Hi guys, I have never asked for anything on behalf of myself or anyone else via Facebook before, and probably never will again, but on behalf of a tall ship that has fallen on hard times, I am asking for help. This is a ship that I love and cherish, has been invaluable to my growth as both an engineer, and as a human being, and has given me the most incredible experience of my life thus far. As most of you know, I returned from a ten month voyage on the Picton Castle a while back, and have been asked to share a message from them which you can see at the end of this one. I have never cared to reach out to the people I know over the internet in order to spread a message, but this the one thing that means enough for me to do it. For those of you who have known me from the time I first went to sea, you know how much this means to me, and how much it has changed me. For those of you who havent, this is my story in a nutshell: I first sailed on a tall ship as a trainee when I was fifteen years old. That experience set off a chain of events that have changed my entire life. When I was sixteen, I left school early to keep sailing and do it all the time. Through this I was given the opportunity to actually discover that I was smart, talented, and capable of more than I ever could have imagined (something that had been suppressed my entire life because I was never good in school, and would have stayed that way if it werent for tall ships). It has been nine wonderful years since then. That experience has grown into an amazing career, and I cant even begin to list all of the ways my life has been enriched because of it. While my story is somewhat uncommon, there is one absolute when it comes to tall ships: Every person who has ever gone to sea on one of mans most eloquent and beautiful creations, has, for better or worse, however subtle or significant, been changed by it, and grown because of it. They have become the catalysts for bringing so much goodness in the world, but what sets Picton Castle apart is one of her largely unknown traits (even to many that have sailed on her): She is free. Free to sail around the world. She is completely self sufficient, and has no schedule. It costs an incredible amount of money to keep a tall ship going, and every single tall ship in the world has been dedicated to a specific purpose with a rigorous schedule in order to make enough money to survive, except for one. Picton Castle is the only free tall ship in the world, and will probably be the last. It breaks my heart to say that. She makes it possible to experience the world in an incredible, and completely unique way. The amazing relationships shes built over the years have made it possible for her to visit some of the most remote and beautiful places in the world, and be welcomed with open arms in a way nobody else can, but most importantly, she changes lives like nobody else can! She is the last link to a beautiful idea that was born in the age of sail, and one that will probably die with her. She is an old ship and her years are numbered. How long she lasts depends completely on the people that sail her. As the tall ship world becomes more and more clandestine, the biggest problem Picton Castle faces is people not even knowing she exists. Please, from the bottom of my heart, help out one of the truly good things in the world by spreading the word about her, or better yet, GO SAILING! Join the PICTON CASTLE world-voyaging crew in Cape Town, South Africa, January 2015 The Barque PICTON CASTLE has been sailing the worlds oceans for nearly 20 years in the wake of the great square rigged ships of the Age of Sail. Her epic voyages have already inspired hundreds of people to come together to sail, to explore this salt water globe and to seek to learn all that a ship on the open ocean has to teach. Our crew connect with people and places across the world. Transcending boundaries of geography, culture and race we return to villages where we have made friends, often bringing essential supplies, donated educational materials and medical care to some of the most remote and isolated communities on Earth. By working together we grow strong and learn to trust our shipmates and ourselves. By harnessing the power of the wind in our hand-stitched cotton sails we learn awareness and how to spot a problem before it arises. By watching the slowly processing stars on night watch, and the glorious ocean sunsets each evening, we learn to see the sublime in the every day. The things you learn aboard PICTON CASTLE, and the friendships you make aboard, last a lifetime. Aboard the ship right now, sailing westwards across the Indian Ocean, we have an exceptional gang of men and women of all ages and all backgrounds, hailing from a dozen different countries and every corner of the globe; Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Canada, USA, Tonga, Fiji, England and more. What brings them together is a commitment to experiencing a life at sea under sail, to the ship, her voyages; a down-to-Earth saltiness and a sense of adventure. Now we are looking for the next generation of mariners to join our crew and write the next chapter of the PICTON CASTLE story. No sailing experience is necessary - its far more important to be a good shipmate, though you must be reasonably fit. More than anything you must want to join us on this adventure and want to see the world beyond your horizons. Soon PICTON CASTLE will be rounding the Cape of Good Hope and entering the South Atlantic, there to sail up the coast of Africa and cross to the Caribbean calling at Grenada, Carriacou, Barbados and Dominica before heading north via Bermuda, to her homecoming in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. After three years voyaging westwards around the world, its set to be quite the celebration. Join us in Cape Town, South Africa in January 2015 or in Cape Verde in March 2015. Sail with us as we cross the Atlantic Ocean, cross the equator and cruise the magical islands of the real Caribbean. We will be visiting friends we have made over the years, sailing our small boats in the crystal clear water and practicing beach landings on the perfect white sand. Well be sailing on and off the hook, tacking the ship about, climbing aloft and handling sails. Well learn sailmaking, rigging, small boat handling and celestial navigation, but first well learn to sail our ship across oceans. If youve never been afloat before, or if you already have one foot in the sea and want to advance into traditional seamanship, then now is the time. The worlds oceans and its trade winds are waiting, come join the adventure! Cape Town to Cape Verde, Jan 3 to March 20: Cape Town, South Africa to Luderitz Namibia, St Helena UK, Dakar Senegal, Cape Verde Islands. Cape Verde to Lunenburg, March 20 to May 16: Cape Verde, transatlantic to the Eastern Caribbean: Grenada and the Grenadines, St Vincent, Bequia, Dominica, Martinique, and other islands of the Caribbean, Bermuda and Lunenburg. picton-castle
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 03:56:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015