Las Palmas Las Palmas is a huge modern port. Of everywhere we have gone in the past few months we have been impressed by the Spanish port infrastructure as being solid and up to date. The Picton Castle put in here to see what the place was like and because there really aren’t many anchorages […]
Donald Church, cook on the Picton Castle, is from Grenada. He worked as chef on eight cruise ships over a 20-year period. We met him through the Captain’s mutual friends when we were looking to hire a cook in the beginning of January while the ship was in Grenada. Having a cook from the Caribbean
Shopping at the market in the West Indies with the Picton Castle‘s Grenadian cook, Donald, is a whirlwind experience. We had been told by everyone we asked that Friday and Saturday were the best days of the week to shop at the fresh produce market in Roseau, Dominica. Our driver first suggested he pick us
As I write this Captain’s log the Picton Castle is tugging on her moorings at her old wharf in Lunenburg with a southeasterly gale roaring along the coast. The fishing vessels Primo and Zebroid, who share our wharf, do the same. Violent rain squalls are blowing hard horizontally across the harbour. Skies and white-cap-spattered seas
The Picton Castle is once again securely tied up in her home port of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The ship sailed in Friday, September 22, rounding Battery Point on the way into Lunenburg Harbour at 1800. The Captain brought the ship in across the top of our dock then backed in alongside, starboard side to. We
The crew of the Picton Castle enjoyed a short stay in the town of Gaspé, sailing in late Monday afternoon and leaving Wednesday morning. The ship was anchored in the middle of the bay and skiff runs dropped us off at the yacht club behind a stone breakwater. From there it was a short walk
Gaspe, Quebec to Summerside, Prince Edward Island Read More »
The Picton Castle is back where she belongs—at sea level in salt water. We made our way down the St. Lawrence River, passing through seven locks that brought us about 300 feet lower. As was our experience in the Welland Canal, most aspects of going down the locks are easier than going up. The only
While all of you were on summer vacation, Chibley was hard at work being the ship’s cat on the Picton Castle. She traveled to some places she has been before (like Chicago) and also to some new cities and towns as the Picton Castle took part in a series of tall ships festivals in different
Kingston was a busy port stop for the Picton Castle, the highlight of which was our South Seas Cargo Sale. On the world voyage, the ship collects all sorts of interesting treasures—cannibal brain-forks from Fiji, whale carvings from Tonga, Zulu beaded jewelry from South Africa, teak-wood furniture and sea chests from Bali, and so much
After a smooth transit of the Welland Canal the Picton Castle stopped for the night in Port Weller, alongside a wharf at the north end of the canal. We were pleased to find that going down the locks seems to be easier than going up. The ship was jostled around much less, and easing head
