Date: 02 October 2023 Sailing from: Palmerston Island, Cook Islands Bound towards: Tonga Noon position: 18°13.5’S 166°26.6’W Course: WSW Speed: 5.2 knots Wind force and direction: Force 5 SExS Seas/swell: 4.5m SE Barometer: 1021 Rising Sky: 7/8 ni, st, ast Water temperature: 78°F Distance made good in 24 hours: 126nm Passage log: 208nm Voyage log: […]

Date: 01 October 2023 Sailing from: Palmerston Atoll, Cook Islands Bound towards: The Kingdom of Tonga Noon position: 18°02’S 164°14.7’W Course: WxS Speed: 2.9 knots Wind force and direction: Force 5/6 SxE Seas/swell: 2-3m SW as well as SE Barometer: 1019 Rising Sky: 8/8 overcast Water temperature: 78.6F Distance made good in 24 hours: 61nm

Only moments after sending in the last Captain’s Log about getting to Palmerston Atoll and being at anchor in the lee of the reef, the starboard anchor lost its hold and slid off the shelf into deeper water. This happened at the 0800 muster and I could hear it make the jump. Soon this navy

After a good, sometimes boisterous, passage from Tahiti we sailed up into the lee of Palmerston Atoll in the Cook Islands for an unplanned visit. We are halfway from Tahiti to Vava’u, Tonga. When we were in Tahiti we had gotten an email from the island administration asking what was the ship’s ETA at Palmerston

We have been having quite the ride the last couple days aboard the Picton Castle in the South Pacific. The day came in partly cloudy with large seas and strong winds on the port quarter. We are under a modest sail plan and sailing along just fine. Stars overhead faded out as the sky brightened

Sailing from: Tahiti Bound towards: Tonga Noon position: 17°16.1’S 159°38.6’W Course: WxS 1/2 S Speed: 5.6 knots Wind force and direction: Force 6 SExS Seas/swell: 6m SE Barometer:  1019 steady Sky: 5/8 cu, stcu Water temperature: 78.3°F Distance made good in 24 hours: 136nm Passage log: 584nm Voyage log: 9690nm Distance to next port: 830nm

Here as dawn approaches, the Picton Castle is sailing along in fresh southeast winds on the quarter. Blowing force 6, 7 in the gusts. Sail is reduced to upper topsails , inner jib & fore topmast staysail, foresail, and main topmast staysail. The ship is balanced well so steering is not hard. Seas running around

Sailing from: Tahiti Bound towards: Tonga Noon position: 17°13.5’S 157°18.2’W Course: WxN Speed: 6.2 knots Wind force and direction: Force 5/6, 7 in gusts SE Seas/swell: 5m SE Barometer: 1019 Steady Sky: 5/8 cu, stcu Water temperature: 78°F Distance made good in 24 hours: 150nm Passage log: 448.5nm Voyage log: 9554nm Distance to next port:

Sailing from: Tahiti Bound towards: Tonga Noon position: 17°59.95’S 154°51.6’W Course: W1/2S Speed: 4.6 knots Wind force and direction: Force 5 S Seas/swell: 4m southerly Barometer: 1018 rising Sky: 8/8 st Distance made good in 24 hours: 111.5nm Passage log: 298nm Sails set: Outer jib, Inner jib, Fore topmast staysail, Fore T’gallant, Fore Upper topsail,

After a grand sailaway from Tahiti, north around Moorea, even could see the mountains of Raitea off to starboard the next day many miles away, Picton Castle is under all plain sail sailing westward bound for Tonga. Whew, a long sentence! No seasickness, kittens getting used to their new world, all hands sailing the ship