PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II is tucked in for a long winter’s nap, so to speak. With spars, sails, rigging, guns, safety and accommodation gear all off-loaded, she seems large and lonely. Under the opaque shrink-wrap cover, her deck is uninterrupted by clutter, while below PRIDE II – her bunks cleared out, her shelves stripped bare – is like an empty house. This is quite a switch from the hustle and bustle of 2012, when over 30,000 dockside visitors were drawn aboard by her rakish profile, 1,500 enthusiasts adventured out on day sails, and hundreds of students learned about the dramatic innovation PRIDE II’s ancestors represented.
We at Pride, Inc. are ecstatic that PRIDE II had such a prominent role in this year’s Bicentennial events. But, borrowing a phrase from the musket-technology of 1812, we don’t intend this focus to be a “flash in the pan.” Instead, we are committed to ensuring the exposure and fanfare PRIDE II receives during these historical anniversaries is not a peak, or even a plateau, but a step towards an increased presence and wider recognition in both the international maritime community, and to the family of PRIDE supporters – across the country, across the globe, and especially in our own home port of Baltimore. In fact, in 2013 Pride, Inc. will be taking PRIDE to the next generation like never before through new and dynamic underway educational programming focused on the physics of her unique design.
These are trying times. Everywhere we see PRIDE II’s sister ships tied up, not operating, or even for sale. No longer funded in any part by the State of Maryland, and now owned fully by Pride, Inc., PRIDE II has kept above water largely due to the wise investing and future-planning decisions made by Pride, Inc.’s Board of Directors. Our plan for a continuing future includes you –YOU sailing aboard PRIDE II, YOU helping to further her 35-year legacy far and wide, and YOU contributing to her continuing success in sharing the “History of Innovation.”
In this season of giving, we ask that you consider a donation to Pride of Baltimore II’s educational programming and operations. Consider this donation an investment, an investment that offers inspiration as its return. PRIDE II has inspired you, help us continue to inspire students and citizens across all the world’s oceans. With your help we mean to make this inspiration lasting, ingrained, and a fact of life for her proud home port of Baltimore, the great United States she represents, and the maritime community she strives to exemplify.
Thank you in advance for your support. Wishing you a happy, healthy and safe holiday season.
With great pride,
Captain Jamie Trost and Captain Jan Miles, Acting Executive Director
A special gift, whether $25 or $100 or more, will help Pride of Baltimore II maintain her beauty and keep sailing the globe telling the tale of America’s maritime history and the natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay.
To donate by mail, please make checks payable to “Pride of Baltimore, Inc.” and mail to:
Pride of Baltimore, Inc.
1801 S. Clinton St., Suite 250
Baltimore, MD 21224
All donations to Pride of Baltimore, Inc. a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.