Thursday December 8, 2016 What comes down out of the rig must go back up! Bosun School students sent down yards back in September, they have overhauled all the standing rigging attached to the yards, overhauled the yards themselves, and are now crossing the topsail yards again. The first one to go up was the …
Captain Moreland and I just got home to Lunenburg from the Sail Training International conference in Halmstad, Sweden. This is an annual conference, held in various places around the world, for tall ship operators, owners, crew, host ports, and anyone else interested in sail training. We try to participate, representing Picton Castle, as often as …
Close to a year ago, we decided to sign on for the Rendezvous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta. This means that in the summer of 2017, Picton Castle will join an international fleet of tall ships for a series of festivals and races. The Regatta actually starts in Europe, in the UK and Portugal, but we’ll …
For the past few weeks, Bosun School students have been focused on sailmaking. It’s a good skill for a bosun to have – by making a sail, you understand how it works, why each part is the way it is, how to use it and how to look after it. There aren’t very many sailing …
One of the best first projects for any beginner sailmaker is a ditty bag. What is a ditty bag and why would one want to make one, you ask? Well, a ditty bag is a canvas bag, typically shaped like a cylinder, that’s used to hold a sailor’s tools. We have no idea why it’s …
Captain’s Log: Introduction to Sailmaking – Ditty Bags Read More »
Captain Moreland started the sailmaking section of the Bosun School by explaining the shape of a headsail and how to do a first layout of one of these sails. Bosun School students will start their hands-on practice by making a ditty bag (more on that later), then will learn how to repair sails, and will …
With Picton Castle in drydock, the Bosun School students are working on yards and rigging. As you may remember from previous Captain’s Logs, we sent down all yards on the fore and main masts except the course yards. Picton Castle’s royal and t’gallant yards are made of wood, her upper and lower topsail yards (as …
Picton Castle has now been in drydock for a week. The ship was hauled out last Monday at the Lunenburg Foundry for routine maintenance. We haul the ship out of the water every two years in order to inspect, clean and overhaul the hull and the through-hull fittings. She’s awfully impressive out of the water, …
Captain’s Log 10 October, 2016 – Drydock Continues … Read More »
While Picton Castle is in drydock, Bosun School students have been carrying on with projects related to Picton Castle’s yards. All yards except the course yards were sent down last week. Picton Castle’s royal and t’gallant yards (the top two yards on both the foremast and mainmast) are made of wood. The upper and lower …
With the high tide on the morning of Monday October 3, 2016, Picton Castle was hauled out of the water on the marine railway at the Lunenburg Foundry. We take the ship out of the water every two years so we can clean, inspect and repaint the hull. The last time Picton Castle drydocked was …
