Of castles and pirates
Posted by astamatt on May 19, 2007
Last night on the Picton Castle saw our first duties and dinner with the Picton Castle. We enjoyed an excellent meal of roast turkey and mashed potatoes. We then were entertained by watching the coast guard zealously chasing away boaters who got anywhere near the tall ships. A general muster announced and explained the designation of watches – a first for us and a number of other new arrivals to the Picton Castle. At 9:45 I began the first watch and was shown how to note the wind speeds, compass heading, barometer and general weather conditions. I was then shown how to check the ship from fore to aft looking for any problems that would need to be corrected or reported.
Joanna who I was on watch with, strongly emphasized that it was essential that the valves which bring water into the marine heads (toilets) be shut off. Apparently ships have been sunk before because someone left the toilet running – what a way to go down!
Bedtime came for many soon after dinner, but I stayed out longer for a chat in the cool air. The bunk I spent the night in was comfortable enough, and while certainly not spacious, I don’t feel too cramped either. I have learned once and for all that I do not have clausterphobia. We’ll have to find out about seasickness later…
Been seeing lots of pirates here in Charleston, down near the education center they are regularly firing cannons, muskets and sword-fighting one another – generally putting on a boisterous spectacle - the usual piratatical behaviors. They are teaching the children how to haul lines, sing sea shanties and sword fight. As a result there are some pretty mean and tough looking kindergarteners running around.
