As part of our ongoing 50 Years of Pride series, we’ve been revisiting the remarkable early years of Pride of Baltimore, tracing her launch, her growing reputation, and the many ways she quickly captured the imagination of people at home and abroad. This chapter marks an especially important moment in that story.
By 1984, Pride of Baltimore had already exceeded every expectation set at her launch. She had logged more than 120,000 miles and welcomed thousands of visitors aboard, serving not only as a sailing vessel but as a floating ambassador for the city and the state of Maryland. As Barbara Bozzuto reflects in Sailing with Pride, the vessel’s contributions had far surpassed what her creators could have imagined.
Still, her most ambitious chapter was yet to come.
In the spring of 1985, Pride of Baltimore set out on a voyage that would mark a historic first—becoming the first vessel to tour Europe as an official representative of an American city, “she earned diplomatic and economic entrees that added a nw dimension to her mission. Nation called upon nation to share educational and maritime backgrounds, state officials issued formal proclamations of hospitality, and businessmen gathered on Pride‘s decks for ceremonies and receptions.” — Barbara Bozzuto, Sailing with Pride
On March 31, 1985, Pride departed Baltimore with a ceremony befitting the moment. A musket salute rang out from Federal Hill, and a city fireboat sent streams of water skyward in tribute as she began her transatlantic passage. Ahead lay a demanding itinerary: ports in ten countries, stretching from Baltimore, Ireland, to Oslo, Norway, to Gdynia, Poland. Along the way, she would sail in company with renowned European tall ships such as England’s Winston Churchill and Sweden’s Falken, joining an international fleet bound by tradition and seamanship.
After a necessary logistics stop in the Azores, Pride reached a port that would become something far more meaningful than just another entry in the log.
On May 9, 1985, she anchored in Baltimore, Ireland.
“With a grand feeling of welcome, Pride and her crew anchor down in what one might call a home away from home,” Captain Jan Miles recorded in the ship’s log.
Nestled in the rugged beauty of West Cork along Ireland’s southern coast, Baltimore proved to be exactly that. From the moment of arrival, the crew was embraced by the local community. They were hosted at the Baltimore Hotel, treated to an evening of celebration that carried from pub to pub, and welcomed into the Baltimore Sailing Club. The following day brought a friendly rugby match—a fitting exchange of culture, camaraderie, and good humor.
This extraordinary visit did not happen by chance. It was made possible through the efforts of Gerald O’Flynn, Commodore of the Baltimore Sailing Club, whose connections—supported by ties between Allied Irish Bank and a recently acquired bank in Baltimore, Maryland, helped bring the two Baltimores together.
What began as a port visit quickly became something deeper.
Reflecting on their departure, Captain Miles captured the sentiment shared by all aboard:
“Our time in Baltimore, Ireland, may have been happily and fruitfully exhausting, but it seems to us all that it was only yesterday we arrived, and now we must leave some dear friends.”
That first meeting laid the foundation for a lasting bond between Pride of Baltimore and Baltimore, Ireland—one that would continue to grow in the years to come.
From Ireland, Pride would carry on to Cork, then onward to England and into the North Sea, continuing her role as an ambassador across Europe. But those stories are best saved for another chapter.
Since her launch in 1988, Pride of Baltimore II has called on Baltimore, Ireland during each European voyage, returning again and again to what has truly become a home away from home. An image of the ship graces the town’s website, and a broken jibboom from Pride II is built into the Baltimore Sailing Club—but more enduring than any symbol are the lifelong relationships formed, and the unmatched hospitality that has become legend among Pride crew and alumni.
