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I am home till the end of June when I will return to the ship in New Orleans. Till then I will goof off a little and lend assistance to the office staff as they handle the details of the ship's itinerary for the coming season. But there is one last job I must tidy up before my time ashore can be called anything like my own. That is this log, catching everyone up on what in the world has been happening with PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II since last year!

Volvo 'Round the World Race

In late April, PRIDE II was the official Finish and Start Committee Boat for the International 'Round the World Race called the Volvo Ocean Race. What a thrill it was to be there with the Race Committee as those remarkable sailing machines slid across the finish line on April 18 after a slow and variable journey of almost 900 miles from Miami to Baltimore – all the way up the narrow Chesapeake Bay. These Volvo Ocean 60's are very fast sailors in light conditions. They were easily sailing more than 7 knots in winds of only 5 knots. In the same conditions, PRIDE II might do no better than 1 knot! How far sailing has come since the days when Baltimore Clippers were the “world class racers” of their day!

Scuttlebutt from the Finish Race Committee members who are volunteers with experience directing sailboat races in Chesapeake Bay or other parts of the United States was that the time spread between the first and last finisher in this relatively short leg up from Miami was just about the widest spread in the history of the race going back over twenty years. This led to speculation of how much interest there might be for the racers and the race organizers to return to the Bay and Baltimore/Annapolis in 2006. Well, based on what I saw at the Restart of the Race on April 28, almost two weeks later, when the racers headed off towards France, I have little doubt that Maryland's hospitality and enthusiasm for the Race will make it hard for them not to return.

The welcome for each of the racers at the end of the Miami-Baltimore leg began with each being met by several local boaters who escorted them all the way up from Annapolis and across the finish line and into Baltimore's Inner Harbor. As the racers crossed the finish line, which was an imaginary line between Fort McHenry and PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II on the opposite side of the channel, we shot off a cannon for each finisher marking the end of the Race and the beginning of Maryland hospitality. While the racers got some rest and analyzed their performance and planned for the next leg, they were also hosted at innumerable parties, an Orioles game, and several Awards Ceremonies.

Engine Rebuild

Meanwhile PRIDE II and her crew continued to recover from a very involved spring rig-up. Considering how many spring rig-ups we have undertaken since 1988, one would think we would have the process down to a science. Sadly, this year spring seemed to overtake us with a vengeance.

The biggest part of the job was getting the two Caterpillar engines back into the ship after being rebuilt by the local Caterpillar dealer, Alban Engine of Essex. It is hard to believe that it has been fourteen years since the engines were first installed. Since 1988, they have accumulated about 10,000 hours of running time and it was decided last winter to have them rebuilt. Nothing serious was wrong with them. But with other minor maintenance due, a consensus developed that there was no reason to delay rebuilding them. So in January they were lifted out of the ship with the help of our friends at Martin Imbach who are specialists in heavy waterfront construction. With the whole winter ahead, the engine rebuild was not rushed. But come spring, it was finally time to get them into the ship.

In early March, Martin Imbach lifted the rebuilt engines back into the engine room just before the ship was hauled out for bottom work at General Ship and Drydock Repair.

But that is not where the devil in the details ended. Rather it was where it began. The requirements for putting engines back are much more complicated then getting them out. The main ingredient is re-alignment of the engines to the shafts. Here we depended on a very knowledgeable marine engine mechanic from Curtis Engine. His boss and a Pride, Inc. Board Member, Tom Koch, loaned Lenny Poole to us. With Lenny's guidance, we attended to getting the new rubber motor mounts installed and the engine beds reconditioned. Then he put everything in alignment and bolted the engines down hard. As it turned out, we had to modify one of the engine mounts before all was secure. Then it was time to test and trial. All this while the rest of the crew was doing what must be done at every spring rig-up – take the winter cover down, put the rig back up, tend to the bottom of the ship once it is hauled out and the caulker has finished his work.

With the engines now securely in place, Caterpillar people came down to test run the engines – first without putting them in gear, then with them in gear. When all seemed well, Lenny returned for “sea trials,”, i.e. get underway and check the engines and shafts at all RPMs. That was when we discovered an oil leak in the transmission at the power output shaft during higher RPMs. So, back to the dock we go and notify Caterpillar that we need the leak stopped. This required disconnecting the shaft by the ship's engineer and moving it out of the way to make room for the Caterpillar mechanic to fix the leak. It took four hours to make the repair. Then the crew spent some six hours reconnecting the shaft to the engine. All this while the PRIDE staff was working hard on the finishing touches of a big fund raiser at Bo Brooks Restaurant and aboard the ship to honor those who first started the amazing 25 year odyssey of PRIDE and PRIDE II.

25th
Anniversary
Gala

This 25th Anniversary party was the first obligation of the 2002 Season aboard PRIDE II.

The ship and its crew were ready except for the engine problem. Fortunately with two engines and propellers, we could still move PRIDE with one engine to the pier in Canton where the 25th Anniversary party was to be held. While the engine work was being done down below, the ship was cleaned up by the crew and made ready to host William Donald Schaefer, past Mayor of Baltimore, past Governor of Maryland, and current Comptroller of Maryland. It was he, as Mayor, who saw the potential of a Baltimore Clipper symbolizing the beginning of a renaissance of the City of Baltimore. Also honored at the fete was the first manager to the ship, Gail Shawe, the builder and first captain of the ship, Melbourne Smith, along with his partner, Fred Hecklinger. In addition there was Barbara Bazzuto who first marketed PRIDE so successfully in the early 80's.

Also in attendance were alumni officers and crew of the first PRIDE like Peter Boudreau, who not only helped build the first PRIDE, but became her first Second Mate, and then ascended to First Mate before becoming PRIDE's second Captain. Peter had no idea then that some years later he would be the primary builder of PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II. He is now a designer of renown of traditional sailing craft. Many more old friends came, too. All were hosted aboard PRIDE by her crew who were all cleaned up and dressed in new uniforms after two days of painting the hull black and putting a full coat of varnish on the rail cap. It was a very successful party and the engine repair was completed in time for our date as the Committee Boat Finish Line for the 2002 Volvo 'Round the World Ocean Race.

With Volvo Cup racing vessels gracing the Inner Harbor, the Baltimore Maritime Festival honored the racers and welcomed the sponsors. PRIDE II was there for all to see as the public in the hundreds of thousands viewed the newest and fastest ocean sailing vessels available today.

PRIDE II's crew continued to ready the ship for an active season away from home by getting the smaller sails on board and making sure all inventories of spares and consumables were on board. The cook, Daphne Glover, spent one whole day and most of a night shopping and then, with the help of the crew, stowing the ship's larders.

Between the public Open Houses during the Maritime Festival and general ship preparedness chores, there were also the first two sails of the season. Both were daysails with passengers aboard, forcing the crew to learn about the ship with observers looking on. Normally the spring rig-up permits 'crew only' sails to shake down the ship and shake up the crew. Not this spring! Despite the compressed schedule, the ship and the crew were ready on April 26 for the grand Parade of Sail during which PRIDE II led the Volvo Cup Racers out of Baltimore harbor to Annapolis.

Volvo Parade of Sail

The start of that parade was a Blessing of the Fleet in the Inner Harbor. The choreography of maneuvering the vessels was a sight to see. PRIDE II led off followed closely by the pungy schooner LADY MARYLAND and the skipjack ZIGSBY in a tight circle in the middle of the Inner Harbor. Volvo Racers constituted the second circle and set sail during their second circuit. PRIDE II then led the fleet out of the Inner Harbor. With a wonderful fair weather day with good breeze from the southwest, a crowded audience on shore and a harbor peppered with private yachts, it was a lively armada that sailed off to Annapolis.

The parade to Annapolis offered PRIDE II's new crew their third sail of the season. It was the first time they would be able to set almost all of the ship's sails. With the wind direction and strength it also proved to be a great opportunity to learn what it takes to tack PRIDE II to windward down Chesapeake Bay, through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, and up the Severn River to Annapolis. Again, it was learning on the job with an audience aboard. For this event, PRIDE II was chartered by Mercantile Bank. I am sure the crew would rather make their mistakes without an audience. But it was also very interesting for the audience to see the remarkable improvement in the crew after each maneuver. The crew did a great job of synchronizing in that first full day of sailing!

The Maritime Festival in Annapolis hosting the Volvo Racers was a mini version of the events in Baltimore. On Saturday April 27, PRIDE II participated in a dry-run of how things would go on the next day - Race Restart Day, April 28. This dry-run had the ship making a quick trip out to a point one mile north of the center span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and anchoring in position to establish the start line. It was not only a training opportunity for the crew in handling the anchor gear for the first time this year, it was an opportunity for the Race Start Committee to get to know how PRIDE II would perform as their start boat.

The ship and her crew succeeded in impressing the Start Race Committee. But PRIDE II was not the only vessel going through the dry-run. There were several dozen other vessels of many types from the US Coast Guard, Naval Academy training YP's, Coast Guard Auxiliary, as well as many private volunteers all out there setting up two lines marking the path the racers would sail between two zones of spectator boats.

Volvo Restart

Race Restart Day came with steady drizzling rain. A cold front was passing by but had not yet cleared. With a deckload of guests and Start Race Committee personnel in uniform, PRIDE II got underway to her assigned position. Visibility was less than a mile for much of the morning.

A further complication was the strength of the wind against the current at our assigned anchorage. Chesapeake Bay was ebbing to the south at about 2 knots. The breeze was coming from the southwest at about 15 knots. With the breeze pressing against PRIDE II's large and complicated rig, she sailed against the current and passed over her anchor and chain. When she fetched up short against the chain upstream of the anchor, she turned sideways to the current and wind and then drifted back down stream. Left alone, she would have continued doing this indefinitely with the result that the Race Committee could not set a precise starting line. Having anticipated this probability, I had conjured up a plan for dealing with it. I restarted the engines and, with both in slow astern, PRIDE II settled down with the chain out ahead and the bow pointed up stream while the wind came from aft. This permitted the Race Committee to establish a precise start line.

In the midst of all this, more guests from a number of visiting vessels came aboard. On one side was a Department of Natural Resources Patrol Vessel with Maryland's Lieutenant Governor, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, and one of Maryland's US Senators, Paul Sarbanes. On the other side were several high-speed inflatable boats with various Volvo Cup Race Officials coming and going as the start time neared. Gary Jobson of ESPN Sports came aboard briefly to film a clip with the Lt. Governor and the Senator.

Meanwhile the racers in their Volvo 60's had assembled and were doing their pre-race maneuvers. Fortunately the fog had lifted but the rain continued as a light but steady drizzle. The wind was increasing a little too. This provided a great spectacle for all as we observed the Volvo 60's speeding back and forth between two spectator groups and turning quickly at each end of the starting line. All too quickly the starting sequence passed and the cannon went off under the guided hand of the Lieutenant Governor. With the current behind the racers and the fresh breeze ahead, the Volvo Cup Race Fleet disappeared quickly down the Bay.

The end of festivities was marked more by a strong feeling of “a job well done” than a sense of vacuum. My partner Captain Dan Parrott would relieve me the next day, April 29, and while he headed off toward Bermuda and points south, I would take a bit of a rest. But there was one more challenge before I would be relieved.

Tornado Watch!

The cold front passed through as the racers headed south. With the cold front came tornado activity in southern Maryland. The damage to La Plata was acute and extreme. The west to east travel of the tornado did not end till it hit the Atlantic Ocean. This meant it passed close to the racers. But I believe they had already passed south of the tornado track before it crossed Chesapeake Bay. In Annapolis, PRIDE II was tied to temporary piers set up for the visiting racers. The same system of clouds that contained the tornado affecting southern Maryland passed close enough to Annapolis to give the ship 30-40 mph gusts lasting only 5 minutes but pushing the ship against the temporary docks and causing some minor damage. After consulting with the Annapolis Harbor Master, we got PRIDE II underway and went to another more permanent dock in case there was another heavy wind squall. The weather report was full of warnings and the ship's radar indicated a number of heavy rain clusters bearing down on Annapolis. As it turned out, those radar indications did not turn out to be of any consequence, but it felt better to be tied to a strong dock.

First thing on the next day, April 29, PRIDE II was moved again to her assigned dock in Annapolis and the crew hosted two school groups while Captain Parrott and I went through our change of command process. From early March, when the 2002 crew first came aboard, to the end of May, PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II morphed from a barge under a winter cover, to her normal well-kept and fully seaworthy self. Many things about her are improved or renewed and her crew is well formed to take her where she is meant to go.

As Captain Parrott would say,
Watch below!

Captain Jan Miles