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 crew all headed up the hill to the pool with immersion suits and life jackets. Joe first showed the crew the contents of a life raft, the standard items that are packed inside it. On Picton Castle we have extra food, flares, water and other supplies that are easily accessible that would also be taken into a life raft if time permits. Joe then had everyone put on immersion suits and demonstrated how to inflate the life raft by pulling the cord and how to right it if it inflates upside down. The crew were able to practice getting into the inflated life raft in their immersion suits. They also practiced getting in and out of the life raft in life jackets.

The life raft that the crew used today for training is one the instructor brought with him, life rafts must be inspected annually and Picton Castle’s have recently passed their inspection and been re-installed on the ship. Picton Castle carries four 25-person life rafts, two on each side of the quarterdeck. They can be launched manually or by hydrostatic release.

floating in immersion suits and a life raft

getting into the liferaft

jumping into the pool

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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 to not going aloft. Everyone is encouraged to try and the first climb aloft is strictly supervised by our professional crew.

Our aloft training started with a review of the Picton Castle safety aloft policy. Harnesses are required anytime anyone goes aloft. Trainees were instructed on how to put on and use their harnesses, to empty their pockets and remove any personal gear not attached by a lanyard, how to climb maintaining three points of contact, to climb on the weather side, how to identify standing rigging and clip their harness to it, and to not take any unnecessary risks. After discussing how to climb aloft safely, everyone put on a brand new sit harness. Harnesses were checked by the professional crew, to be sure they fit correctly and were fastened properly. The professional crew then were stationed at specific points on the fore shrouds to assist trainees with their first climb.

The first time trainees go aloft they are guided along a route that we call “up and over.” They start at the rail and climb up the shrouds to the futtock shrouds just below the top. The shrouds are angled slightly inboard, the futtock shrouds are angled slightly outboard and they can be more difficult to climb up. The first crew member is stationed at the rail, the next crew member is stationed at the bottom of the futtock shrouds to instruct the trainees on the most effective places to put their hands and feet. Above the futtock shrouds is the top which, despite it’s name, is not at the top of the mast but instead is about 30 feet above the deck. A third crew member is stationed on the top to assist the trainees with getting up onto the top. The top is a small platform and on the first time aloft, it is as high as the trainees will climb. Trainees will go across the top and climb down the futtock shrouds and the shrouds on the opposite side, again with the help of crew members stationed on the top, at the futtock shrouds and at the rail.

Each trainee who wanted to go aloft took a turn going up and over. Trainees climbed one at a time, and everyone else, including the Captain and the Chief Mate who oversaw this exercise, watched as each person went aloft for the first time. Most of them came down to deck with giant grins on their faces from the adrenaline rush and sense of accomplishment that usually accompanies a first climb aloft.

Everyone continued to wear their harnesses while procedures for heavy weather were explained. Lifelines were rigged amidships, nets were rigged amidships and in the breezeways and everyone had a chance to practice clipping their harness to the lifelines to move about the ship. The harnesses have all been numbered and one has been assigned to each person aboard for the duration of the voyage to keep with their personal gear and wear as necessary.

Ben, Paul, Nadja and Kjetil stationed to supervise trainees first climb aloft

Bruce goes over the futtock shrouds, first time aloft

Use of harnesses, lifelines and nets for heavy weather

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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 last year, has returned to work his magic in the galley again. Under Donald’s supervision, the crew created a giant chain to unload all the boxes, bags, tins and buckets from the food service truck at the end of the wharf and pass it down the dock to be stacked on the dock amidships. The food was stowed in the hold this afternoon and we’ve got room for more, so there will be a second delivery to top up our stores and bring what was left out of the first round.

After a thorough orientation tour yesterday morning, this morning’s training session focused on safety equipment. Everyone learned about the different kinds of life jackets and PFDs we have on board, what they’re used for and how to put them on correctly. After talking about them and seeing all the different types demonstrated, each person tried each one on to really get a feel for how they work. Trainees were checked by the professional crew to make sure all the straps and buckles were done up correctly and everyone tried their whistles and checked their lights on their life jacket. Chief Mate Mike then moved on to immersion suits, explaining why, when and how to use them and demonstrated how to get into them. Everyone then went to their bunk to grab their immersion suit and bring it up to the main deck to try it on. Before long, the deck was filled with people in puffy yellow suits with only their eyes and noses sticking out. Immersion suits were then taken off, put away in their carrying bags and re-stowed away in each bunk.

Bruce and Erin don immersion suits

Chief Mate Mike demonstrates immersion suit donning

everyone dons lifejackets

Luke and Eric don lifejackets

Matt, Geoff, WT and Nick don immersion suits

unloading the first food delivery

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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 is a mandatory meeting of the crew, all hands refers to the entire ship’s crew. Every morning in port will begin with an all hands muster at 0800. The first task was to break into groups to learn to do domestics (household cleaning of living spaces) and deck wash. These chores are done at the start of every day, regardless of whether the ship is at sea or in port.

At 0900, all hands mustered on the quarterdeck to be welcomed aboard by Captain Moreland and to sign the ship’s Articles of Engagement. This is a legal document that outlines the contract that the ship has with each person aboard. People often refer to “signing on” when they join a ship, we carry on the tradition of actually signing the ship’s Articles when crew members begin their voyage. The entire ship’s complement was called one at a time to sign on and receive a Voyage of the Atlantic crew hat and a ship’s pin from Captain Moreland.

After a brief overview of what this first week will entail, each member of the professional crew took a small group of trainees on a full orientation tour of the ship. In addition to seeing all spaces and parts of the ship, trainees were shown fire fighting equipment and life saving equipment and were introduced to the ship’s standard procedures.

The Voyage of the Atlantic is off to a great start!

Gary, medical officer, signs on

Trainee Nick signs on

Trainee Susie signs on

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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 into drydock is a part of regular, routine maintenance that ships go through. Taking a ship out of the water allows you to clean the hull thoroughly, inspect it and paint it. There are a number of valves below the waterline that are cleaned and inspected as well, it’s through these valves that water is taken in for the water-maker, the main engine cooling system, fire hoses and other salt water plumbing. Picton Castle’s hull was cleaned with a high pressure power washer and given two coats of bottom paint. The draft markings, which indicate how deep in the water the ship is sitting, were freshly repainted as well.

While the staff at the Foundry were working on the hull, our crew were working aboard the ship. The galley is getting a thorough cleaning, the salon head is being overhauled completely, and the fresh water tanks got a final coat of paint. We also took the opportunity to let down both anchors and almost all the anchor chain on dry land so we could rust bust and treat the anchors and the chain. Because it’s so rare to see the whole hull, the Captain took the crew on a walk around it yesterday morning to point out all the parts and what they do, while making a final inspection before leaving drydock.

In order to get the ship back into the water, the process of hauling it out was reversed. The giant chain that holds the cradle was slowly let out, the cradle slid down the track and into the water until the bottom of the cradle was deep enough for the ship to float up off it. The blocks that held the ship up when it was out of the water were removed and two small boats towed the ship back to her wharf. Our crew were on the ship, the Foundry staff were on the upper level of the cradle and at the controls of the giant chain, and the divers were below the water to make sure the track was clear.

Picton Castle is snugly tied to her own wharf again, where preparations for the Voyage of the Atlantic continue.

back in the water

going back into the water

new bottom paint

tarring the anchor chain

the after photo

the before photo

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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 Ben have recently been working on overhauling the heads’l sheet pennants. They started each one by cutting away the old chafe gear, seizing and serving then removing the block from the wire eye. The block was taken apart, the wood outside was scraped and oiled, the sheave inside was wire brushed and greased to make sure it can turn smoothly, and put back together again. You can see on the left in the photo below that the block was sitting in the eye, ready for the next step. The wire splice was in good shape still, so it did not have to be replaced. The next step was to worm and parcel the splice. Worming means filling in the grooves between the strands of wire with marlin and parcelling means wrapping a strip of fabric around the splice over the worming to help keep it in place and make the surface more even. Next the splice and the eye were served, meaning that marlin is wrapped tightly around the wire, over the worming and parcelling, to protect the wire. The serving is then covered in a generous amount of pine tar which helps to preserve it. The block is held into the eye by a seizing, which you can see in the middle of the photo, also made with marlin. The last step is to protect it further by sewing leather around the splice which protects the serving. The leather is soaked in warm water to make it flexible, then sewn on by hand.

The sheet pennant is about six feet long and connects the clew of the sail (the aft corner of a fore and aft sail) to the sheet (the line that controls the trim of the sail). One end of the sheet is made fast, the other end goes through the block and to the pin rail. On the other end of the sheet pennant, a shackle connects it to the clew of the sail. The process for overhauling the other end is much the same, just without the block. The old chafe gear, seizing and serving are cut away, the splice inspected, then the splice and they eye are wormed, parcelled, served and covered in leather.

Ben sews leather around an eye

Sheet pennants in stages

Sheet pennants other end

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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 has been replacing planks in the deck, the crew have been learning how to caulk and pitch the seams to make them watertight. The saloon sole, where most of the extra rope, sails and rigging tools are stored, has been inventoried, cleaned and re-organized. Finn is pleased that he has got the boiler for the furnace working in the engine room, which will heat the ship enough during the winter to prevent the pipes from freezing. Winter preparations also require putting antifreeze in all the pipes in the ship that normally carry water. The new wire seizings on the shrouds done during the Bosun School are now being primed and painted, as are the now rust-free rails on the foc’sle head. The topmasts are being de-greased so they can be painted (usually they’re greased to help the yards move up and down smoothly), and the jibboom has been varnished after it had been scraped and sanded during Bosun School.

In the ship’s office up the street, we have been working on plans for the Atlantic voyage which will begin in May 2008. The Captain and Lynsey have been examining charts for Europe, dividers and calculator in hand, to determine the best route to take the ship to all the places we want to go. We have been researching ports, figuring out what vaccinations, visas and other documentation the crew need to get, making connections with people in Europe and checking out festivals that we may want to participate in. We’re also working to check off as many items from the to-do list as we can now by getting equipment serviced, major purchases researched and arranged and provisioning planned. Of course, we have also been spreading the word about the voyage. Trainee applicants have been coming to Lunenburg since the beginning of September for their in-person interviews and they look like the beginning of a great crew.

The crew are still enjoying Lunenburg, maybe even more now that tourist season is almost over. A few shops and businesses that are only open seasonally have closed their doors for the year, or plan to shortly. The fall colours were at their best last weekend, the days are getting noticeably shorter and the weather cooler. We’re happy to settle in and stay busy for a long Lunenburg winter.

Dave replaces planks in the quarterdeck

Ryan painting in the headrig

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