The Picton Castle had been motoring for several days through the South Atlantic Ocean- an ocean over which the most deliciously constant trade winds in the world normally blow… An ocean which was calmer than a bathtub unoccupied – a lake frozen by a harsh winter (cepting it’s plenty hot…), a puddle undisturbed by children’s […]
As this world voyage in the Picton Castle is almost on the home stretch and our gang both keen and accomplished, we have set up an extra series of workshops for the long tradewind passage from South Africa to the West Indies in order to hone skill sets – many of our crew seek to
Picton Castle is currently sailing just south of the Equator, soon to pass from the Southern hemisphere to the Northern hemisphere. On this world voyage, the ship first crossed the Line between Panama and Galapagos. Sailing slowly towards zero degrees, then veering away from it as the wind dictates and setting course once again, the
The break of dawn comes right on time here in the tropical South Atlantic about 800 miles east of the hump of Brazil. We rather expected it would. In these tropics, night to day shifts from deep night to bright shiny morning pretty swiftly, often with a brief brilliant blaze of sunrise. We are steering
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
