Tall ship Picton Castle to sail into Lunenburg Saturday, completing eighth world voyage

The Picton Castle tall ship is docked at its home port in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. (Jesse Thomas/CTV Atlantic)

The tall ship Picton Castle will celebrate her eighth sail around the world on Saturday afternoon when she returns to her home base of Lunenburg, N.S.

The 179 foot three-masted barque, under the command of Captain Daniel Moreland, began her current voyage in May 2023, marking the start of a 14-month global circumnavigation.

According to a news release, this is the first voyage the ship was able to make since operations were shut down due to travel restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

During her current voyage, the Picton Castle sailed 30,000 nautical miles, which included port calls in the Galapagos Islands, Fiji, Bali, Cape Town, Grenada, Saint Martin and many more locations.

The Picton Castle crew members include both professional mariners and trainee members. The trainees learn valuable skills and stand watches alongside the professionals to learn from them during the sail.

Trainees don’t need any previous sailing experience to start and will learn how to steer, handle lines and sails, scrub decks, help cook in the galley, etc.

“The work is hard and the days and nights are long, but there’s something so special about earning every nautical mile along the way. Accomplishing it as part of a tight-knit crew makes it even better,” says Maggie Ostler, Picton Castle’s chief operations officer.

There are currently 31 adult crew members onboard the Picton Castle from seven different countries. The captain’s 11-year-old son has also accompanied the crew. According to the press release, of the 31 adult crew members, 21 have been onboard for the entire 14-month long circumnavigation of the globe.

On Saturday afternoon, the tall ship will sail around Battery Point and into Lunenburg Harbour before docking at Adams & Knickle.

The public is invited to join loved ones on the Lunenburg waterfront Saturday at 2 p.m. to welcome the Picton Castle and her crew home.

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