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Saying Goodbye to Canada Brings Us One Step Closer to Home

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II is likely to be back in the USA tomorrow in Portland Harbor, Maine. Currently she is motoring along in virtually calm wind conditions with little to no sea swell. A beautiful high pressure like day. Tropical Storm Danny has recently been forecast to nearly fall apart…i.e. is forecast to be somewhat smaller than earlier forecasts. This is not a bad thing…eh?

PRIDE got into Lunenburg the day before yesterday…very early in the morning.  With the awesome generosity of locals like the Captain of the Schooner BLUENOSE II, the folks at the Museum of Fisheries and the staff at the office of the Barque PICTON CASTLE, the crew were able to attend to the necessary details of ship care and preparation for eventual departure by lunch time. So they got Wednesday afternoon off in that wonderful pocket of just barely surviving traditional sail-centric activities in this new 21st Century we are experiencing.

Yesterday (Thursday) was spent on more maintenance as I dealt with Canadian Customs, US Customs and determined the best time to get underway considering local weather and the developments of TS Danny. Eventually we got underway in a decent NW breeze and sailed out of Lunenburg and down the Southwestern Shore of Nova Scotia. The goal being to get across the Gulf of Maine quickly, within 48 hours cover the 300 nautical miles to Portland ahead of Danny, and be positioned on the “safe semicircle” side of Danny and located in a safe well protected harbor of Portland as he passes by mid-day Saturday. Since sundown yesterday we have been motoring with little to no wind. At this writing there remains 150 miles to go and it looks like we will be on schedule to be in good shelter for Danny and meet with US Customs in Portland at 1000 hours Saturday…tomorrow.

Then we will have to keep an eye on ole’ Danny. Smaller it may become…but still there are forecasts of 30 knots or more along the coast of Maine for Saturday night into Sunday. It is unclear if there is a dock PRIDE can lay at for those winds. We may have to go to anchor at first when the wind is out of the East. But when it shifts to NW…as is expected…maybe then we can go to a dock and be able to let the crew get ashore for a visit in downtown Portland.

Signed,
Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II