Morning broke clear and fair with gentle winds blowing across the lagoon and reef to our ship at anchor. In the low light of the early morning sun, the blue seas and skies takes on a rare richness. We are anchored close to the reef and just to leeward of a small atoll deep in […]
By Kate “Bob” Addison The evening of Easter Saturday finds Picton Castle still snug in her berth in Avatiu Harbour, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. By now we were planning to be underway, well on our way to Aitutaki with our hold filled with cargo for the outer Cook Islands, and our bunks full of passengers –
By Kate “Bob” Addison We’ve been busy unloading the hold ready to take cargo to the outer Cooks. Second mate and handy carpenter Sam built a new platform to help keep the cargo better organised and make more usable space – the hold looks huge when it’s all empty. Now the crew are loading lumber
By Kate “Bob” Addison During our stay in Aitutaki, Picton Castle was anchored right in the pass in the reef opposite the main town of Arutanga. The idea is that the outflow from the lagoon keeps the ship’s head to the reef, and stops her swinging about too much. There is a more or less
By Kate “Bob” Addison Aitutaki was the Picton Castle’s first call of this voyage in the fabulous Cook Islands. The second most populated of the Cooks, Aitutaki is to Rarotonga what Bora Bora is to Tahiti – similar in style but smaller, sleepier and even more heartbreakingly beautiful. We anchored off the pass at about
Bora Bora – what an evocative name, no? If the soft drum beat of Bora Bora drifting murmuring past your ears does not conjure up visions of the South Pacific, what will? (Well, I’ll get to that more later when we consider Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Manihiki, Rakahanga… sweeeeeet) Bora Bora, the name and the island, may
By Kate “Bob” Addison Last Thursday morning saw the Picton Castle sailing for Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, 500 miles away from Bora Bora, all square sails and fore-and-aft sails set as we made the most of the fair, light, trade-winds. Our last port was Bora Bora, and we upped anchor and cleared out last
By Kate “Bob” Addison Well here we are in Huahine, just 100nm from Papetee, but worlds away from the bustle of the big city. Huahine is a large, volcanic island, which looks like a reclining pregnant lady if you stand on the dock at night and look back at the silhouette of the islands curving
By Kate “Bob” Addison February 21st, 2013 Thursday lunchtime and we’re half way through our Tahiti sojourn – time is passing very quickly! Aboard ship we’ve been busy organizing provisions to feed us until Rarotonga, buying diesel, refilling propane cylinders, and getting all of our fire fighting equipment checked and re-certified. We had a few
By Kate “Bob” Addison Everyone tells you that you should have been to Tahiti years ago, before it was spoiled and full of tourists, but it seems to me that if we had all been there then, then it would have been just as full of tourists back then as it is now! Captain says
