In our recent blogs, we’ve shared the story of the call from the people of Maryland to build a new Pride of Baltimore, one that would sail for Maryland and carry Baltimore’s story to ports around the world. This week, we turn our attention to the people who made that vision a reality.
Building Pride of Baltimore II took many hands. This blog recognizes the shipwrights and craftsmen who helped bring her to life.
And this is only part of her story. In a future blog we’ll turn our attention to another important group: the hundreds of people who have sailed as crew and supported the ship as staff over the past 39 sailing seasons. What follows comes from Thomas Gillmer’s Pride of Baltimore: The Story of the Baltimore Clippers, Tom Waldron’s Pride of the Sea, and Greg Pease’s Sailing with Pride. These accounts help tell the story of how Pride of Baltimore II went from an idea embraced by the people of Maryland to a ship built by many skilled hands.
The Wood That Built Pride II
For the wood and wooden boat enthusiasts among us, the story of building Pride of Baltimore II begins long before the first frame was assembled. Selecting the right timber was a critical part of the project.
For a fascinating look at that process, check out “Building PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II: Wood Procurement Trip,” by shipwright Gary “LeRoy” Surosky of Peregrine Construction Group, LLC. His account offers a firsthand look at the journey to find the timber that would become part of Pride II.
Building Pride of Baltimore II
Momentum to build a new Pride began building in late summer 1986. With the people of Maryland rallying behind the idea of a new ship, the team needed to turn that vision into reality. Thomas Gillmer was named designer and supervising architect, Peter Boudreau was selected as master shipwright and builder, and Gail Shawe was appointed executive director, a position she had held with the original Pride and agreed to continue.
The new vessel was designed to be larger than her predecessor, licensed by the Coast Guard to carry passengers, and capable of a greater cruising radius under both sail and power. Like the original Pride, she would be a Baltimore Clipper. Her stated purpose was clear: to carry on and extend the highly successful mission of her predecessor.
By the spring of 1987, the plans were becoming a ship. On a cool day in May, nearly 500 people gathered in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor to witness the keel-laying ceremony for Pride of Baltimore II. Baltimore had rallied around the construction of a new ship, with then-Mayor Clarence “Du” Burns declaring Pride II “the city’s ship … that belongs to the people of the city. It shows our roots, our accomplishments and our sense of things yet to be done.”
It was quite a celebration. Press, politicians, board members, corporate sponsors, and former Pride crew traveled from as far away as Maine. The Danmark and schooner New Way were also on hand. Board members, sponsors, and Mayor Burns drove the first drifts into the blocking as champagne flowed, while three enormous yellow signs hung from the shed proclaiming: “PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II, from the people of Maryland to the people of the world.”
Just five days later, on May 8, the first frame was assembled. Pride II’s frames were built from two layers of wood, joined with silicon bronze bolts, split rings, and wooden trunnels. The construction crew quickly settled into their roles: Lester welding, Wayne cutting bronze, Scott and Sugar making patterns and selecting timber, Dan, Bill, Bob, and Leroy cutting and assembling frames, Steve working on the rudder, and Pete and Susan lofting.
Captains
G. Peter Boudreau
Jan C. Miles
Designer
Thomas C. Gillmer
Builder
G. Peter Boudreau
Shipwrights
Nancy Bernstein
Martha (Molly) Bolster
Robert Brittain
Wayne Burgemeister
Christopher (Kaboobie) Burtis
John (Sugar) Flanagan
Scott (Scooter) Gifford
Randy Hanford
William Heckert
Susan Huesman
Michael Kozma
Stephen Marks
Michael Mefferd
Paul Powichroski
Alan Richter
Daniel Roeder
Scott S. Sheads
Mary (Muffet) Staley
Gary (LeRoy) Surosky
Daniel Thormann
Lester Twigg
Mark E. Welling
Robert Whalen
Sailmaker
Nathaniel S. Wilson
Since her launch in 1988, Pride of Baltimore II has sailed more than 300,000 nautical miles, visiting more than 200 ports in over 40 countries across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Her voyages have taken her from Odesa, Ukraine, to Osaka, Japan, carrying Baltimore’s story around the world.
Along the way, Captain Jan Miles remained with the organization, becoming one of the important links between the original Pride of Baltimore and Pride II. Today, he serves as Senior Captain and Executive Director of Pride of Baltimore, Inc., having spent decades helping carry the ship’s mission forward.
His connection to Pride is also a reminder that the people who became part of her story were not limited to her crew. In 1997, Maryland teacher Leslie Bridgett joined the ship as the first Christa McAuliffe Fellow selected for an adventure at sea, sailing aboard Pride II to Asia while documenting the voyage for students back home. It was a unique chapter in the ship’s history, one that connected her mission as Maryland’s sailing ambassador with education and young people around the world. Leslie and Jan would eventually marry, adding another remarkable chapter to the Pride II story.
Leslie has since shared that extraordinary journey in a multi-part series, “To Asia with PRIDE, an adventure story,” which we invite you to read as part of the story of the many people whose lives have been touched by Pride II.
Nearly four decades after those first frames were assembled, the work of those shipwrights continues to sail. Their creation has carried generations of crew, welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors, and served as Maryland’s sailing ambassador around the world.
Bibliography:
Gillmer, Thomas C. Pride of Baltimore: The Story of the Baltimore Clippers, 1800–1990. Camden, ME: International Marine, 1992
Pease, Greg Sailing with Pride. C. A. Baumgartner Publishing, Baltimore, MD 1990
Waldron, Tom. Pride of the Sea. Citadel Press, New York, NY, 2000
