Are you getting tired of reading these blog posts? If so, don’t fear: I am almost home! In fact, in only a few short weeks the Picton Castle should be docking in Luneberg, Nova Scotia: our ultimate destination (June 18th – come and party!). Before that, we will continue our Caribbean odyssey and attend Foxy’s Wooden Boat Regatta in Jost Van Dyke (British Virgin Islands), then Bermuda, then… home!
Either way, here is more Dan blabber coming your way.
Since hearing about the Picton Castle, you might have wondered “What do they actually do on board?”. The goal of this post is to try to answer that very question. OK, admittedly I should have talked about this earlier, but better late than never.
When we are at sea, we stand watches, i.e. work shifts. The crew is split into three different watches of approximately 6-12 people which work for 4 hours, have a break for 8 hours, and then work another 4 hours; this goes on around the clock. Clearly, I am repeating myself here, but there is more…
Each watch has different set of tasks to be completed and thus a distinct personality. We rotate through the shifts approximately once a month. Here’s a rundown of each watch:
8 – 12: If you like sweeping and a regular sleeping schedule, this one is for you! It is by far the best shift (in my opinion) and is aptly named the “domestics” watch. In the morning, we start by cleaning all the living areas of the ship: sweep the floor, mop, and clean the toilets. Fun stuff! As you can imagine, some people deplore this, loathe it with their entire body, but I personally don’t mind it (can you say “neat freak?”). Then, we do about three hours of ship’s work: this depends on what needs to be done, but is usually some form of painting, sanding, varnishing, rigging, organizing the hold, rust busting, or sail handling. At night, we shine the galley house and scullery, and we standby on the quarterdeck. But, what is mostly amazing about 8-12 is that you have the entire day off (from noon until 8PM) to do WHATEVER you like, and you can sleep through the night.
12 – 4: This is the watch I have stood the most: aka the “night animals”. This group is awake during the ungodly hours of the night, when only raccoons should be active. However, we also do the most ship’s work: everyday from noon until 4 pm, under the sun. Paint, sand, grind, melt away, etc. At night, we are on standby on the quarterdeck, eat popcorn, scrounge the scullery for leftovers, drink coffee, and chat. With a good group of people, it’s a lot of fun, and the discussions flow. If not, 12am – 4 am feels like death in slow motion. Sometimes is just feels like being in a parallel dimension. This watch is great if you enjoy the cover of night, stargazing, unreal moonlight, and sleeping in the morning until lunch.
4 – 8: OH man, this one sucks. First off, you get woken up at 3h30 AM every night. Just when you’ve reached your deepest sleep, dreaming your weirdest dreams – BAM! WAKE UP! So painful… This watch also does the deck wash every morning (scrubbing invisible dirt off the deck), rinses all the woodwork with freshwater (please contain your excitement) and has to rush through dinner to clean up after everybody! Somehow, people still love the 4-8 watch…
A common thread for each shift is that you always either have 1) one hour of lookout (standing at the front of the ship and spotting other ships or dolphins), or 2) one hour of helm (steering the barque!).
Yesterday, I got to scrape the varnish off a doorframe. This was genuinely exciting! A nice project, all to myself. Three hours of scrapping and sharpening my scrapper. Passers-by also pointed out how nice this project was. Really! Today, I got to paint the breezeway ceiling with “tropical blue”. Two hours of neck breaking Michelangelo-esque work might seem dreadful to some, but I was truly happy to do it. Sooo… in conclusion, either my sense of fun is completely warped, or the ship work is actually growing on me!
When I first considered joining the ship, I remember how the website (and other sources) told me that being part of the crew would help develop my leadership skills. However, what I am now realizing is that it is my ability to follow which is being developed, which is equally important. To know how to receive instructions, which questions to ask, how and when to report progress, how to be in the right spot at the right time and how to gain trust through being a good worker.
More to come on our jungle adventures in Grenada and Dominica.
Watch below,
Dan
Alli and Davie cleaning the topsides (outside) of the Picton while underway.
Cleaning the salon head. Everyday.
Hauling on the fore upper topsail halyard.
The Picton Castle in all her glory. This was on our passage from Anguilla to St-Barthelemy. Great sailing. (photo courtesy of Jean Jarreau)
Another awesome helicopter shot. The royals and gaff topsail are not set here. Nor is the flying jib. Photo courtesy of Jean Jarreau.
