Just now the Picton Castle is sailing about 30 miles off the coast of the Iberian Peninsula at the northern Spain-Portugal border. We are southbound. We have taken the corner at Finisterre out of the Bay of Biscay without any drama, in fact a fair wind filled and backed and followed us around as we …
Our barque Picton Castle is sailing along in the famous Bay of Biscay about 180 miles west of the French city of Bordeaux and conditions could not be more stunningly enchanting. We have had our share of fog and gales in this voyage around Europe but now will be increasingly leaving that type weather astern …
We have rounded Land’s End and made our way north to Milford Haven, Wales, where this ship began her seafaring life. We are under a big high pressure so there is little wind but the weather is nice. Weather types insist that it will persist but I do not trust that and I am anxious …
So there we were, motoring along in the English Channel, using up precious and expensive fuel in calm weather; excellent fair weather apart from the lack of a usable wind, and we found ourselves just south of the Isle of Wight. We had made good progress through the Channel, past Dover and Dungeness and we …
When last we met, the Picton Castle was just sailing down the River Orwell from Ipswich, England past the mouth of the Thames and Dover and headed down channel. Weather looks OK for now. Weather hereabouts can be just as bad as all those Hornblower novels, gale after westerly gale this time of year. Mostly …
The Picton Castle raced into Harwich/Felixstowe harbour, coming in making ten knots with a following gale and a strong fair tide. This harbour, just to the north of the approaches to the mighty Thames River and complex of waterways, is at the mouth of a couple of rivers that join at this point. The whole …
Sorlandet and Christian Radich joined us going down river from Bremerhaven towards the North Sea. At the approaches to the Weser River, after cheers back and forth, they pulled off to starboard, sailing towards the north and home to Norway. In the Picton Castle we would make our way down the coasts of Germany and …
The European Tall Ships ports were good for the ship and crew. Pretty interesting weather, ship handling and various other challenges as well. It was good for the European ships to see the Picton Castle and good for our gang to see them – whole thing ended up being a sort of love fest. The …
It’s coming up on late August here in the southern North Sea and we are beginning to feel it. Frequency of lows rambling across hereabouts is picking up ever so slightly but enough, enough. These European Tall Ships festivals have been pretty good for the gang but it is hard to see how having gone …
We raised the anchor at Terschilling and headed off past these low lands of Holland. Of course that’s what Netherlands means, “low lands.” They are sure enough low, can barely see them they are so low. We had a good push to get to Den Helder in time to join the fleet there assembling, but …
