The Picton Castle is alongside in the fine protected basin, part of the harbour of the commercial port near St Denis, Reunion Island in the western south Indian Ocean. We had a fine five day passage from Rodrigues. The entrance to the basin is a tight hairpin turn and then a channel about 60 feet …
Monday December 31st, 2018 Those who were awake while it was still dark were able to enjoy a gorgeous Monday morning red and orange sunrise, the last sunrise of 2018. Woah, what a year it’s been for our Picton Castle crew members. Adventuring out into this entirely different way of life, with all new people …
Last night the moon shone vibrantly, illuminating the deck as if a street lamp was hung above our ship. During the 8-12 watch, the topmast stuns’l halyard parted. With the light of the moon, the on duty watch was able to see clearly as they worked to take in all three stuns’ls, packing them away …
This morning those who sleep aft were awoken by the sounds of a fish flapping on deck. Fishermen extrodinaire had caught another mahi mahi! Always a great start to the day. Slight drizzle, grey cloud morning, which ironically enough was a nice break from the Indian Ocean hot sun, postponing second mates Dirk’s celestial navigation …
At 11 degrees 28 minutes south latitude and 103 degrees 40 minutes west longitude, Picton Castle and crew have sailed about 1,000 miles into the Indian Ocean from beautiful Bali. And halfway around the world. We had a small 200-mile diversion to Christmas Island to get one of our worthy shipmates ashore to get eyes …
By Kate “Bob” Addison Thursday October 30th, 2014 Four days out of Bali and all is well aboard Picton Castle as we sail westwards across the southern Indian Ocean. After motoring on and off for a few days to get clear of the currents that threatened to set us back towards Indonesia, the wind has …
On January 23rd, after Bounty Day celebrations wrapped up, the 8-12 watch took the deck. Before we’d had a chance to muster Mates Paul and Mike ordered the crew to take in all sail. We were about to pass into a nasty little trough and rather than wallow within the mass of foul weather under …
The Picton Castle usually gets a little extra loving while in port and Reunion was no exception. The crew were not idle as they waited for our agents and then Customs and Immigration to go over our paperwork and stamp our passports. They hopped in to the skiff almost immediately after docking and began scrubbing …
January 2, 2011 The Picton Castle sails ever westward here along about 21 south latitude, 067 east longitude, deep in the southern Indian Ocean. Her yards are almost square to the winds flowing over the port quarter. All her sails are set to the royals. Sailing and sea conditions can only be described as perfect …
Christmas Day on the Picton Castle was a happy affair from start to finish. And what a thrill to have Christmas at sea! The early morning sky was a baby blue. The sun seemed to reach its arms through puffy white clouds to cast its long shadows on the deck. The waves rocked us gently …
