significance was the Brixham Trawler Ketch MAVERICK under Captain Jack Carstarphen. She was engaged as an island windjammer sailing in the British Virgin Islands. The year was 1972, I was 18 and keen to get back the Caribbean islands of my childhood and go to sea in island schooners of
Thanks to a few generous Picton Castle and Bosun School alumni and other donors , we are now able to offer full scholarships to every qualifying student aged 35 and under attending Bosun School this summer! We are thrilled to make this hands-on marine technical training program available at no cost to young, up and
Full Scholarships for Bosun School Students Ages 35 and Under Read More »
Today there are any number of lovely sailing vessels making wonderful trips under sail that most anyone can join. Schooners, brigantines and the like. Most of these trips are for a week or two, even up to a semester long if you are a student seeking accredited school time while also sailing at sea. Many
Spring in Lunenburg… Hunkered down in a darkening dusk here in Lunenburg in late spring a few days ago. Outside it was howling holy hooly, with rain smattering on the window tikity-tack, over my shoulder and battering at the shingles. Another South East gale. Yep. Its spring. Or so it’s what we call spring, hereabouts.
This just in – Bosun School will begin on Monday June 27th, 2022! What could be better than spending time in and around boats in the summer sun on the coast of Nova Scotia? Not much that we can think of, so that’s what we’ll be doing this summer in the seafaring port of
Join us at the Grand Banker Bar & Grill in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada on Friday April 1 at 9:00pm for a comedy show! Presenting live entertainment is not something we usually do, but when the opportunity came along to host a fundraiser in support of Picton Castle’s GoFundMe, how could we not? A former
Introduction to Sailmaking at Bosun School The day here on Lunenburg’s waterfront comes in cold, wet and snowy. The sky is gray and rivulets of water flow under the mushy slush in the gutters. A few boats in the harbour heave at their moorings in the raw buffeting southeasterly sea breezes coming in off the
We hope and trust that for all of you who follow the voyages and activities of the Barque Picton Castle the new year is off to a good start. Pretty raw and cold here in Lunenburg just now. With the ship lashed to our wharf with many strong hawsers and a big anchor out in
Some thoughts regarding the recent tsunami near Tonga. Picton Castle has a well loved former crewmember from Tonga, Vai. She has been back home for awhile. Since the news broke about the underwater volcano eruption near Tonga which caused a tsunami, we have had many inquiries as to her wellbeing. While we have not heard
