A great deal of thought and effort goes into the weather planning prior to a Trans-Atlantic passage in a ship like the Picton Castle. Well prior to sailing, the approximate departure date/time is established by consulting pilot charts, studying the Sailing Directions and consulting with professional and experienced masters who have significant experience in the …
Last Thursday, Picton Castle left the dock for the first time with the crew of the Voyage of the Atlantic. They didn’t go far, just out into Lunenburg Bay to have the compass adjusted, but it was enough to make the crew really excited about getting underway for the long passage across the Atlantic. When …
Friday was a sunny and warm spring day in Lunenburg and the crew of the Picton Castle took advantage of the good weather to get lots of ship’s work done. During these two weeks of preparations for the voyage we are combining training with work to make sure the crew and the ship are ready. …
Outdoors it was cool and rainy, but the crew of the Picton Castle were swimming and enjoying the warmth this afternoon. We were at the local indoor pool, emOcean, but not for swim call. Joe from the Nova Scotia Community College came to Lunenburg to run a life raft training session for our crew. The …
Today was the first time that the new trainees were aloft on Picton Castle. Going aloft is one of the things trainees most look forward to when they join the ship, it is also something that many of them are nervous about. Trainees are not required to go aloft and there is no stigma attached …
Just as the crew of the Picton Castle were finishing domestics and deck wash this morning, the first food delivery arrived. Purchasing enough food to feed the entire ship’s complement for most of a year is no small task. Donald, our awesome cook who sailed with us on the Caribbean voyage and the summer voyage …
Picton Castle‘s Voyage of the Atlantic has begun. The excitement on the dock and aboard the ship is palpable as trainees have now joined the ship, leaving behind their old lives to embark on a new adventure. This morning was the official start of the voyage, with all hands mustering amidships at 0800. A muster …
Picton Castle is back in the water again after a week in drydock. The ship was taken out of the water last Wednesday and went back into the water yesterday. Our beautiful barque was well cared for by the staff at Lunenburg Industrial Foundry and Engineering while she spent a week on dry land. Going …
Much of Picton Castle‘s rigging has been sent down from aloft and brought into our warehouse for the winter. This helps protect it from the harsh Canadian winter weather, and it also allows us to work on it so that everything is in great shape when it goes back up in the spring. Kjetil and …
It has been a while since we posted a Captain’s Log, things have been quite busy around Picton Castle. The ship is still snugly tied to the dock in Lunenburg and now that our first Bosun School has finished we have been working away steadily on a number of different projects. Local carpenter Dave Rodenhiser …
