The Picton Castle swung on her anchor at St. Helena for three days and many of us could easily have stayed longer at this remarkable island. Although small (it is about 5 miles wide and 9 miles long) St. Helena is a geological and ecological marvel. Almost deceiving to the approaching ship (its cliffs rugged, …
After a fine eleven day sail from Luderitz, Namibia, mostly under studding sails, the Picton Castle made landfall off St. Helena. In the hazy morning light we were all struck by the imposing cliffs and tall mountain ridges on this solitary island. St. Helena is part of a Southern Atlantic Ocean undersea mountain chain which …
By Josh Spencer Official Announcement: On the 14th of February 2011, the SA Cape Horners met for the last time as an official association aboard S/V Barque Picton Castle in the Cape Town Waterfront. After much deliberation the committee had decided that in view of the rapidly declining membership and the increasing inability of members …
Cape Town, South Africa was without a doubt one of the most anticipated port calls on this voyage, and it did not disappoint. Though we left more than two weeks ago a brief recap of our stay there seems appropriate… There is plenty to do in Cape Town itself and the crew spent the much …
During this 14-month circumnavigation the crew of the Picton Castle have visited friendly remote islands, swam in cascading waterfalls, snorkelled on coral reefs, watched dolphins play off our bowsprit, sweated out airless passages under power, climbed active volcanoes, sailed in perfect tradewind conditions with stuns’ls set, explored bustling metropolitan centres in Panama, Fiji, Bali and …
By Chief Mate Michael Moreland Surrounding the scenic and stunning city of Cape Town is another world all together although just minutes away. They call it the ‘Cape Flats’ a flat stretch of land just to the northeast of Cape Town, which if you have been there, denotes a frequently dry and windy swath of …
The Picton Castle is six days and 730 miles out from Namibia, southern Africa. On a bright sunny day we sailed from Luderitz surrounded by the most barren of dusty desert with no sign of rain or green vegetation to be seen. And straight into a thick wet fog bank to rival the shores of …
By Meredith McKinnon There are moments in time that if frozen, would forever remind us that life on the Picton Castle is amazing. Sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in the Barque Picton Castle and then into Cape Town were two such moments, moments that will be forever etched in my memory. It was …
The Barque Picton Castle is under sail and outward bound once again across a great ocean – this time from Luderitz, Namibia north west towards the West Indies sailing the South Atlantic on what is, apart from a small pit stop at St Helena, our longest sea passage of this voyage. Even with the short …
The day comes in overcast and grey, cool with a strong fair wind on our starboard quarter. The ship is sailing along fine in following seas with a few seabirds soaring about the stern. The royals are taken in and furled and the mainsail is made fast up on the main yard for ease of …
