Coming Home in Halifax
Tuesday, July 24th, 2007
Standing on the dock in Halifax, waiting for the Picton Castle to arrive, was a very odd feeling. As most of those who have sailed on her know, we very rarely get to see the ship come into port because we are normally aboard.
It was July 12th and the beginning of Tall Ships Nova Scotia festival in Halifax. Torunn (WV 4) and I (WV 3 & 4) had flown in from Victoria B.C. to visit the ship and many of our friends, some still sailing and some anchored (ever so tentatively) to land. Waiting with us on the dock were Johanna, Catharine, Erin, Tracy (all WV4) , numerous parents of present crew and a few trainees about to board the ship. The fog was quite thick that afternoon. When the ship slowly emerged from it she certainly looked her part from the recent TV show, “Pirate Master”. Fore course and lower topsail hanging loosely, ready to be stowed and her paint scheme of black hull and wood grain superstructure looked very impressive. It was a wonderful feeling to see our home once again! Once safely alongside we had a chance to go on board and visit with old friends and meet a lot of the new faces. Old friends on board included, Kjetil (WV4) who had just flown back from Norway to rejoin, Rebecca and John K (WV 3 & 4), Lynsey (WV 2, 3 & 4), the Captain and Chibley.
We spent Friday and Saturday helping with deck tours and visiting many of the other ships in Halifax for the weekend. We found past crewmates on a number of other ships, Chelsea and Mike M (both WV 3) on board Maine Maritime Academy’s Bowdoin, Tracy (WV 4) on Virginia , and “Mike from New York” (who volunteered on board in Cape Town for a few weeks during WV4) working on Pride of Baltimore II. The weather was great for most of the weekend, sunny and warm for the most part. I heard that about 250,000 people came out to see the ships on Saturday alone! The organizers should feel very proud of themselves, they put on an excellent event and I would recommend it to any tall ship lovers in the future.
After public viewing was over on Sunday night the Picton Castle hosted a party for crews of all the other ships. More alumni showed up as well, Helle (WV 3) and Maggie (WV 4)—actually Mags was running around all weekend doing the stuff that needed to get done. I may have missed some names of former crewmates and for that I apologize, but the point I would like to make is this: anyone who has sailed aboard the Picton Castle is family! We can show up anywhere at any time and be welcomed on board. It was great to see old friends and to meet the new members of our family who are sailing our beloved ship in our places, those who chip, paint, sand, varnish, clean heads and do dishes, all for the purpose of keeping this way of life alive. To the new crew I say “thank you!”
The Parade of Sail was on Monday afternoon and I would love to tell you about that, but I can’t. Watching the Picton Castle sail without me? Well, that would be too hard to do.
