Well, Panama shopping for the ship and for Pitcairn Island too was quite a whirlwind of activity. Shop til you Drop and then get up and shop some more. But many of the gang did interesting things besides shop all the time although shopping in Panama is pretty interesting with all the big markets, back …
The pilot decided that our captain would keep the con, which is pretty unusual, and steering was entrusted to in-port helmsman, Nadja, who steered us through all of the locks at the captain’s direction, and we had some of our other more experienced helmsmen, including Logan, Meredith, Siri, Sophie, Julie and Brad, steering through Lake …
The Picton Castle crew had an early start on the morning of Wednesday June 9, with all hands waking up at 0345 in order to be ready for the scheduled arrival of our pilot at 0430 (they often arrive early). We had shifted within Anchorage Area F on Tuesday afternoon in preparation, getting to the …
By Bronwen Kathleen Livingston Reporting from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia At approximately 6:30 am the server that hosts our lovely new website (and our e-mail) unexpectedly went down. I was in bed, having a dream about exploring Panama La Vieja (Panama’s old city) and was blissfully unaware of the problem. The issue was resolved sometime mid-morning …
Wednesday June 9, 2010 All hands worked yesterday to prepare the ship for transit through the Panama Canal. We were at anchor in Anchorage Area B, at the northwest corner of the harbour. We came through the giant breakwater on Monday afternoon to anchor, surrounded by lots of ships, some many times our size. In …
Monday June 7, 2010 After the Seamanship Derby yesterday, the crew were rewarded with a power shower, cold juice and popcorn, Donald had been saving some ice in the freezer. It has been surprisingly hot and muggy since we arrived in the Caribbean Sea, hotter than any of us remember it being before. Hotter than …
Sunday June 6, 2010 Late last week, a mysterious posting appeared on the door to the salon, something about the 512th annual seamanship competition. All hands were warned to study up on their knots, steering, ship nomenclature and general seamanship skills in anticipation. Watches held secret meetings and study sessions, planning not only their compass …
Friday June 4, 2010 A power shower, followed by part two of the splicing workshop, was the highlight of the afternoon for most of the crew. It’s really hot, hotter than usual at 33 degrees Celsius all day in the shade, and we’re all a bit on the sweaty side, so a power shower late …
Thursday June 3, 2010 Today is our first full day back at sea after leaving Bonaire yesterday, and our first full day under sail since before Anguilla. True to the forecasts, the wind continues to blow consistently from the east between Force 5 and 6, and we’re sailing along between 5.5 and 8.5 knots. We’re …
Wednesday June 2, 2010 As forecast, we had fresh easterly winds this morning, classic trade-winds, perfect for sailing the Picton Castle off the dock. As the Captain and I made our rounds of Customs and Immigration to get our outward clearance, the rest of the crew prepared to get underway. Sails up to t’gallants were …
