The Crew

I had promised a post about the crew.  Maybe it’s best that I waited until now since I’ve gotten to know everyone much better.  We have a large crew, very close to a full complement of 48.  We have 46 and one more is joining in Reunion.  It’s a very diverse group both in age and nationality.

Denmark:
Caroline, Laura, Anne-mette, Morton, Magnus, Christian, Nicholai and Emile.  All have sailed previously on the ship Denmark, except for Christian, who has worked on the Denmark when it was in port.  Christian and Nicholai joined in Fiji, all the rest joined in Bali.  All are leaving in Cape Town, except Nicholai and Emile, they’re both on for the rest of the voyage.  Laura, Anna-mette, Morton, Magnus and Emile all sailed together on the Denmark and all about 20ish.  Nicholai is in his mid-20s and Christian is 32.  Laura, Nicholai, Magnus and Emile are all on my watch.  Nicholai is also the assistant engineer aboard.
Sweden:
Elsa, Amanda, Elvira and Elias.  All have sailed previously, Elsa has sailed pretty extensively and has joined the sail maker on this voyage, instead of standing watch.  Elsa is 26 and the others are around 20. The area of Sweden where they’re from has a high school that has its own sail training ship, the Gunnilla.  They have the option of taking a track of classes that includes the sail training.  Elvira took marine science while onboard the Gunnilla.  They spent 4 months sailing around Europe and the Mediterranean; what a high school!  All 4 joined in Bali and will be leaving in Cape Town.  Elvira is on my watch.
Norway:
Turi – 29.  Turi is new to tall ship sailing.  She joined in Bali and is for the rest of the voyage.  She was working in Dubai for the 3 years before joining the ship.  Turi is on my watch.
Lithuania:
Monica – 34.  This is Monica’s first tall ships voyage but she is an action seeker who likes mountain climbing and para-gliding.  She says it’s funny that she is a mountain climber because the tallest mountain in Lithuania is only about 100 meters high.
Germany:
Axle and Jennes.  Both are in their mid to late 20 and both are experienced tall ship sailors.  Axle is the mate on my watch and Jennes is also on my watch.  Axle went to the German Naval Academy and then served in the Navy before working on freight ships for a couple years.  This is his first voyage in Picton Castle and he joined in Fiji.  Jennes joined in Bali and is leaving in Cape Town.
Bermuda:
Erin, Dekembae and Simon.  This is Simon’s first tall ship voyage.  He’s 56 and joined for the leg from Bali to Cape Town.  He owns businesses in Bermuda and England and is a small plane pilot as well.  Dekembae is an experienced tall ship sailor, having sailed on the Spirit of Bermuda as well as sailing on the Denmark at the same time as the group of Danes that all sailed together.  He’s in his early 20s.  Erin is the ships Boson, responsible for the maintenance of the ships rigging.  She is 25 and has sailing extensively on tall ships.  She joined in Fiji and will be on board beyond the end of this voyage.  Dekembae also joined in Fiji and is on for the whole voyage.
Tonga:
Via – 20.  Via joined in Tonga while the ship was sailing around the South Seas.  She is an experienced sailor, because of her time aboard but she mostly acts as Dawson’s nanny now.  (see below)
Great Briton:
Bob (Kate) – Mid-twenties, Terry – 57 (He’s actually from Wales) & And Amy – 30ish.  Amy is an AB and is the lead seaman on one of the other watches.  Terry has sailed on a couple of tall ships before but more as a passenger than as crew.  He’s on from Bali to Cape Towne.  He’s great because he’s very laid back and doesn’t take anything too seriously; something I’m working on.  Bob is the ship’s purser, which means she takes care of all of the administrative work for the ship, like clearing in and out of customs, etc.  She has been on the Picton Castle for about 3 years but all is smaller chunks of time.  We call her Bob because when she boarded her first tall ship as a trainee, they asked her for her name and she said Kate.  The captain said, “That sounds like a girl’s name and everyone knows it’s bad luck to have girls aboard ships so we’ll call you Bob!”
Canada:
Captain Moreland, his wife Tammy and their son Dawson.  Captain Moreland holds a USCG 500 ton Master Unlimited ticket, the highest captains rating the US Coast Guard issues and he’s 62.  He’s been sailing for 42 years and he bought the Picton Castle in 1993 and put together the consortium that maintains her today.  He designed the rig when she was converted to a tall ship as well.  This is the homeward leg of his 7^th circumnavigation aboard the Picton Castle.  Tammy is the sail maker aboard and is in her mid-40s.  Dawson is the ship’s boy.  Dawson is around 27 months old and has been living aboard the Picton Castle since he was about 2 months old.  Imagine learning to walk on the deck of ship at sea!  In addition to the boss and his family, we also have: Travis, 36.  This is his first tall ship voyage and he joined in Bali for the trip to Cape Town.  He spent the last 3 years teaching at a school above the Arctic Circle in Canada for first nation’s students. 
Fiji:
Joe – Mid-forties.  Joe is ships carpenter and he joined in Fiji, this is his first tall ship adventure.  I have been working with him some and he’s a really nice guy.  I asked what he thought about his new job and he said he loved it, he wants to stay on the Picton Castle the rest of his life.
Grenada:
Donald – Late-forties.  Donald is the ship’s cook.  He has been with the ship for 6 years now, the longest of anyone, except the captain.  He’s an excellent baker and a solid of somewhat basic cook.  He worked as a cook on Caribbean cruise ships before joining Picton Castle.
Australia:
Mark – 49.  Mark is an experienced tall ship sailor and has sailed on the Picton Castle before.  He was promoted to Able Bodied Seaman (AB) after we left Bali, when they made Erin the Boson.
USA:

John – 52, Kurt – 54, Bruce – 67, Nichole – 43, Aaron – late-twenties, Alex – 29, Russell – 26, Matt – 32, Nathanial – 26, Peter – 26, Nick – early 30’s, Billy – 42, & Me – 52.  John is an experienced tall ship sailor and is a sail maker for this voyage.  He has sailed on the PC a few times before.  Bruce is also a PC veteran who hails from Chicago and has raced a few Mac races.  He is spending most of his time perfecting his celestial navigation skills and plotting the ships course strictly using the sextant and tables.  Kurt is an experienced sailor and has sailed on other tall ships as well as commercial ships.  This is Nichole’s first tall ship voyage but she’s “all in”, having joined in Fiji for the entire voyage.  She is a published author and may or may not write about her experiences.  Aaron is also sailing for his first time and also on for the entire voyage.  He’s an army vet who worked in explosive ordinance disposal in Afghanistan and Iraq.  He joined the voyage shortly after being discharged.  Alex is the AB of my watch.  She has been sailing in tall ships for 13 years and has sailed in a great many of the ships that sail in the US.  This is her first time on the Picton Castle.  She is a great sailor and a great teacher, very calm and patient.  Russell is the mate on one of the other watches.  He won a scholarship to a maritime academy out east after doing some tall ship sailing.  This is his first time on the PC as well.  Matt holds an official USCG Able Bodied Seaman’s card from working aboard freight ships.  He’s travelled and worked on ships all over, including fishing and crabbing in Alaska before it was on TV and working in Indonesia on a freighter, so he knew the language in Bali.  This is his first time sailing on a tall ship and he’s on from Bali to the Cape Verde Islands.  He’s originally from Waukesha, WI.  Nathan is another first timer on from Bali to Cape Towne.  He’s also a newly discharged army veteran.  He was a first lieutenant in the first cav but was not deployed over-seas.  He joined in Bali one month after he was discharged.  Peter is a tall ship veteran, having sailed in the PC and on the Brig Niagara before.  He could be an AB but he’s color blind so he can’t get is certification.  He’s on from Bali to Cape Towne.  He spent 6 months, before joining the ship, in India teaching yoga.  He’s also an EMT.   Nick is our ship’s Doctor.  He’s an ER doc from New York and is on from Bali to Reunion, where he’ll be leaving a little early but I understand there is a new doc coming aboard.  He’s sailed in some Schooners before but never in a square rigged ship.  Billy is an experienced tall ship sailor; however, he is the chief engineer.  He’s sailed on PC before as well as on various other ships.  He’s an American but his wife is from the Netherlands and they live there.  He had to leave for a week, when we were in Bali, to get his Visa for the Netherlands extended.

We also have 2 eight month old female cats, named Suva and Fiji.  I believe that covers everyone.