By Chelsea McBroom February 27th, 2014 The last couple days I’ve been stocking up on groceries with Donald and Maria to prepare the Picton Castle for the sail to Papeete. We took the skiff in this morning with some of the port watch going ashore for their day off. The port bumpers were put out […]
By Chelsea McBroom February 25th, 2014 Another beautiful day ashore with no sign of rain and I had a few options as to what I would do for the day. Starboard watch of the Picton Castle could have gone on a bus tour around the island, or Meg, Erin, and Nils, our Master Divers, had
By Chelsea McBroom February 25th, 2014 My 2am night watch aboard the Picton Castle went by quickly. Maria woke me up ten minutes before, telling me I might need a jacket, and I met her on the quarter deck in my pajamas, foulies in hand when I was ready. The stars and nearly full moon
By Chelsea McBroom February 23rd, 2014 Yesterday I went grocery shopping in Nuku Hiva with Donald and my new apprentice assistant Maria, crew of the Picton Castle. The day was cloudy but very humid. It’s a very green island like the last we’d visited but seems more populated, having more city lights at night. Scattered
By Peter Crawford, trainee from New Zealand February 22nd, 2014 Saturday 22nd of February started in pleasant fashion with a midnight disco serenade from a club on shore. The Polynesian/western fusion accompanied a half moon rising over the eastern edge of the crater we are anchored in. Rain had cleared the hatch of those trying
By Anne-Laure Barberis, watch officer apprentice from France February 21st, 2014 This morning, as I woke up, the Picton Castle (as it sailed to Nuku Hiva) was already buzzing with activity. There were people doing the routine tasks: dish washing, cleaning, sanding and varnishing, wire brushing and painting, without forgetting our auto-pilot which is the
By Chelsea McBroom February 20th, 2014 It was Lily’s birthday on the 19th aboard the Picton Castle, all sails but the flying jib were set as we sailed to Nuku Hiva, so cupcakes were made the night before, just after dinner, as the galley and scullery were being cleaned. I used the boxes of devil’s
By Captain John Beebe-Center February 18th, 2014 Being at sea aboard the Picton Castle on this leg of our journey has turned into a nice exercise of training, work and fairly comfortable living all while occupying this smallish steel world apparently all alone and in the middle of nowhere. The training is courtesy of some
By Chelsea McBroom February 18th, 2014 I had been dreaming I was seeing my friends back at home again when I was woken at 3:30am this morning onboard the Picton Castle on its way to Nuku Hiva. I’m living in the foc’sle now (no longer in the once called “Chel-salon” because at one point I
By Dr. Peter Sharp, ship’s medical officer February 15th, 2014 On turquoise water clouds pile high: green hills, white terns thought homeward fly. The Picton Castle left Pitcairn on the first of February 2014 with a big swell rolling in on Bounty Bay and motor sailed north until the next day loaded with tons of
