In the Timor Sea: to our north is the Island of Timor, to our southeast is Australia about 250 miles away, and as we enter the Indian Ocean Bali is only 460 miles away now. In some nice hot tropical hot weather but we hear it’s snowing and sleeting and hailing back in Lunenburg. Last …
This morning the crew awoke to a gorgeous bright orange sunrise on the port quarter, filling the sky above it with every colour in the rainbow. Yesterday’s Thanksgiving celebration was a grand feast, as tradition would have it we overfilled our stomachs with turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberries and to top it off chocolate ice cream …
Breezy morning on deck as the winds picked up on our beam. As crew munched down on this morning’s breakfast of porridge and eggs, grey skies rolled towards us. At 0830 the rain poured, nobody complained, it was a refreshing start to the day after an evening of hot, humid air. This sent every department …
Off Coburn Penninsula Hot, hot, hot again today, we’ve been lucky that once the evening rolls around and the sun retires for the night, things cool off and crew are able to get a good night’s rest. As soon as breakfast rolls around the following day we are lathering on sunblock and awnings are rigged …
It’s a beautiful sailing day onboard, heading west, almost dead downwind, braced square with all square sails set. Picton Castle looks like a majestic ship straight out of a film. Hmm, Picton Castle is a majestic ship! Bacon for breakfast! It’s always a good start to the week when the sweet aromas of bacon waft …
Sunday at Sea! There is always a sense of calm when waking to sunny, calm seas and winds on Sunday morning. Even though the ship’s routine is the same, same wake-up times and same meal times, Sundays have an air of peacefulness about them. With no projects being opened up, no sails laid out on …
At about 2300 last night we made it out of the Torres Strait, rocketing past the final sluice at 10 knots with a fair current. We were lucky to have caught a steady current that helped pull us through, meaning we avoided having to anchor for the night. This morning as the hot sun shone …
This morning the sun shone through the light wispy clouds, adding pinks and yellows to the horizon. The 4-8 watch got out the scrapers and putty knives and started the workday early by scraping the excess putty that was left over from the installation of the new deck planks on the quarterdeck. Sailing along with …
This morning we awoke to lovely blue skies, white puffy clouds and crisp blue blue ocean as far as the eye can see. Although on the chart it appears that we are extremely close to land, in reality it’s still us and the sea at the moment. Last night we changed our clocks back an …
Yesterday’s festivities went off without a hitch. The sarong/lava lava/pareau fashion show was well executed; the crew now knows how to properly tie their sarongs to prevent a rather embarrassing moment. We were entertained by our ukulele orchestra and their new hit “The Cruise Ship the Picton Castle” song, danced on the hatch to the …
