Picton Castle
135 Bluenose Drive B0J 2C0 Lunenburg, NS, Canada

New on the #CaptainsLog: Maggie writes in honour of #InternationalWomensDay, in which she ends with: To any women who are considering going to sea, go for it! Don’t let the statistics put you off. Sign aboard a ship, find a mentor, keep pushing, and know that you can accomplish anything you work for. Here is the link to the full post on our Captain’s Log:

BLUENOSE 100 - This year marks the 100th anniversary of the launch of the famous Schooner BLUENOSE at Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada on March 26, 1921. A magnificent sailing ship, powerful and stunning, designed by renowned Naval Architect William Roue, built at Smith & Rhuland in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada and skippered by the legendary Captain Angus Walters. She became famous as the schooner that never lost a series in the International Fisherman’s Cup. Against the best... that Gloucester and New England could send out. This schooner and her amazing record both racing, and fishing the gruelling Grand Banks of Newfoundland, became famous throughout the western world. The able successor built in 1963 and rebuilt in 2012 the BLUENOSE II sails today under the command of Captain Phil Watson, a Canadian icon, and the Tall Ship of Canada, Nova Scotia, with her homeport of Lunenburg proudly carved into her taffrail, as an ambassador of good will and showcasing her rich Maritime heritage. I think this would be a fine and happy opportunity for all of us near or far who have any association with this truly iconic sailing ship to send greetings and congratulations to her able and beautiful successor the BLUENOSE II and the people of Nova Scotia and Canada. It would be a fine thing if the operators of her magnificent successor BLUENOSE II were to be acknowledged by her fellow travellers and communities impacted by BNII and the original BLUENOSE, by receiving letters of recognition, congratulation, remembrance, public proclamations, and the like. May BLUENOSE sail from Lunenburg for another 100 years! So, please join me in send hearty congratulations to magnificent schooner and her able crew! http://bluenose100.ca/ Daniel Moreland: Master, Barque PICTON CASTLE and ardent admirer of the magnificent schooner BLUENOSE II and her able Captain Phil Watson, staff and crew.

Ships to Shores - Des navires aux rivages are hosting two great virtual events over the next week! Tales from the Crew: Discover the World of Tall Ship Sailing: Tomorrow (Saturday, March 6th) at 1:00pm EST join tall ship sailors Daniel, Leticia, Tasha, and Liam, who have sailed with Bytown Brigantine, S.A.L.T.S., Brigs, and Tall Ships Expeditions amongst others as they talk about life on board a tall ship. International Women’s Day Celebrating Women in the Marine Sector: Monday, March 8th at 4:30pm EST join Ships2Shores as they celebrate the extraordinary women in Canada’s sailing and marine community, in honour of International Women’s Day. You can register for both online webinars at their website at https://ships2shores.ca/

World Voyage #PortoftheWeek: Fiji This week we are featuring beautiful Fiji as our Port of the Week! We can’t wait to visit Fiji during the World Voyage, where we'll find a mix of tropical city, gorgeous nature and a wide range of cultures all cobbled together to make a fascinating and exciting land and country. Click on this link to read a past Captain’s Log from Kate Addison in 2014 where she describes Fiji and the markets in Suva: https://www.picton-castle.com/captains_/the-market-in-suva/ We love these islands so much that we even named one of our ship’s cats after them, where she first came aboard the Picton Castle in Suva when she was a kitten! (Swipe the photos below to see a photo of Fiji the cat). (Fiji islands photo credit: Getty Images)

Wishing you very happy holidays from all of us at the Barque Picton Castle!

There is only one more day left to shop at Picton Castle's Ship & Boat Chandlery before the holidays! Come and visit us at 174 Bluenose Drive in Lunenburg tomorrow (Friday, December 18th) from 11:00am to 6:00pm. Just a reminder that if you can't make it to the shop on Friday, you can email [email protected] to make an appointment, or shop online at picton-castle.myshopify.com for worldwide shipping or local pickup.

This Friday, December 18th is the LAST DAY to visit the Picton Castle's Ship & Boat Chandlery without an appointment before it re-opens in the spring! Join us from 11:00am - 6:00pm and browse our assortment of beautiful handwoven baskets, intricate wood carvings, brass hardware, knives, home décor, and more! #Lunenburg #Chandlery #Handwovenbaskets #AroundtheWorld #PictonCastle #WorldVoyage #Knives #WoodCarvings #Shoplocal #LunenburgLocal #NovaScotia #TallShip

There are only two more days left to shop at Picton Castle's Ship & Boat Chandlery before the holidays! Come and visit us at 174 Bluenose Drive in Lunenburg: Friday, December 11th from 11:00am to 6:00pm Friday, December 18th from 11:00am to 6:00pm... Just a reminder that if you can't make it to the shop on Fridays, you can email [email protected] to make an appointment, or shop online at picton-castle.myshopify.com for worldwide shipping or local pickup.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Scholarships Available For Sailing Voyage Around The World LUNENBURG, NOVA SCOTIA Sailing around the world as crew aboard a square-rigger will become financially possible for some aspiring young seafarers thanks to the Nova Scotia Seamanship Education Society (NSSES), a registered charity which provides financial support for young mariners’ vocational training....Continue reading

Schooner AVENGER is heading south from Lunenburg soon and looking for crew! If you're interested, please contact Tom Gallant directly.

Join us on Saturday, November 14th from 10:00am - 5:00pm for the Picton Castle Ship & Boat Chandlery Yuletide Sale! Come and start your holiday shopping for items from all over the world including nautical decor, marine supplies, hats, baskets, bronze hardware, model dories, and more! Located at 174 Bluenose Drive on the Lunenburg Waterfront.

Shout out to Dr. Krista Watson, who sailed in Picton Castle as Medical Officer on World Voyage 5! She is a fantastic ER physician who is featured in a new book by Len Wagg.

Thanks to our friends at Marlinspike Magazine for this interesting look into World Voyage 2, and the Tall Ship Chronicles series (which is now available to view on Amazon Prime Video)! The article ends with this advice from WV2 alumni when asked what they would say to someone interested in signing on for this spring's upcoming World Voyage: Stop contemplating and sign up. Now. Dan Viglione Go for it. Andrew Younghusband... GO!!! And then when you do: Don't pack too much. Don't drink too much. Put your whole self into it, because you will only get out of it what you put in. Seek out experiences. Be brave. Appreciate the beauty in small moments and remind yourself that the crappy moments will pass. Katy Hughey Have a positive attitude. Don’t let the rigors of sea life get you down, and don’t quit! You will be glad you didn’t.Jim Salmon Go for it. Leslie Weiss See more

Thanks to our wonderful friends at the Pride of Baltimore II for choosing the Picton Castle for their #BoatCrushWednesday! We feel the same way about them, and we encourage you to check out their page Pride of Baltimore II!

World Voyage #PortoftheWeek: St. Helena St. Helena is a beautiful, remote volcanic tropical island in the South Atlantic Ocean - one of the most isolated islands in the world! Picton Castle crew will have the opportunity to explore the island's volcanic landscape and paradisiacal greenery, as St. Helena will be our stop between Cape Town and Grenada. Here’s an interesting fact about the island: Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to St. Helena where he lived out the rest of his ye...ars. Can you spot the Picton Castle in this photo from National Geographic? To learn more: https://buff.ly/2EnnZXJ You can enjoy St. Helena with us on Leg 4 of the World Voyage! (Image credit: Robert Ormerod, National Geographic) #PictonCastle #WorldVoyage #TallShip #StHelena #AroundtheWorld #GapYear #SailwithUs #Sailing #Adventure #TallShipLife #VolcanicIsland See more

New on the #CaptainsLog: Beautiful Bali, by Tammy Moreland "Sailing around the world in the Barque PICTON CASTLE, its no secret that on top of sailing around 30,000 ocean miles, we put in at some pretty cool places along the way. In fact, my husband (the Captain) likes to say that we only stop at super cool places, and he’s right. Quite often I’m asked if I have a favorite island or country where we stop. Now, bearing in mind the above mentioned we only stop at cool places ...I have to admit that there are two or three places on our voyage which are especially special to me, which I couldn’t imagine sailing near to and not stopping even for a short visit (and often it never seems long enough). For me, one such place is Bali, Indonesia. What’s so special about Bali you might ask? Well, first we must sail there (in a square-rigger like PICTON CASTLE, no less!). By the time we get to Bali we have sailed halfway around the world, about 15000nm. The last passage, 3,000 miles long, will have been from Vanuatu, over the Coral Sea, through the Torres Straights separating Australia and New Guinea, then through the Arafura Sea and into the Far East. After many days at sea we find ourselves off the small Indonesian island of Bali, often with the mountains of Lombok in the mist of the horizon. Some times we can even smell the cloves. As we approach the harbor entrance my husband (usually) has me take the wheel as he pilots us in. We work as a team I trust him and he trusts me at the wheel in tight spots. And so, in we go, to Sarangan Bay...." To read more of the Captain's Log article by Tammy, click on the link below. #WorldVoyage #BeautifulBali #Bali #PictonCastle #WorldCircumnavigation #TallShip #TallShipLife #GapYear #Travel #Adventure See more

New on the #CaptainsLog: Slow Travel "The other day I was telling an old friend about a wonderful trip I took by train and he asked why I enjoyed it so much. The bunks were cool, the food was great, the scenery was amazing, and there was time to take it in and enjoy it. I attribute my appreciation of slow travel of all sorts to being a sailor and crossing oceans at a speed barely faster than one could walk. In the spring of 2021, Picton Castle is scheduled to set sail on a ...year-long voyage around the world. Under sail alone, our speed averages about 4-5 knots per hour. For those not familiar with knots, that’s about 5.75 miles per hour, or 9.25 kilometres per hour. To put that into perspective, average human walking speed is 5 kilomtres per hour. The World Voyage is about 30,000 nautical miles, so that’s a lot of ground to cover at a slow speed. As the slogan on some of our t-shirts say, we may be slow but we get around. There’s a movement to do things more slowly in our lives these days that seems to be catching on. Heard of slow food? Kind of the opposite of what we all know fast food means, so using local ingredients and traditional cooking. The process begins long before you sit down at the dinner table to eat, the preparation and work to get to that point is part of the process...." To read more of the Captain's Log article by Maggie, click here: #WorldVoyage #SlowTravel #PictonCastle #WorldCircumnavigation #TallShip #TallShipLife #GapYear #Travel #Adventure See more

World Voyage #PortoftheWeek: Cape Town, South Africa During Leg 3 of the World Voyage, we will sail out of the tropics to round the Cape of Good Hope at the bottom of Africa and head into Cape Town, South Africa, rightly known as the "Tavern of the Seas." You can explore South Africa's Western Cape on your free time, including Table Mountain, excellent wineries, the southernmost tip of Africa, safaris, and Robben Island where President Nelson Mandela spent many years under lo...ck and key during the struggle to end apartheid. We will visit townships and township schools with groups of students, hopefully bringing them some badly needed school supplies. You can enjoy Cape Town with us on Legs 3 and 4 of the World Voyage! To learn more: https://www.picton-castle.com//around-the-world-2021-2022. (Image credit: andbeyond .com) #WorldVoyage #CapeTown #SouthAfrica #PictonCastle #PictonCastleWorldVoyage #GapYear #Adventure #TallShip #TallShipAdventure #SailWithUs #Sailing #TallShipLife #PictonCastleTallShip #Barque See more

A great article in Slate magazine written by former Picton Castle purser, Kate Addison! Although this was written in 2014, it's still just as relevant today! Read her article, "What’s It Like to Sail Around the World?" at this link: https://slate.com//what-s-it-like-to-travel-around-the-wor #PictonCastle #TravelAroundtheWorld #TallShip #SailTraining #WorldCircumnavigation #AroundtheWorld #SailAroundtheWorld #TallShipLife