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world 's suppl y of steel moto r vessels is obv iously younger and in better condition than most ex isting sailing sh ip hulls. A second less obvious reason, iro nicall y, is that most younger sailing hull s, built in the waning years of sail , had to carry as much cargo with as few crew as poss ible. T hi s ruled out long, tapering elegant fas t-sa iling hull s and favored squared-off fo rm s, very fu ll and bluff below the waterline, to accommodate max imum cargo. Strangely eno ugh, it was a lso . market forces, operating in a differe nt direction, that gave Picton Castle an excell e nt hull fo r a sailing ship. Originally extreme ly underpowered (by a 9 1 hp steam pl ant) she needed a PHOTOS.: JOSE PH M. STAN FORD streamlined underwater hull to squeak out every knot from her engine. Cargo space was not so crucial as speed and fuel economy, since she was designed fo r fi shing. T he resul t is a hull that, below the waterline, resembles that of a medium cl ipper, with the fam o us seaworthiness and stability of a North Sea traw ler. Choos ing an o ld vesse l also introduces an hi storical dimension to the proj ect, making her story multi-l ayered . Picton Castle was one of five sister ships built in Selby, England, in 1928 fo r Consolidated Fi sheries of G rimsby. She fished until September 1939 when she was converted to an anned minesweeper for the Royal Navy . One of many such traw lers conve rted fo r wartime service, she was nonethe less immediately recognized as HMS Picton Castle by an old Royal Navy sail or, when her new crew bro ught her into Falmouth last March, some 50 years later. Top . MIV Picton Castle ar Pier 15 , March 1995. Ahove , her crew' s quarters. Acco rding to the ex-navy m en the crew met there, she had ass isted in the raid on Saint Nazai re in and Eng land , she crossed the Atl anti c to Long Is land Sound. March 1942- pres umabl y clearing mines from the approac hes Today, she rests at her temporary home at South Street to the Lo ire estuary to make way for a small fl eet of launc hes Seaport's Pier 15 . Next it will be on to Lunenberg, Nova Scoti a, carryin g Briti sh commandoes. T hat raid succeeded in destroy- where all the spars and standing rigging will be installed, the bow ing the " Forme Ecl use," the onl y A tl antic dock avail able to the conversion completed (to give herthe proper profile fo r a sailing Ge1mans large enough to accommodate the battleship Tirpitz- vessel), and the pilot house removed. effecti vely keeping the Tirpitz in exile in the fj ords of Norway Thi s parti al conversion is expected to take up to six months. where she was ul timate ly dealt her death-bl ow by 12,000- It will put Picton Castle in rough sailing conditi on, at whi ch stage she can begin a series of shake-down cru ises to generate pound RAF bom bs . Tom Gamble, who ac tuall y served on HMS Picton Cas tle, interest, pu blici ty and revenue. A nother six months will then to ld the new owners how she came to be known as the be spent com pleting the conve rsion and fin al preparati ons fo r " liberator of Norway ." After developing engine tro uble on a her first ro und-the-world voyage. minesweeping mi ssion, she put in to Bergen and thus became * * * * * the first Alli ed naval vessel seen there si nce the German fo rces Economic forces in history gave us the ocean-going squarepulled out. The tow n fat hers came aboard , shook the skipper's rigged sailing ship. When our immediate need for it had passed, hand , and welcomed the little ship as "Freser av Norge"- the we almost threw it away. Fortunately, there were those who saw a value in these vessels which transcended their ability to move liberator of Norway. After the war, she promptly returned to Conso lidated cargo, and the ir numbers have steadil y grown. The Picton Castle Fisheries. Then in 1955 she was rebuilt, converted to diese l, project simply re-expresses the value of square-ri g voyag ing in and sold to Norwegians, contin uing her fis hing career off thei r a different economic context, in which it appeals to va lues deeper coast. S he ended her career freighting, primarily along the than economic necess ity or convenience. The project relies on coast of Norway . She had been laid up fo r a year when her new the be lief that there will always be people willing to work for owners fo und her. the freedom not to be coddled and pass ive ly entertained, but to Despite her bedraggled appearance, she was in remarkab ly test themselves-people seeking experi ences with some depth , good shape. After overh auls and repairs in No rway, Denmark that requi re hard work and commitmen t. .t SEA HI STOR Y, SPRI NG 1995
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