Travels With Barbara

Setting Sail

Today is the big day!! Barring any completely unforeseen circumstance, we will set sail on the Picton Castle (www.picton-castle.org) at 1400 (that's 2:00pm) from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. The weather looks great (that's a relative term...at least it's not pouring rain and blowing 40 knots) and we're ready to go.

Since yesterday, everyone has been trying to get in one last hot shower and whatever other "creature comforts" they crave before heading out to sea. I woke up at 5 am to get in the shower ahead of the crowd. There was already someone in the shower and two people waiting ahead of me. (So, I went into the office to use the internet while I waited). Before I finished my shower there were two or three more people waiting. I'm glad I got there before the hot water runs out.

The other highly desired thing to do before we set out is wash laundry. Once we are at sea the only way to wash clothes is in a bucket of salt water. It would seem to be a simple matter of going to the laundromat, but the laundromat in Lunenburg burned down this past winter and has not been replaced. The only other options are driving to Mahone Bay or Bridgewater. Since we do not have cars available, it means getting several people together to share a cab. And the laundromats only stay open to 5 or 6pm, making it very difficult for those of us who are working all day to get there.

My friends, Felicia and David Robinson, who live on top of the hill (straight up from the ship) invited me to dinner last night. While they went out later and I babysat their children, I also had the privilege of doing a load of laundry in their washer and dryer. The joy of simply having clean clothes is not to be underrated; and, as much as I dislike doing laundry at home, this was a real treat! 

Keep an eye on the ship's website for updates as we sail to Panama. I will not be able to update this blog until I arrive in Panama. By then I will have lots to say...assuming that I can find an Internet Cafe.

The Art of Staying Dry and Warm in Nova Scotia

After the past week and a half of cold, windy, wet weather here in Lunenburg, I have nearly mastered the art of staying dry and warm in wintery Nova Scotia storms. Starting with layers of clothes, at least three and sometimes as much as seven when it's at its worst. The long johns are a must for warmth and foul weather gear is absolutely necessary for any possible hope of staying dry. In between one pair of work pants with sufficient pockets for all the little stuff and numerous shirts, sweatshirts and sweaters...however many layers it takes to stay warm.

With multiple layers it's possible to adjust for the possibility of warmer temperatures - which do happen occassionally, and for going indoors. It's become a real treat for us when we can peel down to just two layers, and yesterday afternoon I even saw some of the crew walking around in T-shirts!! Yesterday was also the first day in a long while that I did not wear my long johns. It feels downright balmy after this recent winter storm.

At night I just remove the top two or three layers, maybe four if it's been particularly cold, and lay these clothes on top of my blanket for an extra layer of warmth while I sleep. We did get an electric heater plugged into shore power several days ago, so it hasn't been quite so chilly in the Salon as it was earlier. I do keep my wool socks on day and night, changing them at least twice per day just to keep my feet dry and warm.

Foul weather gear includes not only jacket, but also pants, boots and sou'wester - that's the rain hat that is designed to keep the rain from getting in your eyes and running down the back of your neck. And it does work wonderfully well. We've come to call this outfit "foulies" rather than saying the longer "foul weather gear" phrase. As for staying dry, my foulies work just great with one exception that I discovered just two days ago. We were doing sail training drills, setting and striking the Fore Topmast Staysail, with extremely wet (saturated) lines after a week of incessant rains. Everytime I reached up overhead to haul on a line, the wetness from the line ran down my arms to my elbows. The cuffs of all five shirts and sweaters that I was wearing at the time became saturated.

This morning the weather is clear and relatively warm, so I am hopeful of leaving the warmer clothing in my bunk. And in just a few days we'll be in a tropical climate where we won't even consider how to stay warm; rather we'll be wanting to cool off!! We've been talking about that for several weeks...at last, I believe it is true.

Sightseeing in and around Lunenburg

Since we've been delayed quite a bit longer than any of us had anticipated, we've had a couple of opportunities for sightseeing in and around Lunenburg.  This week, the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, which is located on the waterfront in Lunenburg just down the street from our dock, invited all of the Picton Castle crew to visit anytime free of charge. While some of us may have gone initially because it was warm, dry and not windy inside the museum, I think everyone will agree that it is a delightfully interesting and comprehensive museum. On Wednesday afternoon, they offered us a special guided introduction to a number of the exhibits. We learned about lobster fishing, scallop fishing and the rum runners during Prohibition.

We also saw a movie, "The Captain and The Queen" about Capt. Angus Walters and the Bluenose schooner.  The Bluenose and Capt. Walters are famous in Nova Scotia, and all of Canada, for having won the International Fishing Schooner Race. The Bluenose appears on one of the Canadian coins and the Bluenose II now sails out of Lunenburg. In fact, tomorrow morning we will wave her off on her first voyage of the season to Halifax.

Another movie at the Fisheries Museum that has been very popular with the Picton Castle crew, and which has been shown numerous times on request, is Irving Johnson's "Around Cape Horn" which he filmed in 1929 when he sailed on the Peking around Cape Horn. Although I have seen this film a number of times before, it always amazes me to see it again. (In case you don't already know, Irving is my father's uncle...my great uncle.)

Besides going to the Fisheries Museum, we also took an excursion yesterday to see the surf and breakers on the ocean side. Since we are in a protected harbor, we have not seen the full effect of the gales that have been storming all around us. Sure we've had a lot of wind and rain, sometimes as much as 40 to 60 knots of wind and rain that seemed like it would never end. Yet, even the local folks kept saying how amazing the storm effect was at the beach on the ocean side. So, yesterday we piled into several vehicles (I rode in a 1963 Mercedes Benz, which was an adventure in itself) and drove out to Hertle's Beach and to The Ovens, some caves where the water goes way into the cave and roars loudly. The spray was tremendous. As I was shooting some video footage, the wind nearly blew me over sideways. We were impressed by the huge waves and tremendously grateful that we had stayed in port this past week!

Nasty Weather

Our delayed departure is being prolonged by nasty weather that just won't quit. We had planned to leave on Saturday, May 21st; the ship and crew have been all ready to go since then. However, the forecast showed a gale coming up from Cape Cod and the Captain said that since we are likely to run into some bad weather somewhere along the voyage, there's no point setting out into a big storm especially with a novice crew.

Saturday afternoon the weather took a sudden turn for the worse...we went from sunscreen and t-shirts to sweaters, coats and gloves in less than an hour. By Saturday night it was pouring rain, a cold, hard driving rain, blowing sideways across the ship's deck.

I woke up in the middle of the night Saturday because of strange sounds - water gurgling as if it were running past my side of the ship, as if we were underway...except that we're still tied to the dock. Of course, once I was awake and hearing water sounds I had to get up to use the head...which means going up on deck to the port aft head...which means clothes and rain gear. It takes 15 minutes to put on clothes, get out of my bunk, put on raingear and get to the head. When I opened the door at the top of the companionway it was nearly blown out of my hand. The rain was driving sideways so hard that it came through the breezeway and into the head making the toilet paper slightly damp.

Sunday morning the rain and wind and cold continued with Force 7 winds, gusting even stronger. It turns out that a couple of pilings on our wharf came loose during the night. We had to change some of the dock lines, put out new fenders and re-do chafing gear on the dock lines during the 8-12 watch. It was supremely nasty conditions for working. My fingers were so cold I could barely feel or move them. Nonetheless, I learned the constrictor knot that is used for tying on chafing gear, and I then taught it to two of my watch mates.

After we had made sure the ship was secure, the Chief Mate called us to muster in the warehouse where she gave us a brief weather lesson and explained the forecast for the next 96 hours: this low pressure system will be followed by another low  coming from the same direction. Then there's a high pressure system up by the St. Lawrence Gulf that could keep these low pressure systems from moving out. So this "snotty weather" (as Capt. Dan calls it) could stick around as long as 3 or 4 days.

By Sunday evening I was convinced that this is some of the worst weather I've ever seen. Beginning Saturday night we have been keeping night watch on deck and will  continue to do so every night as long as this awful weather persists.  While I was up on watch it was blowin' stink and driving rain (half an hour earlier it was only blowing, no rain). We have to continually check the chafe gear on the dock lines. We found one line with no chafe gear and I had to go down into the sole of the salon to dig out the chafe gear and robands, then go up on the foredeck (perhaps the windiest place on the ship) and tie on the chafe gear using constrictor knots - something I just learned to do the day before.

Monday morning's weather was not much better, except that the rain had abated.

I made it through morning watch (8am-noon) with moderately numb hands and horribly cold toes and wind blowing through to my bones. For a short time around 10am the "breeze" almost had a hint of warmer air. That quickly changed again - back to cold. On Monday the wind gusts were up to 100 kilometers/hour (about 60-65mph) according to the radio. Even for Nova Scotia this is unusually atypical weather.

During watch we found a few more places where chafe gear needed to be replaced or reinforced. Everything is constantly moving on the ship so it has to be checked and fixed continually. At the moment we have four ships to check on - in addition to the Picton Castle, across the dock from us are two old fishing trawlers (Primo and Zebroid) that Capt. Dan recently purchased to be converted into schooners for passenger and cargo ship runs to Bermuda and the South Pacific; and on the next dock over is the Lady Janet, a huge old derelict Coast Guard shiip that no longer belongs to the Canadian Coast Guard. If Lady Janet's lines give way, she will blow down onto the Picton Castle and do some very serious damage. Her lines look rather dubious and her bow line is tied to a bit that is pulling itself up out of the wharf. Before the storm began to blow really hard some of our more experienced crew went over to add more lines both fore and aft to reduce the risk.

Today (Tuesday) we had more rain, cold and wind this morning. By lunch time the rain had stopped; it's still very blustery. This may be the lull before another, even bigger blow hits us. So, we'll be in port several more days...possibly until Saturday.

Yesterday Captain Moreland told us that the forecast shows two low pressure systems coming together into one much bigger low pressure system with the same technical features of "The Perfect Storm", although not quite as strong. And some of the Lunenburg fishing fleet have come back into port. When Nova Scotia fishermen come in because of a storm you know it's bad! The seas out in the ocean are running 20-25 feet (double those numbers to get the complete distance from the trough to the crest of the waves).

We are in a protected harbor, so it's not quite so rough here. Nonetheless, the ship is moving a lot more at the dock than it had before the storm. And the storm surge has made high tide so high that it's difficult to board the ship - the gang plank to the quarter deck is at least a 60 degree slope from the dock, and the mid-ships rail is just a bit too high to jump over when bundled up with 3 to 7 layers of clothing and foul weather gear.

Seamanship

According to Capt. Moreland, seamanship involves two fundamental strategies: 1) reducing and eliminating variables whenever possible; and 2) paying attention to details. Variables can be reduced or eliminated through training. A well trained crew is capable of handling the complexities of a sailing ship far better than an untrained crew. Knowing the names of each line, the sails and all parts of the ship is essential so that when an order is given the crew knows how to respond. Training also makes it possible to respond to the unexpected when it does occur. 

We've had a number of training drills for sail handling and safety.  Starting with simply learning how to handle lines safely without injuring our fingers, then moving on to which lines do what on the ship, we have plenty to learn. There are four head sails (triangular in shape) each with four lines (halyard, downhaul, port and starboard sheets); five square sails on the foremast and five more on the mainmast, some with as many as 10 or 12 lines per sail; the spanker sail on the mizzen mast with another dozen lines. And that's not all...there's more sails that haven't even been bent on yet. I'm glad we've been doing a lot of drills because I'm beginning to understand what each of the lines does and when to ease or haul on a particular line. A couple of weeks ago I was totally bewildered; now I can see that there is hope for me to put all the pieces together in my mind.

Today we had yet more sail training drills. First we spent some time reviewing the parts of the sails and the lines on both square and triangular sails. We had to tell not only the name of each line, but also what it does and when to use it. Then we went up on deck, in the pouring rain, to set all the headsails (except the flying jib, which is not yet rigged) and the upper and lower topsails on the foremast.  Once we had the sails set, we braced the yards to port tack, then to starboard tack, and back to the square position. And when we got all finished, we had dozens of lines to coil and hang because you can never leave a line lying on the deck of a sailing vessel. Not only does it not look tidy, it could be downright dangerous.

There are plenty of dangers inherent in sailing; we don't need to create any unnecessarily, so everything is always safely stowed when not in use. We've had lots of safety drills and will continue to have more as we sail. Just this week we were all given specific assignments for certain emergencies that might occur including man overboard, fire, a call for all hands, and abandon ship. It's very important that in any of these circumstances we all know where to go and what to do. Of course, we hope never to have to use this training, however, waiting until the emergency occurs is too late for training. And, as the Captain told us, there are no bad drills; if something does not go as expected in a drill, it's an opportunity to fix a problem, to learn what to do or make some improvement in the procedure.

So we continue to learn and have drills to reduce the variables. And we always pay attention to details. Variables and details can make the difference in having a safe and enjoyable voyage.

Departure Delayed

We just learned today that our departure is delayed once again...this time, however, we are all ready to go, the ship is ready, and it's the weather that is holding us up. There's a gale heading our way from Cape Cod. Although we could have good weather on Saturday (tomorrow), the day we planned to sail out of Lunenburg, Sunday is almost guaranteed to be incredibly bad weather with strong, gale force winds, heavy seas and lots of rain.

Captain Moreland is not inclined to set out from port into an oncoming storm with a novice crew, many of whom will likely be seasick even in favorable conditions. For which I am quite grateful. As he says, we'll run into some bad weather along the way, we don't have to start out with it in the very first couple of days.

And we've had two very busy weeks with long work days. Yesterday it took at least half or more of the crew to move two large timbers aboard. One measures about 35 feet long and the other is almost 42 feet long; both are tapered with the large end being at least 12 inches on each side and the smaller end somewhat less...extremely heavy. To complicate matters, the longer and heavier piece was stored in the back of the warehouse and to get it out we had to make a right angle turn onto the dock with about 10-12 feet sticking out over the water, then another right angle turn onto the pier, and then sneak it between a storage shed on the dock and the side of the ship with a few obstacles to avoid in the process. And after all of that we still had to get it onto the deck of the ship. Moving slowly and carefully, with a lot of people working together, we managed to do it.

You might wonder why we need such large timbers. These are "spare parts"...materials to make new spars if the need should arise to replace a yardarm or the top of a mast. Since we will be away from shore for long stretches and in some places where supplies and parts may not be readily accessible, we have to carry materials to be self-sufficient. And we have to be resourceful in solving problems that arise with whatever we have on hand. And always we have to conserve our resources.

Right now the cargo is all stowed in the hold. Today it was strapped down and netted into place in the hold. Lots of little details were taken care of. All the loose items on deck were either removed or stowed securely. Every inch of space on the ship is used in one way or another. In fact, when I was working in the scullery today (my turn again for dish washing duty), I learned that what I had taken to be a cutting board built into the countertop  also happens to be the lid for a cold food storage bin that is set into the counter.

I'm exhausted right now, having worked all day on galley duty with not a moment to sit down except to eat hasty meals. While I am certainly eager to set sail on this voyage, I am willing to wait two or three days for better weather, if necessary. And, I'm hoping that we may get a few hours of free time to relax. At this point I've already spent all my Canadian cash since we expected to depart tomorrow, so free time will be spent writing in my journal, reading, talking with my shipmates and walking up and down the hills of Lunenburg.

Going Aloft

The ship I am sailing on, the Picton Castle (see www.picton-castle.com), is a tall ship. The top of the rigging is about 10 stories above the water. Not only is it a long way up, but once the ship leaves the dock, it becomes much less stable.  So, going aloft is not for the faint of heart.

About a week ago, while still tied up at the dock, we had an "up and over" climbing exercise in which we climbed to a platform about 1/3 of the way up the mast, crossed over the platform and climbed down the other side. This may sound easy, however, shortly before reaching the platform you have to climb a few rungs that are angled out away from the mast in order to reach the edge of the platform. The first time doing this can be a bit unnerving.

In addition to climbing up the mast, we also have to go out on the yardarms to work with the sails. So our second climbing drill was to go up to the lowest yardarm and "lay on" (step onto) the wire footrope that runs under the yardarm. This was all done under calm conditions with experienced crew positioned at strategic points to help us along. They assured us that it was normal to feel a bit nervous the first time going aloft. And I did.

It was another week before I took my first turn at working aloft. I declined working on the upper yardarms until I had an opportunity to work on the lowest one, which is at least 30 feet above the deck. Most of the sails bent on had been higher aloft. Finally, on Tuesday I had an opportunity to help bend on the Fore Course sail which hangs from the lowest yardarm on the foremast. It turned out to be not as scary as I had thought it could be.

We were up there about an hour and a half. While we are working aloft we wear a harness and clip on to the yardarm. First the sail was hoisted aloft using a block and tackle. Then the earrings of the sail had to be attached to the yardarm...which involved a lot of waiting on my part since that was taking place at the outboard ends of the yard, and I was closer to the mast. Finally, we centered the sail and bent it on with rope seizings. It was a huge learning experience on many levels, including stretching beyond my comfort zone and discovering that it was okay.

Living On Board

We have settled into living aboard the ship, although we still have a few "conveniences" since we are tied up to the dock until we leave port (our scheduled departure is Sat. May 21st at 10:30am). Some of the "conveniences" include a flush toilet, hot water shower and telephone line, all of which are located in the warehouse at the end of the dock. However, the convenience factor is diluted by the fact that there is only one of each (toilet, shower and phone) for nearly 50 people to share. Waiting in line is not unusual.

On board, we share close living quarters. Berths are stacked two high. In the main salon, where I reside, we have 18 bunks and four long dining tables. Whenever the weather is inclement we eat there; in good weather we eat up on deck or, if the cargo hold is open for stowing food and supplies, we eat on the dock. Each berth has a curtain to draw across the opening for privacy. Of course, it does not keep out voices or other noise. We have a strict lights out and quiet at 10:00pm so that those who want to can get some sleep.

Because of the tight quarters we each have limited personal storage space. Most people have access to half the space below the lower berth and a narrow cubby that runs the length of the berth; some people who do not have under-berth storage have a sea chest. In any case, we have our belongings packed in rather tightly and to get at something that is tucked away usually means digging down through the layers. I'm gradually figuring out what I need to access frequently and am continually rearranging my things to make it easier. Maybe by the time I get to Bali I will figure out the solution to this jigsaw puzzle.

Rope Splinters

For the past two days, when we're not moving and stowing cargo, we've been doing sail handling drills. Since the Picton Castle is a traditional sailing vessel, all the lines are marlin. Anyone who has ever handled marlin knows that it has teeny, tiny splinters that can come off in your hands.

Splinters are more likely to get in your hands when you are handling rope quickly, such as when you are hauling in a halyard, a sheet or a downhaul. And even more splinters get into your hands when the lines run out quickly through your hands, such as when a line is being eased.

Yesterday it was my watch's turn to do sail handling drills. We spent almost two hours raising and lowering the fore and main topsails, both upper and lower, bracing the yards (turning the yardarms from one side of the mast to the other), and setting and striking the Outer Jib. By the end of the exercise I had so many rope splinters in both hands that it seemed futile to even try to remove them. A lot of them are so small that they just work their way out. I've been told that my hands will toughen up and then handling the lines will be less uncomfortable and I won't feel the splinters. (I certainly hope that's true!)

Stowing Cargo

In addition to being a sail training vessel, the Picton Castle (www.picton-castle.com) is a cargo vessel delivering books, school supplies, and clothes to people at our ports of call. In addition, Pitcairn Islanders have requested delivery of a number of items including an ATV, a bandsaw and blades, a planer with dust collector, re-bar, concrete, paint and diapers.

We have been loading cargo for most of the past week, whenever the weather is dry. Everything is wrapped in plastic and taped closed, then weighed and tallied before being loaded. The books, school supplies and clothes, along with a number of other items, were stored on the 3rd floor of the warehouse by the dock until it was time to load them on the ship. We have a rope and pulley for lowering a cloth tote full of cargo down from the 3rd floor to the ground; then it is carried to the dock alongside the ship and half a dozen or more people line up to pass the goods down into the cargo hold.

We've stowed close to 10,000 pounds of books, over 5,000 pounds of clothes, 25 rolls of paper each weighing 50 to 80 pounds, and much more. Everything is carefully packed to minimize shifting while we are sailing.