Joe, thanks for providing that link. It's a long but incredibly well-done story, and worth the 40-odd minutes to view it. My wife and I toured the Picton Castle about 18 months ago at the Chicago Tall Ships festival. We were struck by the contrast between this ship and the others we saw-although a stout steel hull, she seemed beat up, sadly lacking in safety and comfort appurtenances, and not nearly as inviting as the dozen others we toured. In particular, we talked with a cook in the galley and asked him, as he grilled fish with no shirt on and a beer in one hand, how he kept from falling into the hot stove (BIG hot stove) during rough weather, since I didn't see grab rails or harness hooks. He turned around to show me several burn scars at his waistline, and just said it was a never-ending challenge. Then we stepped forward to watch a rigger head up a ratline to paint tar on some marlines, with a pouch full of rigging tools and three Coronas, all uncapped and ready to drink. I teased him about the beers, and asked when his two friends were going to join him to share those bottles; he said it was a long hot job and he needed to be prepared. I figure that if crews behaved like this whilst tied up along Navy Pier amid thousands of people getting their first impression that this was NOT exactly a Bristol boat. Jeane and I found out they were looking for crew, but we quickly decided we'd wait until we got an offer from a different ship.
Wow. David Shaddock Still on land in Rockford, IL From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Joe McCary Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2007 7:06 PM To: [email protected] Subject: catalina27-talk: OT: Overboard There is an excellent video by the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Co) on the Picton Castle, a square rigged ship that had a man overboard incident about a year ago. This is an investigative story about that ship and the incident. http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/overboard/video.html Joe McCary Aeolus II #4795 West RIvewr, MD [EMAIL PROTECTED]
