As this world voyage in the Picton Castle is almost on the home stretch and our gang both keen and accomplished, we have set up an extra series of workshops for the long tradewind passage from South Africa to the West Indies in order to hone skill sets – many of our crew seek to […]
Picton Castle is currently sailing just south of the Equator, soon to pass from the Southern hemisphere to the Northern hemisphere. On this world voyage, the ship first crossed the Line between Panama and Galapagos. Sailing slowly towards zero degrees, then veering away from it as the wind dictates and setting course once again, the
The break of dawn comes right on time here in the tropical South Atlantic about 800 miles east of the hump of Brazil. We rather expected it would. In these tropics, night to day shifts from deep night to bright shiny morning pretty swiftly, often with a brief brilliant blaze of sunrise. We are steering
By Josh Spencer Official Announcement: On the 14th of February 2011, the SA Cape Horners met for the last time as an official association aboard S/V Barque Picton Castle in the Cape Town Waterfront. After much deliberation the committee had decided that in view of the rapidly declining membership and the increasing inability of members
By Chief Mate Michael Moreland Surrounding the scenic and stunning city of Cape Town is another world all together although just minutes away. They call it the ‘Cape Flats’ a flat stretch of land just to the northeast of Cape Town, which if you have been there, denotes a frequently dry and windy swath of
The Picton Castle is six days and 730 miles out from Namibia, southern Africa. On a bright sunny day we sailed from Luderitz surrounded by the most barren of dusty desert with no sign of rain or green vegetation to be seen. And straight into a thick wet fog bank to rival the shores of
By Meredith McKinnon There are moments in time that if frozen, would forever remind us that life on the Picton Castle is amazing. Sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in the Barque Picton Castle and then into Cape Town were two such moments, moments that will be forever etched in my memory. It was
The Barque Picton Castle is under sail and outward bound once again across a great ocean – this time from Luderitz, Namibia north west towards the West Indies sailing the South Atlantic on what is, apart from a small pit stop at St Helena, our longest sea passage of this voyage. Even with the short
The day comes in overcast and grey, cool with a strong fair wind on our starboard quarter. The ship is sailing along fine in following seas with a few seabirds soaring about the stern. The royals are taken in and furled and the mainsail is made fast up on the main yard for ease of
Before Picton Castle arrives in a port, the Captain always holds a muster in order to give the crew some guidance and instruction on what to do and what not to do, local customs, places to go, things to see and people to meet. These briefings are always in balance – giving the crew enough
