Former trawler returns home from long voyage

10:32am Thursday 18th September 2008

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The most travelled tall ship afloat today and star of a Sky TV series returns to Milford Haven on Saturday almost 80 years after she left.

The Picton Castle is now a three-mast barque and works out of Lunenburg in Nova Scotia, but originally was a Castle class trawler and fished from Milford Haven before the Second World War.

She was then requisitioned as a minesweeper during the war, helping to guard the Thames.

She also took part in the Dunkirk evacuation and helped clear the mines surrounding Norway where she is still hailed as the ‘Liberator of Norway.’ Today she is representing the Sail Training Association of America.

Milford Haven Post Authority (MHPA) heritage officer, Richard James, said: “This is not a huge tall ship, she is an obvious conversion from her original trawling days, however her history and voyages are second to none and her visit to Milford is being seen as a return to her home almost 80 years after she left.”

She has sailed around the world four times and is said to be the most travelled tall ship afloat today.

She is also the star of the Sky TV series ‘Tall Ship Chronicles’.

Mr James added: “MHPA and Celtic Maritime Connections are delighted to see the Picton Castle coming into the port.

“We regard it as of great historical interest as well as a celebration of the ship’s modern day frame.

“There are some among Milford Haven’s elders that will remember her as a humble trawler battling the seas to bring home the fish and to earn a living for the families of her crew.”

The ship is 179 foot long and carries 12,450 square foot of sail on her masts.

The ship will be docked in the town for four days, and the public will be able to view her from Saturday.