PRIDE II Crew Alumni Search

Pride of Baltimore, Inc. crew members are responsible for safely operating and preserving our beautiful ship, learning and teaching traditional practices of seamanship, educating our youth on the living history of the Chesapeake Bay, and helping to inspire thousands of people each year.

Crew Alumni of our ship are members of a small, nationally spread, close-knit group of sailors that share a love of the sea, respect for the tall ship profession, and great PRIDE in our 1812-era Privateer.  They are PRIDE family, many whom over time have gone their own ways, and lost touch.

Over the last few years Pride, Inc. have seen an increase in inquiries from PRIDE alumni crew members, looking to get involved and reconnect with past shipmates.

In response, and thanks to the beauty of social media, we’ve created a members-only, Pride of Baltimore, Inc. Crew Alumni Group on Facebook.  There we hope past and present crew members will connect, share memories, network, stay informed, receive “PRIDE Perks” and show their continued support for Pride of Baltimore II.  In time, members will also be recognized on a future “Alumni” section of our www.pride2.org webpage.

If you are interested in joining the Pride of Baltimore, Inc. Crew Alumni Group, please send an email entitled: “PRIDE Alumni” to Kate Welsh, Public Relations and Marketing Manager at kate@pride2.org, and include the following information:

Full Name

Years employed by Pride of Baltimore, Inc.

Positions Held (Deckhand, Bosun, Cook, Engineer, etc.)

Mailing Address

Email Address

Phone Number

Please help us reconnect with our family! We appreciate your support and efforts in identifying and reaching out to past crew members.  Together we can do this!

Nantucket Bound

The weather is light & the sea slight. Motoring along at around 6.5-7.0 knots, PRIDE is making her way south from Bath, Maine on the Kennebec River and her weekend visit at the Maine Maritime Museum toward the Massachusetts island of Nantucket, near Cape Cod. Her route is through the western side of the Gulf of Maine and along the outside of “The Cod”…to others…The Cape. This route will pass nearby or over such underwater locations as PASTURE, POLLOCK HUB, DOGGETT RIDGE, SAGADAHOC, MISTAKEN GROUND, PLATT’S BANK, JEFFREYS LEDGE, TILLIES BANK, WILDCAT KNOLL, MURAY BASIN and of course STELLWAGEN BANK, “summer feeding home” for whale. These underwater names come from fishing history. Famous fish like Cod Fish.

We got underway a day late due to the weather. In this instance light & dry weather. Yesterday the crew worked on cosmetics…namely painting the lower third of the above water hull…the lower topsides. (The upper topsides had been attended to during the “lay day” time scheduled last week in Portland.) Other cosmetic work on deck was also done. Like patch varnishing, de-rust-streaking and patch painting. Outside in the Gulf of Maine wind was forecast to be stronger than today while promising light conditions for today. So we took advantage of smooth river water and dry conditions yesterday to get a lot of near the waterline painting on the hull done.

Today as PRIDE motors along in light winds and relatively smooth sea each of the watches in turn are attending to additional on deck cosmetics as they steer PRIDE along. What is all the effort for cosmetics? True, we are always attending to maintenance all season long. The focus we have right now is the Classic Yacht Regatta PRIDE will be a part of in Nantucket this week and coming weekend. Unlike most of the attending yachts, PRIDE will have been working hard all sailing season since early April traveling from as far south as Savannah to as far northeast as Halifax, hosting thousands of visitors nearly every weekend, as well as sailing and racing distances between ports. The sailing and the visitors take a toll on PRIDE’s paint and varnish. While we generally attend to cosmetics as needed all season long, our pride drives us to see if we can get PRIDE looking her best “now”, when she will be amongst the classiest vessels yachting provides. Vessels that for the most part do not welcome visitors by the thousands while also sailing thousands of miles.

Besides, this will also be PRIDE’s first visit to Nantucket in decades and many Marylanders take summer holiday there. We want them to be as proud of their PRIDE as we and many others are in all the ports she has visited these 24 years.

Jan C. Miles, Captain
Acting Executive Director

Hats off to Halifax, Eagle Steals our Broom, Tattooed at the Citadel and What we do “When No One’s Looking."

25 July 2012
Pos: Alongside the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, Lunenburg Nova Scotia
Wx: North Force 1, 5/8 Stratus

After an adventurous sail to windward along the Nova Scotian coast, Pride of Baltimore II is snug in the quintessentially Canadian Maritime Seaport of Lunenburg. Arriving in town along with tops’l schooners Lynx, Unicorn and Amistad we joined Larinda, Providence and Roseway for the second port of Tall Ships Nova Scotia.

Known around the fleet for its hospitality, Lunenburg follows hot on the heels of a splendid stay in bustling Halifax. From our grandstanding arrival on Tuesday, through the spectacle of an opening ceremony highlighted with as much Navy Brass as any OpSail occasion, to impressive crew events at the imposing Citadel, Halifax hosted us well. We hope the 8,900 visitors to Pride II feel we returned the favor.

As final destination in the Tall Ships Challenge series, Halifax hosted the awards ceremony for races three and four. Pride II was first again for the “Etch-a-Sketch” event of Race Three, but the US Coast Guard Barque Eagle edged us out in the “Sprint to Halifax.” As a time-trial, this fourth race was based on the corrected average speeds of the vessels over an eight-hour period. Eagle’s was .24 knots faster than Pride II’s. With our own uncorrected average being 10.23 knots, there isn’t much we could have done to push Pride II harder, but Eagle’s strategy was to wait for the breeze to build before starting their run. So no broom for a clean sweep of the series by Pride II – well done and well raced, Eagle!

Also, well done to all regiments and bands who performed the 1812 Military Tattoo at Halifax’s Citadel on Sunday night. A tour de force of fifes, drums, bagpipes and historic weapons demonstrations celebrated Canada’s rich history and highlighted the 198 years of peace and friendship between our nations. Stealing the show were the 78th Highlanders, who Pride II had the pleasure of hosting for a reception earlier in the weekend. Following their example, we did our best to close out Monday’s Parade of Sail in style as we brought up the rear of 21 ship procession around Halifax Harbour.

Not that putting on a show is new territory for Pride II. For 24 years, we’ve been striving not just to impress dockside visitors with the sleek beauty of the ship, but to inspire and awe on-lookers from shore by highlighting the characteristic nimble elegance of the Baltimore Privateers she so thoroughly represents.

Our arrival and departure from Halifax are prime examples – outbound, we carried easy sail to stay at the required parade speed of five knots until we made the final run along the downtown waterfront and cracked on the mains’l and jib to charge out to sea. But on arrival day, with the Harbour mostly to ourselves, we barreled in under all plain sail, made a few passes by downtown at seven knots, then in a barrage of four guns took in sail and rounded up close enough to our wharf to pass lines.

We hoped to impress, and the gathered crowd on the pier seemed to confirm it. In fact, one onlooker even said “Good show. But what do you guys do when no one’s looking, you still use the sails?”

The only answer I could give was this: “When no one’s looking? That’s when we do all the REALLY cool stuff.”

Sounds glib, but it’s true. Our extended experiment in live action nautical archeology is on-going. Thrashing our way out of Halifax, we noticed a slight tear in the lower section of our fores’l, so we reefed it to contain the damaged portion and sailed on, beating our way out to sea as if it were 1812, and at the end of the day, sailing on the anchor at 23:45 in Rose Bay, eight miles from Lunenburg. Too bad that no one could see us, because handling 8000 square feet of sail in the pitch dark and rounding up safely to drop the hook someplace we’d never seen before was a particularly handy piece of seamanship by the crew.

All best,
Captain Jamie Trost and the smart sailing Crew of Pride of Baltimore II

Farewell Newport, Hello Lady ~ LADY MARYLAND, that is

9 July 2012
Pos: 41°33.1’N x 070°47.8’ W
Wx: South Force 4, 2/8 Cirrus, 3/8 Stratus
Pride of Baltimore II sailing at 6.6 knots toward the Cape Cod Canal under all Plain Sail and T’Gallant.

Pride of Baltimore II has left the hustle and bustle of a busy and successful festival in Newport, Rhode Island astern and is now at sea once more. After arriving in grand style on Thursday 5 July, we opened for tours Friday and hosted nearly 9,000 visitors to the ship in a short three days. Busy, but not too busy for the crew to experience the depth and breadth of sailing, history, and sailing history of Newport. As hometown of War of 1812 hero Oliver Hazard Perry, victor of the Battle of Lake Erie, Newport has strong 1812 connections, and those are especially poignant to me, as Perry made his mark in my home waters of Lake Erie, and I grew up in the shadow of his legend in Erie, PA. Today, Tall Ships America, co-host of the festival with Ocean State Tall Ships fittingly has their offices in Perry’s home.

Modern Newport has its mind clearly focused on modern yachting, but its history is apparent on every block, and from every era. The imposing New York Yacht Club stands proud at the harbor entrance and serves as a constant reminder of the grand era of America’s Cup Racing, and layers upon layers of historic and recent racing memorabilia can be found in the shops along America’s Cup Way and Thames Street.

Our fleet of traditional sail made it’s own show today, Parading along the East Shore of Narragansett Bay from Castle Hill to the Newport Naval Station and back to sea. Fourteen ships in all, and when many back at our end of the Parade ducked back into Newport to disembark passengers or simply call it a day, Pride II was left alone to bring up the rear. No longer bound to the Parade speed, we quit motor sailing and ghosted out the Bay with aid from an ebb tide. Then a Southerly shift had us scrambling to trim sail and Pride II was alive again, beating to windward across a calm sea as Baltimore Schooners were made to do. And as if drawn by the Chesapeake like conditions, our little sister, Lady Maryland, also two weeks out from Baltimore, appeared to the southwest.

It would be un-neighborly, we thought, not to sail a board back to the West and say hello. The breeze would hold, Pride II was fast enough to make up a bit of time, especially time spent to hail old shipmates and friends. So we tacked away from our rhumbline and for a quarter of an hour had a “gam,” a chance meeting of ships on the open water. Lady Maryland reached down from windward and we put Pride II’s fore tops’l and t’gallant aback, effectively throwing the brakes on, to let her pass under our stern and to Leeward. We exchanged salutes, then braced up and slid along with her. Eager students gazed out over her rail at us while our guest crew took a curious look at this “other” Baltimore Schooner.

Among the crews of both ships, thick with old bonds, not much was said. Not much needed to be. We’d weathered squalls and sailed through gales together, froze our way through winter maintenance and up-rig with each other. Now, on a sun-speckled afternoon with the breeze running its fingers across the water, all we needed was to share a nod and a knowing smile that told each other all those rainy nights and long cold days were worth this chance to stumble upon each other and show off our ships. In our world of near constant voyaging, that’s enough. We tacked around to get on our way and Lady Maryland sailed on to her anchorage.

Fair winds, friends, we’ll see you back home.

All best,
Captain Jamie Trost and the Crew of Pride of Baltimore II

A Nimble Dance in the Shadow of a Storied Heroine

3 July 2012
Pride of Baltimore II
Pos: Alongside Rowes Wharf, Boston Harbor
Wx: NE F 1, WARM

Today marks Pride of Baltimore II’s fourth day as part of the OpSail Festivities in Boston, home of the world’s most storied square-rigger, USS Constitution. That’s right I said it, Constitution. Fans of HMS Victory, before you take up arms, hear me out. Constitution is more STORIED, because her fame doesn’t arise from a singular engagement or fleet action, but from a string of victories, all of them fought on her own, one of them against two English warships and exactly none of them as part of a line of battle. She embodies American individualism and captures the romantic allure of singularity and isolation on the open sea. Also, unlike Victory’s fame and its inextricable link to Admiral Horatio Nelson’s bold actions and heroic death at Trafalgar, Constitution’s legacy transcends her Captains, even though everyone who was anyone in the early American Navy was in command of her at some stage.

Still not convinced, Victory-ites? Well, while he didn’t sail aboard her during the War of 1812, we’d like to point out that perhaps her most dashing commander was a native of Maryland, Captain Stephen Decatur of Sinepuxent. And Nelson himself declared Decatur’s boarding of the USS Philadelphia “The most bold and daring act of the age.”

And in the presence of this Naval Legend and heroine of 1812, what better thing to do than show off the qualities of Pride II in concert with her sister Privateer Lynx in a series of “Battle Sails.” These mock-engagements, long a staple among the Traditional Sailing ships of the West Coast, have become relatively frequent between Lynx and Pride II in the last two years. The format is simple – board a ship full of passengers each, sail out to designated area, and spend the next hour or so desperately trying to out maneuver each other while blasting away blank rounds from your replica guns, all in the name of fun and living history.

All joking aside, it is an excellent opportunity for people to experience a piece of maritime heritage, to be in the thick of things, feeling and hearing the concussive and near deafening reports of the armaments, waiting through the long anticipation as shots are lined up for the precise moment, tasting the black powder smoke as it lingers between the ships. And for the crews, a chance to exercise their ships figuratively and literally – feinting and dodging these terrifically nimble schooners around each other through nearly countless tacks and wares. Aboard Pride II, a chance to use the guns, which often times are just simply in the way while we sail the living snot out of the ship. The fact that traffic and security concerns have required the whole engagement to take place in a 350 yard by 250 yard box mean that maneuvers are quick and constant.

Of course, there is the burning question each time – “Who won?” Everybody. Nobody. Both Ships. Choosing a winner for a battle sail would be like choosing a winner for a game of Frisbee. Or picking one swimmer out of a synchronized swimming team. Or a single acrobat at Cirque du Soleil. You’re getting my point; it’s a dance, a show, an exhibition. The passengers win for witnessing it, the crews win for getting to put their ships through their paces, Boston wins because half the harbor can see the action. And, if I may wax a bit patriotic on this Independence Eve, America wins, for having such as rich history of strong, proud ships such as Chasseur, Lynx, Pride II and Constitution and such daring and courageous Captains as Stephen Decatur, Issac Hull, Charles Stewart, and of course, Thomas Boyle, who celebrated his 237th birthday just five days ago.

All best,
Captain Jamie Trost and the dueling crew of Pride of Baltimore II

I've a Feeling We're Not in "Kansas" Anymore

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II is currently in Hampton, VA.

The ship arrived Friday to take part in some outport festivities for Opsail Virginia 2012.  PRIDE was spending the weekend in Hampton, VA, participating in the annual Blackbeard Pirate Festival. Friday was her first night in port; nicely secured in a very small harbor. There would be no wave action to worry about. With PRIDE’s mast and rigging standing proud there is always the need to monitor wind because any wind of any strength can cause mischief with either PRIDE being shoved against or away from the dock and experiencing damage, or possibly damaging the dock…or both. So, it is the responsibility for all aboard to always keep a weather eye for the wind, even while PRIDE is ostensibly safe in harbor.

Tornado approaching.

That responsibility was in full force Friday evening and is some of the reason we realized a tornado was approaching PRIDE well enough in advance to take some remedial action. Even with such warning it was a scramble. All hands turned-to getting deck tour guests off (there were few to none aboard because of recent monsoonal rain) and collapsing the awnings. We also took time to get flags down and potentially loose deck gear below. I monitored the approaching tornado as a means of assessing how much time the crew had before they needed to be in shelter provided by being below deck.

For those of you that are “YouTube” savvy, you may already have seen the Hampton, VA tornado of last Friday evening. If yes, you may also have seen the NWS (National Weather Service) video that shows the map of the track of that tornado. I can tell you the track depicted by NWS goes exactly over PRIDE at her dock in Hampton.

Our experience of the twister while we all were below is a blur. I recall upwards of a minute of significant angle of heel…10 degrees…maybe up to as much as 15 degrees…while I watched through the aft cabin skylight the wind blow over the ship bringing rain and glimpses of debris. Overall the twister experience was less than 5 minutes. Immediately after we all were on deck assessing PRIDE’s situation.

The City of Hampton mapped the path of the tornado, based on damages. Red areas indicate clusters of damage. (Map by Robin McCormick, Communications Strategist, City of Hampton)

There was damage. An anchored sailing yacht of 40 feet was dismasted and tangled up in PRIDE’s head-rig. Another sailing vessel was alongside. The two guns on the port side were up-ended and rolled over. The dock had loose boards. PRIDE has been shifted forward some three feet despite her doubled dock-lines taken up snug. as a result there were marks and gouges in PRIDE’s railing and rigging channel for the foremast rigging. The one tangled/dismasted sailing yacht was freed of PRIDE’s head rig quickly. The sailing vessel alongside moved away immediately. PRIDE was re-centered on the dock and her fenders re-rigged. PRIDE’s rubber boat was tossed about and her gear was afloat in the harbor…crew get in the small boat and retrieved all gear. Meanwhile another tornado warning went out…so there was hesitancy committing to much re-organizing or assessing of damage. Eventually it was truly dark. Eventually the 2nd tornado warning was lifted although a tornado “watch” would remain in affect till 2 AM.So, it was all hands remain aboard…but all were dismissed to stand down after all the obvious loose bits and disorganization was addressed.

The crew readied the ship and welcomed visitors aboard Saturday afternoon for the Blackbeard Festival

There was a delay to the Blackbeard Pirate Festival start Saturday till 2 PM from what would normally have been a 10 AM start. PRIDE’s crew spent from first thing Saturday till 2 PM getting ready for public deck tours. Then half the crew were given time off. Sunday the crew started with all hands till mid-day when the other watch got their time off. Meanwhile carpentry repairs got started Sunday morning at 7:30 and continued till 7:30 pm. The carpenter, Eric Lohsey came back today at 7 AM to pick up where he left off yesterday. At the rate things are going, all actual repairs should be completed today…save for painting.

What would have happened with high winds and seas while PRIDE was sailing? Probably what has happened for the last 24 years that PRIDE has been sailing. Come back home in good shape because the crew are aboard with only one mission, take care of the ship so she can take care of you. Whereas in port the crew could at anyone time be off of the ship or not monitoring weather 24 hours a day. Had our working day the night of the twister been a normal working day, most of the crew would have been ashore. Those aboard would not necessarily been able to be aware there was imminent tornado threat till it struck. In such a situation there would no doubt have been more collateral damage. The awnings for one. So where is PRIDE safer? At sea or in port? Kind of depends…doesn’t it?

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