With its flag at half-mast, the Picton Castle is continuing its voyage south across Atlantic waters after its captain and crew took a few days of rest after the death of shipmate Laura Gainey.
With the preliminary investigation beginning, the decision to stay the course toward the first port of call in Grenada came after an overwhelming number of condolence letters persuaded captain Daniel Moreland that it's what Ms. Gainey would have wanted.
"All are urging the Picton Castle to sail onward and she will. . . . [What happened]is horrific and my worst nightmare come true, but seafarers must carry on," he said yesterday.
The 25-year-old daughter of Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey was swept into the ocean by a large wave on Dec. 8 while aboard the tall ship, which had just begun its fourth six-month voyage around the world.
Search efforts lasted for days because she went overboard in the Gulf Stream, a mid-ocean current known for its warm temperatures. But the search was called off Tuesday and Ms. Gainey is now presumed dead.
Captain Moreland, who is in Lunenburg, N.S., has been communicating with ship master Michael Vogelsgesang daily. The crew held a small memorial in honour of Ms. Gainey, as is traditional, after search efforts ended on Tuesday and then turned south under sail.
He described the mood aboard the tall ship as tired, but improving. And while some crew members may feel badly continuing the voyage without one of their own, captain Moreland said there's little else they can do.
"Being in the North Atlantic with winter approaching, heading south still makes all the sense it ever did. . . . I am sure feelings vary with the individual, but we all have little choice but to cope."
Captain Moreland said he hopes the investigation into Ms. Gainey's death launched by the Cook Islands, the small nation of islands northeast of New Zealand where the Picton Castle is registered, brings to light details of how the skilled mariner was swept overboard, and makes recommendations on how incidents like this can be prevented.
The lead investigator of the probe, whom captain Moreland describes as "a very qualified individual," has more than 35 years of experience with the U.S. Naval Reserves.
Captain Andrew Scheer began his career with the reserves aboard a destroyer ship in Vietnam and participated in the 1968 Tet offensive -- the Communists' devastating attack on South Vietnam -- that turned public opinion in the United States against the war effort and is synonymous with American retreat and defeat.
Since retiring from the reserves in 2002, he has been training mariners both ashore and on ships about vessel safety and conducting frequent safety audits and inspections.