The “Pride Spring” has arrived!

2 March 2012
Alongside her Winter Berth at Clinton Street
Inhabited by Crew for first time since November 2011

A year ago, news services around the globe were a-twitter with the new catch phrase “Arab Spring.” And while it came without public unrest, without violence and involved just over one-hundred people, Pride of Baltimore II’s recent transformation from a sleeping hulk to a living, inhabited ship again is almost as dramatic a change. Ignore for the moment that this transformation from hibernation to new life is an annual event that, for twenty-four seasons now, has been as predictable and natural as the change from winter to spring it portends – this year is different. Pride II, accustomed to attention, no stranger to notoriety, is ready for the focus the War of 1812 Bicentennial will bring. Her time has come.

Pride II – through the impeccable craftsmanship of her construction and a relentless maintenance regimen – remains physically as strong as the day she was launched. The operational and cosmetic details attended to this winter were largely the same as any other winter. But the spirit of Pride II is rejuvenated. As was the case when public sentiment and support insisted on the very existence of a second Pride in 1988, the spirit of Pride II and what she means is once more larger than the ship herself.

When last I wrote in December . . . I know, three months ago, but hey, we’ve been busy and if you’ll give a minute, I’ll tell you how . . . (ahem) when I last wrote in December, Pride II was on the verge of her first ever volunteer program. Uncharted waters for us, and full of all the same anxious unknowns as an open water voyage – how do we inspire people to the same love for Pride II we have, how do we keep them engaged, will anyone even show up? Now, at the far end of our first “volunteer winter” we can proudly say over 70 people, including enthusiastic group attendances from both the Baltimore Annapolis Sailing Club and Local Boy Scout Troop 35, came to give a little “elbow grease” and attention to Pride II.

And now, with a corps of seasoned officers and a focs’l full of first time deckhands, Pride II is rolling into uprig with all the momentum of our new volunteers’ contributions. For over two and half decades, no vessel has more fervently told the story of Baltimore’s Privateers, the story of individual Americans investing of themselves in both a ship and a cause. At Pride, Inc. we are both deeply humbled and greatly exhilarated to have so many people – our members, our fans, and our volunteers – invested in our mission. The realization and incorporation of that support, coming succinctly with the dawning of the War of 1812 Bicentennial, is precisely what makes this spring – the “Pride Spring” – something extra-ordinary. We’ve been reminded just who’s backing us, and we intend to make all of them, in a word, proud.

All best,
Jamie Trost, a Captain with Pride of Baltimore, Inc.

Winter Maintenance ~ Work is Well Under Way

PRIDE II is under her cocoon of white shrink wrap plastic spread over her wooden frame that bridges her deck fore & aft and rail to rail. Her spars (yards, topmasts, gaffs, boom) are ashore under their own cocoon of white shrink wrap plastic spread over quonset hut shaped wooden re-enforced plastic frame. There is a 6 foot x 8 foot “hobo” hut of white shrink wrap plastic over wooden frame with peaked roof for blocks to be maintained. We have temporary loan of the heated garage of the Maryland Port Administration Operations work site where PRIDE II is moored down South Clinton St. from the Canton area of Baltimore. There are four shipping containers on the premises that are the basis of PRIDE II’s maintenance and spare parts storage and work bench. The maintenance period is half over and it looks to us all like we are getting done what we hoped to get done.

That list of “do’s” included some very different chores. Oiling the ship’s deck and repairing under engine “containment”. Both projects required some dismantling and significant preparation time before the actual work needed doing could actually be done. Oiling the deck required removing hardware from the deck, things like deck prisms, then diligent sanding of the whole deck before the oil could be laid down. The engine containment repair/overhaul required lifting the engines up off their permanent “installed” position motor mounts just to be able to do the needed work to the under engine containment system.

As of mid January the deck received its first four priming coats. It is our goal that we get between two and four more separate covering coats before the 2012 sailing crew come aboard. In the midst of doing this the old dead and falling out deck seam pitch (seam tar) that was removed before the deck sanding will be replaced. Meanwhile the deck hardware will be re-installed. In the engine compartment the PORT side engine is now back on its motor mounts and connected. The STBD engine is expected to be lifted up this week.

Throughout this same period the other normal and annual maintenance is getting done. Spars have been sanded and patch coated three times with varnish where there was 2011 sailing season wear and tear…plus the first full coat sanded and ready for the second full coat. Block maintenance is near complete and ready for being re-stropped/seized into their proper slings of wire or rope, hence ready for actual installation by the sailing crew when they re-rig/rig-up the ship early this spring.

Still to be done are the down below cosmetics. The galley and the saloon area get a significant going over with varnish. Both the focsle and the aft cabin receive some cosmetic repair/maintenance as well.

A new chapter in the tradition of winter maintenance is the Pride Winter Maintenance Volunteer Program. Starting on a mid December Saturday some seventeen PRIDE II enthusiasts joined the winter maintenance crew to help prepare PRIDE II for her 2012 sailing season. Such a turnout of so many PRIDE II enthusiasts willing to work in unheated circumstances was far above anything we were prepared to predict. Since that December day we have had a steady turn out of volunteers that come both week day and Saturdays. The day to day numbers fluctuate with Saturdays bringing the highest attendance. What a boon to the progress of winter maintenance these volunteers have been! On top of this we had our first Eagle Boy Scout Public Support Team … (who are these Scouts?) … come do some PRIDE II maintenance this last Saturday. They did a great job and we look forward to their return next Saturday.

Looking forward to the next half of the winter maintenance period we all wonder what the weather will be like. Thus far winter in Baltimore has been mild. Especially compared to the two preceding winters! Unlike those winters, we have not yet had any snow and the cold snaps have not been very deep or very long lasting when the temperature did drop to below freezing. Thus far this winter, I am reminded of the typically mild winters here in Baltimore. But there can always be a surprise. Yes siree!

For those of you that have been part of our PRIDE II winter maintenance Volunteers, we thank you very much!!! For those that support us in other ways, we thank you very much as well!!! PRIDE is the only “real” American Privateer of the of 1812 War sailing today in the 21st Century. She is also the most well known world wide American sailing vessel. There are well known American “classic” sailing yachts. But PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II is the only representative of America that bridges all classes and types of sailing representations from our country. Your support of PRIDE II has brought this about. It is your support that will keep PRIDE II sailing and representing all that we Marylanders have long been proud of long into the 21st Century!

Jan C. Miles
A Captain with Pride of Baltimore, Inc.

Call to Arms for Volunteer Winter Crew

Every winter, Pride of Baltimore II removes all her running rigging and spars for an intense overhaul. During this “Winter Maintenance” period, blocks are serviced and, along with the spars, varnished; standing rigging is tarred and inspected and numerous other details are looked after. It’s a full plate for a skeleton crew. And on the eve of the War of 1812 Bicentennial, we are sounding the call for volunteers to assist us. This is a first for Pride of Baltimore, Inc., the non-profit that for three decades has been caretaker of the ship.

Spar Varnishing

Just as it is for the ship, the reward for all involved in the gritty work of maintaining Pride IIover the winter is to experience her sailing again in the spring. Dedicated volunteers will earn a daysail aboard Pride II once she is up rigged underway again.

While previous wooden boat maintenance skills are greatly welcomed, all Pride II volunteers really need is enthusiasm. Our professional crew will provide on the job direction and supervision as you work alongside them. Typical projects include:

Spar Varnishing: All of Pride II’s spars except the lower masts and bowsprit are varnished, and keeping up the glow requires multiple coats each winter. Usually, chafed and word areas are given special attention and are “patch” coated to catch them up with the rest of the spar. Then the entire spar is coated three times for cosmetic appeal and protection from ultra violet damage. 

Block Care

Block Care: Pride II’sblocks are a key component to the rig, as they provide the mechanical advantage for raising and handling the sails. In addition to the varnishing regiment the spars receive, the blocks are also dismantled and serviced on a rotating basis so that their sheaves and pins can be inspected. Re-assembly requires the use of traditional seizings to keep the blocks in their rope strops. Pride II crew will teach you the intricate traditional skill of seizing.

Standing rigging overhaul: The wire rigging that supports Pride II’s upper rigging is wire brushed to clean of rust and grime, then coated with a protective mixture. Parts of this rigging are “served,” or wound, in small diameter hemp marline. This marline is coated in tar to preserve both it and the rigging. This winter, an inspection of the splices in the standing rigging will see some of this service removed, and involved volunteers will learn this process.

Engineering: Pride II will be lifting up both of its engines this winter for inspection and maintenance. While the ship’s engineer will be running the project, assistance – from expert mechanic to eager to learn tool “gopher” – will be greatly appreciated.

Please contact us if you are interested in lending a hand.  Call 410-539-1151 or email pride2@pride2.org (indicate Volunteer Crew in the subject line).  Any and all skill levels are appreciated.

At last…quiet, calm as we head up the Potomac

At 4 AM this morning, after 34 hours of steady motoring for a distance of 268 nautical miles (7.8 knot average) against a steady 25 to 30 knots of wind, PRIDE was able to stop motoring at the Patuxent River and sail into the Potomac River after breakfast this morning.

The above represents an atypical grind for PRIDE. Very fortunately, itineraries established for PRIDE usually enable her to sail more than half of all her transits. But in this instance, as in a small number of instances over the more than two decades of scheduling PRIDE, it was necessary to push PRIDE along with her engines most of the distance between New York and Washington D.C. because the weather was not only contrary for the overall direction of travel, but strongly so.

Right now, the peace of having the engines off is almost shattering for the absence of the muted grinding roar of two turbo-charged 4-cylinder engines heard down below and the constant buffeting blast of 25 to 30 knots of wind one received while on deck. The lack of motion due to the virtually calm Potomac River also provides a near unreal bliss of ease for any effort to move around the ship. The transit along the New Jersey Coast was a jerky heaving motion that could often send one to their knees or lurching heavily to the side. While there was a respite from motion during the transit up the upper Delaware Bay, through the C&D Canal and down the upper Chesapeake Bay, the main body of the Chesapeake Bay created a definite hobby horsing motion as a result of 25 to 30 knots of southerly wind all last night.

But after all of the above, PRIDE is not only now sailing in some friendly wind, she is on target to make the scheduled Tuesday 4 AM lift of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which crosses the Potomac River at Alexandria, VA. To be sure, the Route 95 traffic that will crossing the bridge at that hour will not be pleased!!! But at least it is a lift that won’t be happening between 5 AM and 11 PM.

PRIDE just spent a week in Manhattan as guest of Denis Connor’s North Cove Marina, managed by the Manhattan Sailing Club. She was there to participate in the New York Classic Yacht Regatta over Columbus Weekend and remained the following week to host an evening reception for Visit Baltimore, a tourism arm of the City of Baltimore, and to do a number of public day-sails to raise revenue for Pride of Baltimore, Inc. There was no wind for the Classic Yacht Regatta, but the weather was unseasonably warm and dry, so it was a pleasant day on the water for the 35 regatta guests on each of the three race days of the weekend.  The ship was filled to capacity for each race, representing a successful weekend of revenue raising business for Pride, Inc. through the direct use of PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II. Later in the week there was a lot of rain and wind during the scheduled day-sails, as a result those were cancelled. But the Visit Baltimore reception last Tuesday evening experienced very pleasant weather indeed, along with a spectacular view of Jersey City across the Hudson River during the evening sunset.

PRIDE’s scheduled departure of North Cove last Friday was delayed due to fresh southerly winds creating a significant contrary sea state along the Jersey Coast. Friday evening a cold front came through as forecast, bringing strong southwest and westerly winds. By Saturday, the sea state along the Jersey shore was down enough, knocked down by the fresh westerly winds, that it was deemed appropriate to depart New York. The loss of 24 hours from the delayed start and the lack of truly westerly winds, meaning that sea state along the Jersey shore was still somewhat robust and winds were still south of west, meant that PRIDE could not sail fast enough through such sea state due to the wind being south of west, and make the speed needed to remain on schedule. So instead, her two engines pushed her along.

There was some serious debate concerning going all the way to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay rather than up the Delaware Bay and through the C&D Canal then down the Chesapeake Bay. There is only an additional 20 odd miles to Washington D.C. using the “outside” route rather than the “inside” route. But the prevalence of the west wind turned out to be much less than originally forecast. Instead there would be additional southerly to southwesterly winds of some strength returning again Sunday afternoon. Those winds would be useful for going up the Chesapeake Bay, but PRIDE would not arrive the mouth of The Bay till early Monday morning, meaning there would be some stout headwinds while still off shore of the DelMarVa Peninsula. Meanwhile the Atlantic sea state persisted and looked like it would only be added to by the return of the southerly winds. By arriving near the mouth of the Delaware Bay around breakfast on Sunday, PRIDE could ride the Delaware flood current all the way up to the C&D Canal, plus catch a favorable “ebb” current thru the canal and down the upper length of the Chesapeake Bay. Turning up the Delaware would also eliminate exposure to the Atlantic sea state. The serious debate ended around 6 AM Sunday as PRIDE approached the mouth of the Delaware Bay.

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

Landfall, Gloucestering, Bean-town and New York Bound

6 October, 2011

Pos: 41 07.1’N x 072 39.5’W
Wx: WNW F2, Seas calm, Sunny

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II made landfall in Portland, Maine, five days ago. I can hear what you’re thinking – if you were so early getting the boat to the US, why is the blog so late? Well the interim days have been a bit of a whirlwind. In making Portland, we drove PRIDE II hard from the time of the last blog. Starting with a strong breeze just abaft the beam, we slowly took in sail as the wind veered, all the while laying a rhumb line for Portland. The Stuns’l had to come in when a fairlead for it parted, the T’gallant and Gaff top were too much by sunset, and near midnight, with the wind ahead of the beam, we reefed the Mains’l and took in the Jibtops’l. Even still, PRIDE II was charging along at 10 knots through the inky black and squall speckled night. Approaching Portland harbor, we took in the Foretops’l and saw the last of the rain.

Originally intending to anchor off of Portland Yacht Services (PYS), we sailed all the way to a spot I’d picked days before near the mooring field. But Phin Sprague, owner of PYS is a lover of tall ships and was kind enough to offer us a dock for clearing customs. There is no sailing through all the classic yachts and fishing vessels off PYS, so we took in sail where we would have anchored, and picked our way through the scattered boats under engines for the first time since securing in Lunenburg. Arriving at dawn, we were cleared through customs by 0815, but the crew was another three hours in stowing. We had, after all, used every sail we had.

With the rest of the day and night off in Portland, the crew had time to themselves, and I had a chance to ponder what the weather might do after the strong Southerlies faded. Originally, the lackluster forecast was tempting me to stay another day at anchor. Having lived for a time on Peaks Island, just off of Portland, I have a strong affinity for Casco Bay. But Saturday’s dawn weather report was calling for a significant Northeaster, lasting for days and heaping up a rotten good sea. It was time to close the distance to Boston. Unable to arrive before 1200 on Monday, we’d have to find an anchorage. The commercial anchorage in Boston Harbor is a forlorn place, with deep water, reversing current and little nearby ashore. Just 26 nautical miles north, however, is Gloucester, where our traveling companions LYNX and HIGHLANDER SEA were already alongside.

So we cast off and motored out of Portland, making a flyby of Peaks Island, and setting some steadying sail against the rolling swell. We arrived at sunset in Gloucester Harbor, anchoring within sight of both the other vessels we’d been traveling with since Montreal. Strange to reflect, but in two weeks, the three ships had never been further apart than 123 nautical miles – and the distance only got to that point because PRIDE II had lingered an extra day in Lunenburg.

After a Sunday evening of final farewells (for now) PRIDE II weighed anchor for Boston Monday morning at 0700. LYNX would be Newport, Rhode Island bound later the same day, while HIGHLANDER remains in Gloucester for downrig, and a potential new owner.

In Boston, PRIDE II arrived in PRIDE II style, then quickly opened to the public for the first time in two weeks. There to greet us were Alex Peacock’s parents Don and Nancy and Kevin Moran’s mother Sarah, offering logistic support but also collecting their sons. After seven months, our cook and deckhand cousin pair have signed off, along with deckhands Susie Ordway and Barbara Krasinski. Lots of new faces filled the ship, and we now have a few guest crew who have been aboard Pride II longer than the new crew! So much for these new crew to learn, so much for those remaining aboard to teach.

Boston’s events gave us a great start for getting our new hands acclimated to both the history and mission of Pride, Inc. and the esprit de corps of PRIDE II herself. Our Baltimore promoting partner Visit Baltimore hosted a reception aboard Tuesday evening, complete with excitement and fervor about all the impressive historical sites our homeport has to offer. Wednesday morning, after a quick diversion to Mystic Fuel to take on fuel for probably the last time this sailing season, we sailed off the dock and did some close quarters maneuvers in the harbor with a film crew from Puma Cast, a production company making a series of internet episodes following the crew of Mar Mostro, the Puma entry in the extreme sailing Volvo Ocean Race. While the focus of Puma Cast’s episodes will be the crew of Mar Mostro pushing the envelope of performance for the 60 foot high performance racing machine, they also wanted perspective on how sailing had evolved from the days of the Pilgrims to the 21st Century.

And who better to exemplify the dawn of speed under sail than PRIDE II? She evokes a class of schooners who first gave a currency to speed, who took the world, and the British Navy, by surprise with their swiftness, and forever put Baltimore on world stage as both a maritime center and a town full of hard-nosed citizens who repelled invasion and refused to yield. The style of the Baltimore Schooner influenced ship building for decades to follow, inspiring the great clipper ships of the late 19th Century and the Schooner Yacht America, one of the first vessels designed to race for the sake of racing.

And as PRIDE II strutted her stuff to illustrate just why her ancestors were so revered and feared, in her backdrop lay the most storied ship of her era. USS Constitution’s yards rose high above Boston Harbor, and the maritime heroines of 1812 shared a stage together once more.

All best,
Captain Jamie Trost and the once more rearranged crew of Pride of Baltimore II

Reaching for New England

29 September, 2011
Pos: 42 55.2’N x 067 46.0’W
Wx: SxW F5, Seas 3-5′ Overcast

Pride of Baltimore II left Lunenburg yesterday morning after a few great days of revelry with the crews of two great schooners and one outstanding barque. From the time we secured and cleared back into customs on Sunday night, there was a sense of excitement along the Lunenburg waterfront – already a-thrum with commercial fishing fleets, a pair of twin cruising schooners under construction, Picton Castle’s Bosun School in session and the Canadian Icon Bluenose II being refit. With Lynx, Highlander Sea and Pride II added to the mix, you could scarcely turn around without seeing a postcard worthy shot.

To celebrate the good fortune of having a hefty gathering of schooners in town, Captain Dan Mooreland, the talented staff of Windward Isles trading company, and the eager crew of Picton Castle hosted all us visiting Americans to a barbeque on Monday night. This was the single biggest gathering of sailors outside a Tall Ships event I’ve seen in quite awhile, and a great time for all. Many thanks to Captain Mooreland and all the Picton folks for all their hospitality.

Our unexpected and welcome stop, however, had to end. Wednesday morning greeted us with a chill more characteristic of Autumn in Nova Scotia, and we needed make tracks for the US before the wind also turned a more characteristic Southwesterly. Lynx and Highlander Sea had made great show in their departures by sailing off the dock – Lynxeven backed off the dock using her foretops’l – and so there was little choice but to follow suit.

Being rafted to Picton Castle, even with her yards braced up and her davits swung in, presented particular a particular challenge to sailing off. But fortunately, we were able to send an offshore line across the slip to government wharf. The crew pulled Pride II away from Picton Castle by hand, set the stays’l, and then hoisted the foretops’l to the chant of “Thank you Picton!” and we were away. But we weren’t totally gone until we saluted Lunenburg with a proper four guns.

That was yesterday morning at 1000 ADT. Pride II has been sailing since, sometimes slowly, but for the middle part of today, the increasing Southeasterly going Southerly had us holding 12 knots fairly often. But it isn’t just sailing for fun. The wind, as forecast, has already veering and there is little hope of making a landfall anywhere South of Portland, Maine without going into the teeth of a strong breeze. So we’re driving Pride II for all she’s worth toward New England.

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