Picton Castle (ship)

For the castle, see Picton Castle.

The barque Picton Castle anchored off of Carriacou in 2009.
History
Cook Islands
NamePicton Castle
NamesakePicton Castle
Port of registryCook Islands
Completed1928
HomeportLunenburg (unofficial)
Identification
StatusActive
General characteristics As sailing ship
TypeBarque
Length179 feet (55 m)
Propulsion690 hp diesel engine
Sail plan
  • Three-masted barque
  • Sail area: 12,450 square feet (1,160 m2)
Crew12 professional crew, up to 40 trainees

Picton Castle is a tall ship used for deep-ocean sail training and long distance education voyages. The ship was the subject of the television series Tall Ship Chronicles which documented her second voyage around the world in 2001. The ship has carried out seven world voyages to date - completing the seventh one in 2019. While flagged in the Cook Islands, the ship's unofficial home port is Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

In December 2006 a crew member, Laura Gainey, was swept overboard from the ship in the Atlantic Ocean and presumed drowned.[1] The death was investigated by the Cook Islands government,[2] which concluded that the death was accidental. A subsequent investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada found that a lack of safety equipment and the ships' master's decision to sail with an inexperienced and untrained crew contributed to the death.[3][4]

  1. ^ "Picton Castle ends search for Gainey". CBC. 12 December 2006. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Cook Islands to probe Laura Gainey death". CBC. 15 March 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  3. ^ Michael Tutton (29 October 2008). "Report questions decisions leading to Laura Gainey's death". The Star. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  4. ^ "Canadiens GM vindicated by TSB report on daughter's sea death". CBC. 30 October 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2020.