New trainees aboard the Picton Castle are discovering what it means to sail aboard this beautiful barque as we motor along the coast of Nova Scotia. Along with learning to stand forward lookout, do efficient ship checks, steer a steady course and set and take in sails they have also been figuring out how high …
Anchored in serene Port Motoun the day came in blue, crisp and clear. The gang got up bright and early to heave up the anchor for the passage of the last few miles of this amazing voyage round this world of ours world back into Lunenburg. Decent winds had been forecast but the sea was …
Last night Rebecca steered and Greg conned the Picton Castle into the bay at Port Mouton to anchor for the night. Soon we were surrounded by cool still waters and rocky pine-covered islands with a big orange sun setting gently in the west. It was a perfect crystal sky evening. Joe got out a fine …
At about eight o’clock in the evening our tempest blinked and started to ease up. The Picton Castle stopped heeling on the roar in the rigging softened to a low whine. The wind backed into the northwest and the barometer started to go up. The storm was passing. We heard that a joint US and …
Day before yesterday the Picton Castle and crew were enjoying a lovely day sailing along homeward bound in the warm Gulf Stream—fine balmy west winds, small seas, sunny skies—not so bad. We had been making a good passage north from Bermuda without any problems. But this is the North Atlantic so we have the keenest …
The Picton Castle is sailing due north at about 40 degrees North latitude just now. With a little help from a Gulf Stream eddy we are making 11 knots. The sun is coming out and we have a fresh west wind on the port beam. Lunenburg is at about 44 degrees 20 minutes north latitude. …
North Atlantic: Lows and Squalls and Tropical Storms, Oh, My! Gulf Stream too! Read More »
The Picton Castle sailed from St. Georges, Bermuda with an eager crew excited about the last sea passage to Lunenburg, friends and family and the end of our voyage around the world. Most of the gang aboard sailed in this barque from Lunenburg just over year over a year ago. Now 30,000 miles later, they …
The island or actually islands of Bermuda are an interesting phenomenon. A coral island formation growing off the top of a sunken volcano like this should be somewhere out deep in the South Pacific Ocean or maybe in the Maldives. These islands and cays of Bermuda most closely resemble the Vava’u group of the northern …
At 25 degrees north latitude the Picton Castle sailed out of our beloved trade winds. The water temperature has dropped 5 degrees since the Virgin Islands and cloud patterns have shifted to those we remember from long ago over the northern hemisphere. We are maybe two days south of Bermuda, our last port before Lunenburg. …
The Picton Castle approached Bermuda late on Monday afternoon, and we were escorted into St. George’s by our friend and shipmate Paulina in her little boat. As you come through the narrow cut into St. George’s it is like walking into a film set—the houses look like sweets, all different pastel colours and complimentary coloured …
