39-year-old Footscray local Jonathan Choong is on the adventure of a lifetime.
Currently, he is sailing across the Indian Ocean as a crew member of the tall ship Picton Castle, on one of the longest stretches at sea in this whole world circumnavigation voyage – about four weeks without sight of land
Jonathan is standing watches, taking his turn steering the ship at the big teak wheel, standing forward lookout, handling lines and sails, scrubbing the decks, helping the cook in the galley, sanding and painting, and doing all the tasks it takes to keep a 179-foot three-masted sailing ship making way in the right direction.
Of the 39 crew members currently aboard, ten are professional sailors and 29 are trainee crew members.
Trainees don’t need to have any sailing experience; they learn from the professionals as they go.
After this passage across the Indian Ocean, Picton Castle will sail for Cape Town, South Africa, then to Namibia, St.
Helena, Grenada, Carriacou, Martinique, Antigua, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and Bermuda before returning to Lunenburg in July 2024 to complete the circle around the globe.
Trainee berths are still available for the final leg of the voyage which begins in Cape Town, South Africa on February 22 and runs until the ship returns to Lunenburg on July 13.
After a short stay in Lunenburg, Picton Castle will sail around the world again, but on a different route, starting in October 2024.
The ship’s next voyage includes many more extended passages at sea, including around both the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn.
