Big Brother is Watching…

Canada has a system of ship reporting requirements for vessels vessels than PRIDE that for reasons I cannot fathom is being applied to PRIDE. Since 1981 I have been sailing around Eastern Canada, either going into the St. Lawrence River or exiting it on average every 3 years. Since 1989 I have been doing these trips with PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II.  At no time has this big ship reporting system been asked of PRIDE…except this time.  No one has provided an explanation and I am not going to ask. I am taking the position that the next time we depart port, if I am not told to report in…I will not ask if we should be reporting in…and see what happens.

Meanwhile, making our way around Gaspe (we just went past Cap des Rosiers marked by its proud tall whiteness with red painted band near the top light house) in August is proving to be a benign experience…so far.  For all the years that I have passed by Gaspe all but this trip have been made in the spring months of May or June or in fall during September. During those seasons the weather has been pretty brisk and fresh…some times against us and sometimes with us…but not often calm or benign. Right now it is next to completely calm as we motor along close to the Gaspe shoreline to try and beat the contrary St. Lawrence River current on its way to the Atlantic.  It gives us a good look at the Gaspe topography, its greenness with local homes scattered along the shore, and we can watch the vehicles go by along the only road that makes its way around the peninsula.

We are not alone as we motor along with the company of the Canadian Brigantine FAIRE JEANNE from Ottawa. She does not normally come to the Canadian Maritimes.  Today both vessels have created a training ship parade of sail along the north shore of Gaspe. Both vessels are motoring but both vessels have as much sail up as possible while not causing us to slow down. I hope we are putting on a nice show for the Sunday drivers!

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

Message from a Mate

Mid Day Local August 3, 2009

We bade farewell to Pugwash, Nova Scotia early yesterday morning, carrying a full boatload of locals to Summerside, PEI. What began as a quiet and calm motor sail culminated in a dramatic pass under full sail by the downtown pier, and a crisp striking of sail in front of the assembled crowd. After debarking all guests, we were off again, setting all sail and heaving a communal sigh as we pointed PRIDE towards Gaspe. Now it’s just us, with our Executive Director Linda Christenson aboard, and fellow sailor Christina Schallenberg, most recently from the Schooner ROSEWAY. Although leaving Pugwash meant saying goodbye to all our friends aboard the other vessels, it’s just as good to know that our lady is back on her own mission now. And when she sails into Gaspe tomorrow, you can bet that heads will be turning and eyes will be fixed on PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II.

Signed,
Matt Oates, 2nd Mate aboard Pride of Baltimore II

Pugwash and Beyond with PRIDE II

Day sails with enthusiastic Pugwashers aboard….Salt mine tours for the crews…Ship tours for the public who wait in line to climb very steep gangways due to significant tidal rise and fall…Receptions with speeches by local area dignitaries…And one coffee house where the internet can be found. Pugwash may be small but lacks nothing for enthusiasm for their first multi-vessel tall ship festival.

Pugwash is home to a growing retirement population and also the first effort to control the spread of nuclear proliferation by leading world scientists. That effort has morphed into a regular gathering of world leaders getting together to discuss world matters. 

Pugwash was the last multi-vessel tall ship festival port in a string of five Nova Scotian marine festivals over a period of 14 days starting with Halifax. The tour of the Canadian Salt Company Mine down some 1,100 feet into the ground was the highlight of Pugwash for some crew.  Inoted howwever, how the crews of ALL the vessels got very dressed up for the final crew party of this Nova Scotian tall ship series, which was kindly hosted by PICTON CASTLE. The crew of PRIDE provided some live entertainment in the form of a string band they have put together assisted on the last night of the Nova Scotian festivals by PICTON CASTLE’s first mate.

Now all of the vessels are off on their solitary missions. PRIDE is on her way toward the town of Gaspe on the eastern tip of the Gaspe Peninsula in the Province of Quebec. Back in 1534, French explorer Jacques Cartier made his first landfall in North America here at the beginning of his first exploration of what is now Quebec Province and the eastern end of Ontario Province. He made three separate explorations of Eastern North America and is reputed to have kept all of his explorers alive and never lost a vessel save for an outbreak of scurvy in a winter camp located in what is now Quebec City. PRIDE is making a stop in the town of Gaspe to help celebrate 475 years since Jacques Cartier first landed. Some of PRIDE’s crew are polishing up their spoken French.

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

Motor, Motor, Motor

Have to keep the schedule, so it’s MOTOR, MOTOR, MOTOR. Fortunately, the reason for motoring is no wind. But Environment Canada, the Canadian Federal department responsible for analyzing and forecasting weather for mariners (and others), promises some significant wind very soon. So, we are in a small hurry to get along the route to Pictou as far as possible before that wind arrives, as it promises to be somewhat a contrary wind with some strength.

Currently PRIDE II is on the west side of Cape Breton Island, about midway between the north and south ends of that nearly straight western shore of the island. Cape Breton has some pretty high elevations right close to shore so in daylight it depicts some wonderful topography. At night when motoring pretty closely along the shore Cape Breton merely looms over us with its mass of darkness, a darkness that is at odds with much of the coast that PRIDE II sails along in North America, considering the abundance of electric lights we usually see. But all along the north end of Cape Breton there are no lights because there are no people residing there. Such a darkness can bring one back to the days of European exploration and what it must have felt like coming upon a land with no lights, wondering if there was a local population and what they might be like.

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II is midway through an itinerary of four marine festivals organized in what has been termed “outer ports”; all are within Nova Scotia. The two ports recently visited, Port Hawkesbury and Sydney, are active commercial ports, with Sydney being associated with a city center, while Port Hawkesbury is more a rural center. Each has been strong in its effort to provide hospitality to the visiting vessel crews. While the hospitality is very much appreciated, considering that most of the vessels are pretty small, hence with small crews, it has been hard for some of the crews to both provide safety, education and crowd control aboard their vessel with the visiting public AND attend the various lunches, dinners, shore side bus tours or anything else being offered. I hope the hosts understand this conflict of obligations.

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

Bound for Sydney, NS

Departing Port Hawkesbury, NS
Bound for Sydney, NS
45Degrees 27.7 minutes North X 060Degrees 59.4 minutes West

The month continues to speed by us as we transition out of the “large festival” mode and get to savor some smaller, quieter towns around Nova Scotia and Quebec. As I write, we’re pushing out of Chedabucto Bay, bound for Sydney, NS. Our last stop of Port Hawkesbury showed us a small town filled with infinitely kind and polite people. I’m sure they won’t be a singular case as we make our way first east to the bigger town of Sydney then west to the smaller towns of Pictou, Pugwash then north to Gaspe and finally west again to big city of Montreal!

Signed,
Matt Oates, 2nd Mate aboard Pride of Baltimore II