The Captain's Logs are below.

Tune into what's going on in the foc's'le with Crew's Views.

Read what Passengers aboard Pride II have to say in: Passengers Write

DATE:	SUNDAY, May 31, 1998
TIME:	1320 HRS (ship -9 ZT)
POSITION:	31d 23m North X 124d 18m East Headed toward Korea
ENTERED BY:	Captain Jan Miles

Ahoy,

We are making good progress now after being hove-to for 53 hours near the middle of the East China Sea. During that time we had a northeast to north wind that set up a big enough sea that it was best to wait for a change. If the weather does not go poorly on us in the next two days, we should just make our destination, Tongyong, Korea, on time at midday, Tuesday, June 2.

We finally made Keelung on Sunday morning, May 24, around 0200 hrs and hove-to again to wait for daylight. We were close enough to the entrance of Keelung harbor that port control saw us soon after first light and asked us to come on in as soon as possible. So we entered at 0630 and were docked by 0700. We had a tug escort us in with lots of fire pumps squirting water in the air and its horn blasting. I am not sure who saw our entrance that early in the morning, other than dock workers and some shipping crews, but it was a nice gesture on the part of the harbor authorities.

Since we were late by a day, there were a lot of details to deal with upon our arrival. In pretty short order, we got our fuel, our packages from Maryland put aboard, our clearances from the authorities, the ship hooked up to electricity, the shore water hose hooked up, and ship's trash disposed of. I was informed of our schedule for Monday, the next day -- school kids in the morning and a Maryland Port Authority reception at midday. Meanwhile, the crew got all sails harbor-stowed (neatly and tidily put away rather than merely seamanlike as at sea), the awnings up, and the ship washed down in time for a visiting group at 1300. The crew then divided into two groups and each got a little time off. After the visitors departed, the remaining crew got down to cleaning the hull which had grown some moss along the waterline and was otherwise in need of cleaning.

Keelung is an old port at the north end of Taiwan. It's older than Kaohsiung and much smaller. It has a lot of hills that form the harbor, and so the town is jammed between the harbor and the hills. This makes for a busy place with the waterfront right next to the business district, not unlike our Inner Harbor in Baltimore. The difference, besides being Taiwanese, is that the town is old and has that look about it. There are no new skyscrapers under construction as there are in most other Asian cities. The buildings seem to stop at the 12th floor. The streets are, in general, narrow. As usual, the sidewalks are often full of parked scooters and store supplies, creating a challenge for pedestrians to get through. Traffic is constant as everyone tries to get around the harbor from one side of town to the other. Up on the hills there are pagodas and temples.

As we came in there was a large white statue of Buddha on the east side of the harbor. From where we were docked, it would have been less than a half hour walk to it -- up hill all the way. It was interesting to note there were no facilities for visiting yachts. But then there is hardly any yachting in Taiwan. Hence, everything is commercial. In a small way, this harbor reminded me of the East River in New York City, near Roosevelt Island. Admittedly, the buildings there are much taller than 12 floors, but the East River is like a corridor between buildings. There is no natural shoreline, just concrete. Whatever gets dropped, blown, or drained into the water lays there till a current takes it away. Keelung comes right down to the water, just like that. But it does have the hills with the green flora and colorful pagodas and temples, which the East River does not.

The MPA reception on Monday was moved off the ship due to rain. Not just some rain - monsoonal rain! I learned from Leslie, our Teacher Aboard, that it rains over 200 days a year in Keelung. Our day of arrival was dry and sunny. I guess we were fortunate. Once it started raining, it continued to rain right through our stay, and for the next two days at sea as we made our way toward Korea. It continued during the time that we were hove-to. Mr. Tay Yoshitani, the Executive Director of the MPA, was back for this reception as he was for the party in Kaohsiung. This time he was packing mail for the ship. A most popular man was he, bearing crew mail! In spite of the rain, several of the attendees came down to the ship and toured her, protected fairly well by the ship's awnings that cover the deck from the foremast all the way back to the wheel.

Departure from Keelung was uneventful except for my concern for the weather. The rain was brought by a stalled front laying west to east across the north end of Taiwan. This front also brought us northeasterly winds. Thankfully, they were moderate in strength at Force 4 and we took off with all lowers set and the starboard engine assisting at 1500 RPM.

Two days into our rain splattered motor-sail up the East China Sea, the weak low to the south of Taiwan that had been there for some days was declared a tropical depression by the Japanese, my main resource for weather fax maps and descriptions. It was described as moving east-northeasterly. This had an impact on our weather; as the tropical depression got closer to the stalled front over us, our north-easterlies increased against us. With winds gusting to 35 knots, we hove-to and remained hove-to for 53 hours. The wind did not stay at strength the whole time, but it did stay in a contrary direction after moderating to between 18 and 25 knots. So the sea remained sizable and we remained idling in one general area, about half way to Korea.

Life hove-to is at first almost luxurious, at least when the weather is not truly threatening. The ship becomes rather comfortable as it gently rides the sea swell while being pointed nearly into it. This time, I chose to use only the mainsail. Commonly, two sails are set on multi-masted vessels. The goal is to achieve a balance so the vessel will ride pointed toward the sea and wind. In theory, this is done by setting one sail foreword and one sail aft. However, PRIDE has, over the years, been hard to figure out. What at first seemed obvious to me, did not bring the results I wanted. Since we seldom heave-to, we rarely practice this maneuver. But now I think I have found the most desirable manner to heave-to comfortably. During the past days, I have discovered that with only the main up, PRIDE rides just where I want her, about 60 degrees off the wind, with very little oscillation. On previous occasions when I have had to heave-to, I set the smaller fore-staysail to balance the larger mainsail. However, this made PRIDE oscillate wildly from beam to the sea, to nearly straight into the sea and wind. But now I found that the mainsail is enough.

Why? My conclusion for why using the mainsail alone works is that the resistance of all the rigging forward (foremast, foretopmast, coarse yard, topyard, bowsprit and jibboom along with all the wire and rope) is, in total, all the "sail area" needed to balance the mainsail. So we continue to learn about our high strung and sensitive schooner, PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II, as she reveals her secrets in her own time.

Once hove-to, life on the ship is almost serene - not much lurching and little to no heaving motion. Everyone gets an easy and comfortable rest in their bunks when they are off duty. The watch is undemanding as the helm is lashed off, hence a helmsman is not needed. The crew on watch keeps an eye on things and a sharp lookout for other ships. But more than a day of it can get old quickly. There is no progress toward the destination and there is little to do on watch. In fact, it is likely the ship drifts away from the destination at a rate between 1.5 to 3.0 knots. After a day, that could be as much as 72 miles. When the blow is over and it is time to get underway again, it may take a half day of travel before the ship is back at the point when progress was first stopped. Nonetheless, if you can heave-to instead of bashing and smashing about in a large sea with a strong wind that is smack in your face, it will almost always be much more comfortable. And, indeed, more prudent to save wear and tear on the ship and crew.

We have now been underway 32 hours from our two days of inaction. It is now nearly calm in wind and sea. This comes as a new high pressure system slides by from west to east as we make our way north and get under the high. Tomorrow I think we may have some favorable winds as the high moves off to the east. If we can sail tomorrow, it will be a first time in many days. Since leaving Hong Kong, the breezes have been either against us or negligible. But not all has been bad. From April 20 till May 22, we have had 80-95 degree temperatures with high humidity. Everyone was hot -- the ship was hotter. Since then we have had cooler climes, if not dry. Meanwhile, the sea water temperature has gone from 85 F to 66 F. The crew is now back into long pants and long sleeve shirts. How 'bout you?

Cheers,
Captain Miles

Ahoy,

We are only four miles off the shore of Taiwan on a hot and sunny day. We have some 70 miles to go to get to Keelung, the port that serves Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Keelung is located at the northern end of Taiwan. Our route skirts the west, northwest and north shores of this island, which all Taiwanese refer to as "the mainland" if they are sitting in the Peng-Hu islands, from where we have just come.

I have decided that fighting this sea and wind is not safe or very productive. So we sit and wait. I am not certain what the wind will do, but my guess is it will die down as night falls and we will be left with a big sea but little wind. That will make motoring a little more productive and maybe a lot less wearing. But this plan has a flaw. We may now be a little late for our scheduled arrival in Keelung tomorrow morning.

Weather around these parts has not lived up to what I understood when I read about this area during the planning stages of this tour. Considering the fact that today's technology cannot predict weather beyond a week, I should not be surprised. But the 100+ year history of weather in these parts suggests that when the summer season begins, a southerly wind prevails and is called the "southerly monsoon." I think we had it while we were in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. But for some reason we have northeasters now. Maybe it is not that the monsoon has reverted north again, but rather that the hot landmass of Taiwan is creating this condition. Whatever it is, we are stuck and so we sit. Quite comfortably, mind you. But sit we do, with no progress.

Our stay in the Peng-Hu islands was a pleasant one. We were welcomed by the Magistrate who received us and Darrell Jenks, the Branch Director of the American Institute of Taiwan, Kaohsiung. We exchanged gifts and spoke of the Magistrate's desire to see the local school system start teaching English. He requested that we make known his desire to see Maryland teachers and students come to Peng-Hu -- especially teachers to help with the teaching of English. He indicated there may be sponsorships, particularly support by local residents, to house any interested persons. He also requested that we find a Maryland town that would like to become a Sister City with Makong, the Peng-Hu islands' major town.

Makong has a population of approximately 85,000 residents. One third of the population works in the fisheries. The rest seems to be oriented to tourism. Based on my observations, tourism could become much larger than it is and still not spoil the islands. The trouble is the season here is not year round. The winter is very windy. But, from what we have seen of the land and seashore, this would be great for those into water sports. There are also archeological sites of interest dating back to 1,200 A.D. For naturalists, there are a lot of things to see as well. Geologically, the Peng-Hu islands are made of quickly cooled volcanic lava that has left a chain of low lying dots in the sea. They host a variety of rock formations, birds, and wildlife, along with lots of tropical sea life to explore.

May 23

So we hove-to. (The art of hoving: v. controlled drifting; in a sailing vessel this reduces all forces involved to a nearly comfortable condition). Hoving to, however, meant we were not advancing, and time ran out before the wind and sea reduced. So here we are at sea instead of hosting our guests.

We are now underway, for the fifth try at getting to Keelung. For the last several hours the weather has moderated to 17 to 22 knots. That's not big reduction but it's enough to reduce the seas a little. Also, the wind has shifted a bit so that it is more helpful in getting us where we want to go. With forestaysail and mainsail set and motors pushing at moderate RPM, we are moving again at 3-4 knots. We hit hard once in a while, but not constantly. With luck we could be in Keelung a full 24 hours late, on May 24th.

The logistics for dealing with an eventuality like this are very complex. PRIDE II prides herself on meeting a schedule determined months in advance. This allows everyone involved, in the Baltimore office and in the ports we're visiting, to make firm arrangements for arrival, receptions, tours, and other events. The logistics of these events can be very complicated - like our arrivals in Shanghai and Guangzhou which were practically Hollywood productions. But sometimes we don't make it. After all, we are a sailing vessel subject to the vagaries of the weather.

As I write this, we have been underway only an hour and a half and already what seemed to be a promising moderation a while ago has strengthened again. Neptune, what are you doing out there!

Cheers
Captain Miles

Greetings from Taiwan,

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II made her transit from Hong Kong against an increasing trade wind from the east and southeast. This was an inconvenient coincidence, since the wind we had coming into Hong Kong some two weeks earlier had been southerly for at least a day before arrival, and stayed for another day. But at this time of year, east to southeast are the predominant directions. So we alternately motored and sailed to Taiwan. As luck would have it, the trades were interrupted by a new high pressure system that came in from the west and brought us southerly winds again as we made landfall on the southwest corner of Taiwan. By the time we were scheduled to enter Kaohsiung Harbor, the wind had shifted to the southwest and PRIDE was able to sail in, showing off her full rigged beauty to all our hosts. And like our normal "day of arrival" sail-ins, we shot cannon! These shots startled but pleased our hosts.

Once secure and formalities completed (again several uniformed officials came aboard with the agent), the crew went about setting the ship up for our stay. With the temperature around 90 degrees, the awnings went up too. I spent time consulting with Pride Inc.'s Executive Director, Mark Belton, our advance man for this port visit, on the events scheduled for our stay. Also we spent some time with Darrell Jenks, the Branch Chief of the American Institute of Taiwan (AIT). Since the United States does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan (out of courtesy for the diplomatic relations that we have with mainland China and the fact that Taiwan is in a protracted state of near civil war with China), there is a special arrangement to handle communications between the American Government and the Taiwanese government - the AIT.

Mr. Jenks speaks several languages, one of which is Mandarin and another is Taiwanese. His fluency is quite stunning. And his knowledge of the area is a gold mine when it comes to grasping how best to use PRIDE's visit. He helped arrange the schedule of visits and tours for our Stow-away Teacher, Leslie Bridgett, during our stay in Kaohsiung, as well as encouraged me to speak to a number of audiences about PRIDE's history and mission. He also helped arrange tours for the crew. By the end of our day of arrival, we had a busy schedule planned for the first of our two stops in Taiwan.

The ship's schedule permitted me to get away for a while and I joined Leslie on a tour outside the city into the hill country of Taiwan. There I saw the foothills of Taiwan's mountain range, which exceeds 12,000 feet in places.

The area we visited was the home of indigenous natives, referred to as "aborigines." The Taiwanese Government has recently established a special Bureau to handle the protection and care of these people. What I found most enjoyable on this trip was getting out to the country and into those hills. It was cooler and drier and provided vistas to feast my eyes on. All too soon we had to get back down into the hustle and bustle of Kaohsiung so that I could fulfill my role of co-host with Tay Yoshitani, Executive Director of the Maryland Port Administration. The MPA hosted a party on board, with many officials from the Port of Kaohsiung and lots of directors from Evergreen, a major shipping line headquartered in Taiwan that does a lot of business with the Port of Baltimore.

I was also invited to speak to a couple of classes of marine architecture at the Kaohsiung Marine Technology Institute. Traditional ship construction is not taught there and they were very interested in PRIDE, particularly since she had traveled so far to visit Taiwan. Leslie and I also spoke to a class of English Language students at the esteemed National Sun Yat Sen University. This was the easiest group to talk to because there was no need for an interpreter.

We have had two more crew changes while in Kaohsiung. Bosun Damion Sailors and Deckhand Kelly Landon have departed. They have been replaced by previous PRIDE crew members, Chris Flansburg (Bosun) and John Paul Hope, Deckhand. Both of these old friends sailed aboard PRIDE during her Great Lakes Tour in 1997, so they are very familiar with the ship and her mission. They are very excited about being out in Asia, too. While Damion and Kelly contributed to PRIDE's voyage out here in vital ways, they were ready to go. After five and a half months and more than 12,000 nautical miles, with some five weeks in Asia adapting to the many friendly but different ways of our hosts, they were ready to get back to the good ol' USA.

During our stay, many of our guests asked about when we were leaving and where we were going. When they discovered we were going to the north end of their island, to Keelung, the port that serves the capital of Taipei, they became curious as to why we had allowed five full days for such a short trip. I checked into this and discovered that a mistake had been made in my calculations of the distance between Kaohsiung and Keelung. This led to a discussion about how to spend the extra time.

The upshot of those discussions was that we are now in these islands, the Peng Hu, in the Straits of Taiwan between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. The islands have a unique geological formation and offer a chance to see a less industrialized part of Asia. So far, we have seen mostly the main population centers. So, an opportunity to get out to the Peng-Hu Islands seemed a shame to pass up. To aid in our exploration, we have on board Darrell Jenks, Mr. AIT himself, so that he can pay his respects to the newly elected local magistrate, as well as introduce PRIDE and her mission to these islanders.

I am certain that his being aboard for the trip aided in getting permission to go. It may seem strange that we had to seek permission to go to another port in the same country, but it is not unheard of. What surprised me was how much discussion it required to get the simple "Yes" we were looking for. I am told that it was finally the Taiwanese Foreign Affairs Department's decision that it would be a good thing for PRIDE to visit Peng-Hu that enabled the other departments to give permission. I dare say the great amount of news that was generated with our splashy arrival in Kaohsiung helped to convince many that our mission is truly friendly as well as cultural.

Our trip so far, a distance of only 70 miles from Kaohsiung, has been on a near mill pond flat sea. This time of year is when there is the least wind. This is good for a smooth ride, but not so good for going sailing, as we have had to motor nearly all the way. But the archipelago is spread out and we have woven our way through the islands as we head to our ultimate destination. The islands are very low. There is a lot of current that sweeps back and forth and around them. But there is plenty of depth. It will be interesting to see what comes of our impromptu port stop while carrying the American representative to Taiwan.

Cheers,
Captain Miles

Hello at last.

I am told my readership has been missing me. I apologize for the long absence. It is partly due to so much going on. And it's partly due to technical difficulties. A week ago I wrote a log, but it got lost in the computer (after two hours of work AND after I carefully saved it!!!) Unfortunately, there is not enough computer literacy aboard to retrieve it. In a furious funk I left the computer alone for a while. I am surprised it has been a whole week!

Hong Kong

Arriving in Hong Kong on April 23 was a world of difference from Shanghai and Xiamen. First, there is a real Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) operated in English. Second, the terrain was different, with high hilly islands scattered all about. Third, there was this awesome scene of high rises and office buildings densely clustered along the shore and high up the sides of the hills. And these were no typical high rises. Many were 50 stories and some of the office buildings rise 80 stories! With all the concrete of different colors, the glass and steel of varying shades, and the practically vertical terrain, the vistas we saw as we arrived were spectacular. Fourth, there was no requirement for a pilot. Fifth, we could actually sail in.

In all other ways, the arrival was the same. The harbor is a very busy one -- fishing boats all over the place with many ships moving about or moored at big mooring balls. Those moored were being lightered (loaded or unloaded) by barges with cranes. Tugs were towing crane-barges around. Ferries abound in this harbor. Some are very fast hydrofoils that think nothing of going by only a boat length away at speeds of 30 knots plus. Others are high speed catamarans that do the same thing but leave a bigger wake. Then there are the coastal freighters and the self powered barges. These are between 100 and 200 feet long and number in what seem the hundreds. They go every which way, too. They really don't seem to care much about the organized channel fairways either. They do not have to participate in the VTS system because they are less than 300 tons. (So are we, but we were asked to participate.) The result was that we got informed about the big traffic - but not the little traffic. Depending on one's point of view, the little traffic may be the more important. But with language barriers that make radios useless and the freedom from VTS regulations, these vessels roam around freely and only manage to avoid collisions by dint of much last-minute effort. I watched one near collision in the making between two 130 footers. They got within 10 feet of each other, then both took strong evasive action. One was obviously in the wrong, according to maritime "rules of the road," but kept on coming till the last minute. The fellow in the right kept on coming too. I was pleased to be the observer and not a participant.

For PRIDE's sail in, we were met by a launch with two TV camera crews (CNBC and the Fox Network) and a small bevy of individuals representing our arrival party and those who helped prepare for arrival. We had most of PRIDE's sail up, including the topgallant. The route into our destination took us around the west side of Hong Kong island. This put the wind behind us and thus provided for a decent sail into port for a change. From what I saw of the TV and press coverage, the sail in was a smashing success, displaying PRIDE in picture perfect form. What was fascinating for me, as we sailed in, was the busy nature of the harbor and the dense appearance of the shore. There was not a moment when we were not being passed or crossed by any number of fast and slow craft as we sailed by one of the most commercially built up shorelines I have ever seen. Unlike Manhattan Island, Hong Kong is lit up day and night like Times Square, only it is right on the water. I could not help but be amused that PRIDE was sailing into a harbor that Baltimore Clippers were sure to have visited between 1790 and 1820. But this time there was so much modern mechanical commerce going on that we must have looked pretty alien to those that passed us by so closely, either slowly or at 30 knots. Perhaps just as alien as the Clippers must have looked to the Chinese junque seamen of yesteryear. Somehow, as time has gone by and things change, so things manage to stay the same.

There was no pomp or circumstance on our arrival, merely the media crawling all over getting shots of crew activity, of which there was plenty. The wind on the way in was a bit fluky and caused for some backing and filling of sail, as the wind shifted suddenly hitting us from the side. This keeled PRIDE over till the cannons pointed into the water. But all of this took less than 60 seconds. Soon, all was serene aboard again as PRIDE scooted along with the fresh breeze. The usual crew antics during the takedown of sail was furiously recorded by the media. For all their interest to get the best shot or angle of view, they were nimble and did not get in the way. They were also good about being sure when it was convenient for an interview. When it was all over and all sail was down, PRIDE maneuvered to her place of mooring. This time she truly was to be moored rather than docked. Two floating markers with shackles on top were waiting for PRIDE's crew to thread a line from both bow and stern. While I held PRIDE in between the mooring balls, the crew launched the zodiac and one at a time took a dock line out to a mooring and threaded it through the shackle, then brought back the bitter end. This way we could slip our moorings without re-launching the zodiac when it came time to leave. Once we were secure, the motor launch that brought our guests aboard took them ashore.

At this time, our ship's agent came aboard. Hong Kong may be held by China again, but the status of this place is very different from the other ports in China we have visited. In this case, the noticeable difference to me was clearance formalities. In the other Chinese ports (as later in Guangzhou), a whole army of uniformed individuals comes aboard with the agent to process papers. In Hong Kong, only the agent came aboard; and, after a short perusal of the ship's papers and crew passports, he took everything with him to be processed off the ship. Another difference in Hong Kong is that the agent took all of the ship's papers -- including licenses and certificates! For the many years I have traveled international waters, this is the first time that has happened. But it is not uncommon to have an agent handle everything and thus not meet a uniformed official.

This was the first time PRIDE has ever been moored rather than docked during an official visit. The reason is the way Hong Kong has developed. Under English development, the waterfront quickly became exceedingly valuable for commerce as well as for residence. The hilly sides are steep and don't lend themselves to easy building, so the waterfront must be shared. With shoreline values at such a premium, there are no facilities suitable for visiting yachts longer than 80 feet -- unless one goes some distance from the business district. But there is one area that does support yachting interests in the downtown area, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. It is there that PRIDE was moored, just outside the club's breakwater, not a mile from the new Convention Center which was the venue for the hand-over ceremonies last July. It is located smack in the center of Hong Kong Business District. Our view of the harbor and city was spectacular. But being moored some distance from shore meant having some unusual logistics to deal with during our stay. The crew needed the outboard powered zodiac that PRIDE carries to get to and from shore. The ship needed to be moved every time an event was scheduled and go to a rented floating dock (pontoon) located at the Convention Center. There was no electricity or water available to the ship and so it needed to run its generator on the usual at-sea schedule to keep the batteries up and the water tanks full. The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) graciously offered their showers and facilities to the crew and the occasional use of the club launch for transportation (for a small fee).

We were also informed that just inshore of us, behind the breakwater, was the typhoon basin used by the yacht club and many other marine interests. Many of the yachts and boats moored there are live-aboards. Servicing those boats were some local waterpeople that provided launch service to get ashore in their motorized sampans. So for a few Hong Kong dollars, a late night reveler from the crew could get back home aboard a sampan. All in all, what we were told came to pass. The club was a great place to escape for all hands and the city was literally only a short boat ride away. The inconvenience of shifting PRIDE from mooring to pontoon and back was in fact an opportunity for the two mates to practice handling PRIDE as they docked and un-docked her. Also, being out at the mooring in the harbor meant cooler breezes and a really spectacular night vista of the city all lit up. The only down side of being outside the typhoon barrier was that we experienced the wash of commercial traffic. As I mentioned before, the maritime habits of much of the commercial traffic in this part of the world do not include awareness of the effects of their wake upon those they pass. There are two pilot associations operating out of the typhoon basin and they thought nothing of using full speed as they entered or left the basin, which left PRIDE to lurch about in their 3-5 foot wake. The local motor yachts that used the typhoon basin were just as indiscriminate. These wakes posed no harm to PRIDE, but getting into and out of launches or the zodiac laying alongside PRIDE was quite an adventure on more than one occasion.

During our Hong Kong stay, we had a number of social events while docked at the pontoon at the Convention Center. One of the events was the press conference shortly after our arrival and a reception hosted by the Maryland Port Administration with former Congresswoman Helen Bentley representing Governor Glendening and the Port of Baltimore. The American Consul General (Mr. Boucher, a Marylander) attended this affair and brought his high school age daughter. It was a compliment to learn that one of the Consul General's reasons for attending was to talk to our Stow-away Teacher, Leslie Bridgett, about who to talk to back home about red tide. Apparently, the Chinese are serious about trying to understand and cope with this problem (remember the red tide we sailed through on our way to Xiamen?) The CG was asking about Stateside contacts on behalf of his Chinese counterparts. Since red tide is a fairly new phenomenon for these waters, the timing of our visit was perfect. Since Leslie is an earth science teacher, and has been in contact with the chief of the FDA Seafood Lab in Washington, DC, in preparation for this project, she had some excellent contacts to recommend. Over the years, PRIDE has been the stimulus for a variety of interesting occurrences. Never would I have guessed that carrying a Maryland teacher might be of benefit to a foreign nation with ecological problems!

Other events aboard were receptions with Edelman Worldwide (an American public relations firm that was instrumental in our arrival arrangements in Hong Kong), a public open house, and tours by three school groups. This will be our only Open House in China. Hong Kong's status after the hand-over has remained, so far, untouched, as far as clearance procedures are concerned. While in Hong Kong, we could invite the public aboard and the crew could come and go from the ship without guards checking them on and off every time. During our Open House we had a steady flow of visitors, some 1,200 of them, mostly parents with children. The crew did an excellent job of responding to the questions of the many children. The three school groups that toured the ship - 100 5th graders from Hong Kong International School, some cute Chinese girls from a Canadian school, and 42 Chinese high school boys from a school run by the Episcopal Diocese - hosted our teacher for return visits to their schools later in the week.

Part of my tardiness in keeping the captain's log up to date was the chance to get off the ship during the day and tour Hong Kong a little. When I am not in demand by the ship or crew or our schedule of events, I often get my writing done. But getting off the ship to look around is hard to pass up when the opportunity arrives. I got to see downtown Hong Kong's commercial and residential districts (they seem to flow together with little distinction) during the day and at night. The most significant impact to a western visitor is the density of humanity. If you have been to Times Square on a weekend or late on Friday evening, you will have an idea of what I saw here. The commercial district has just as many neon lights, maybe more, but the number of people you see walking about is much more intense even than in Times Square. Every type of store imaginable from all over the world is in Hong Kong, too, with a heavy representation from the UK and the USA. There are double decker tram cars and buses, but mostly there are small van buses that take people about. These appear to be privately supported rather than government run. The signs on them were in Chinese only. The subway is very similar to the metro in Washington, DC -- very quiet and very clean. And it goes everywhere. Red and white Toyota taxis are plentiful.

The residential districts, which are mixed with the business areas, have the open air market scheme of shopping with the butcher and the fresh fish seller readily viewable -- and smellable. When we think of high rise housing at home, we often think of social problems. Not so in the areas I walked. The density is greater than generally found in the States, but the people are polite and generally quiet. Most of the noise comes from city traffic. The buildings are small but very tall. It appears that the apartments have three and four rooms only, each with windows and lots of laundry hanging out in an orderly fashion. Most of the residential buildings I saw along the waterfront were not new and showed signs of drabness. As we walked inshore and away from the waterfront, it was obvious that much of the newer, glitzier construction was located up the steep hillsides. (The views from the top stories must be spectacular.) No ramps for the handicapped here! I saw one staircase as wide as a street that ascended several blocks -- not unlike looking up a San Francisco street with steps!

But it is the harbor that is most interesting. I mentioned before that cargo ships are often loaded and unloaded by barge. This is because there is not enough land for all the ships to get dockside to load or unload. Only the modern container ships are accommodated dockside, with sophisticated cranes to handle the loading and unloading. The container port is located some miles from Victoria Harbor and out of sight of the island. Scattered all over Victoria Harbor (the waterway between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon) are commercial mooring buoys that medium size and smaller vessels can tie up to. Once moored, a crane barge or two (or three or even four) will be towed alongside the ship by a small tug and the crane barge will start the job of unloading or loading. This is not a simple job, as the barge will often teeter as the crane lifts heavy cargo and swings it off the ship. Sometimes the work goes on all night. The barges have their own flood lights to light up the work site. When empty or full, small tugs pull the barges away and maybe another barge comes alongside. Among all this activity, many smaller self-powered barges and coastal traders ply the waters of the harbor. Barges often carry building materials. They sport big bowsprit-like protuberances consisting of a long conveyor belt stuck out over their bows. With this mechanism, they can convey their cargo of gravel or sand ashore or into another vessel. The coastal traders are more often seen moving in or out of the harbor, sometimes empty, sometimes full.

Between these movements, ferries move between the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon on the mainland peninsula known as the New Territories. These ferries come in all sizes and all seem to sport two decks. The most famous of these ferries are the White Star Ferries. They are now celebrating their 100th year of operation. The design of these vessels is really quite handsome in a classic way. They have bows at both ends and move freely in either direction without having to turn around. They do not carry cars, only passengers. Their design has remained unchanged for decades except for changing the propulsion from steam to internal combustion, i.e. diesel engines. Unlike all of their competitors, they do not leave a big wake as they slide through the water. Since they are double ended, they don't have the boxy look of the modern ferries. Their design is a tribute to the simple and efficient. It is a pleasure to see that they are still useful and running across Victoria Harbor every seven minutes.

There is one tall ship in Hong Kong. We saw her sail by over the weekend while we were in town. She's a hermaphrodite-rigged, steel-hulled vessel some 30 years old. She first came here as an Outward Bound project. Sadly, I did not get her name. She looked smart as she reached back and forth across the harbor dodging traffic.

Off to Guangzhou

Our next stop after Hong Kong was Guangzhou, or Canton as it was called by the westerners until about a decade ago (its name was standardized with its Mandarin pronunciation and spelling at the same time Peking was officially renamed Beijing). This is the place from which the East Baltimore community of Canton gets its name (hon). Baltimore had quite a bit of trade with Guangzhou both before and after the War of 1812. In fact, the best known privateer of the war, CHASSEUR, our namesake since she was dubbed "Pride of Baltimore" because of her audacious exploits during that War, made a trading mission to Canton in 1815. She returned to Baltimore in 1816. (You can read the entire log of CHASSEUR'S Voyage to China and Back right here in the school section of our web site).

Guangzhou is located up the Pearl River in the heart of the Pearl River Delta. Hong Kong is located on the eastern edge of the mouth of the Pearl River Delta, about 80 miles from Guangzhou. However, we could not go directly to Guangzhou from Hong Kong via some shortcut channels behind some islands because we were required to take a river pilot aboard. To get to the Guangzhou River Pilot Station, which is located near the center of the mouth of the delta, we had to motor 21 miles to the pilot station before we could then motor the 80 miles up the river to our destination. Because we were advised we would not be permitted to move in the Pearl River after dark (something I had no desire to do anyway), we got a pre-dawn 0430 hour start from Hong Kong and arrived at the pilot station at 0800 in order to have enough daylight to complete the run up the river in one day. Even so, we had to wait until 0900 to board our pilots. They came as a pair -- an older gentleman and a younger one. I presume one was the student of the other. Together they only knew enough English to direct PRIDE up the river. So it was hard to get any local tales from them.

Our day spent going up the Pearl River would also entail some special preparations by the crew. The last 15 miles of the river had some low wires and bridges, too low for PRIDE to pass with her full mast height. So after breakfast, the crew commenced readying PRIDE's two topmasts for lowering till they would clear the wires and bridges. They had to be lowered some 16 feet. This process is a detailed one. Fortunately, it was not as involved as it could have been. Since we only had to come down 16 feet, we did not have to take as much of the rig apart as would be the case if we had to go from 107 to 79 feet, our lowest possible clearance before taking the entire rig out of the boat. By only having to drop 16 feet, we just had to loosen the four foretopmast shroud lanyards, the two foretopmast standing backstay lanyards, the jibtop stay, the topgallant stay, then lift the course yard away from the foremast to permit the foretopmast to slide down behind it, and temporarily lash the foretop yard after the foretopmast was lowered. Similarly the maintopmast needed lowering. In that case, fewer things needed dismantling. The doing was much more involved than the writing for it took all of six hours to get the job done in time for the first wire.

Meanwhile the pilots were guiding us up the Pearl River Delta. Again we witnessed the tendency of the local vessels to pretty much ignore the maritime rules of the road. The fishing vessels were the worst offenders. But occasionally the smaller commercial traffic would crowd us as we moved up the river. On a couple of occasions, I quizzed the pilots as to their intentions as I watched a situation developing. Even with the rig coming down I was distracted from the scene and the pilot had to advise me he was slowing down because of ferries crossing in front of us that did not give a hoot for the main thoroughfare traffic.

The Pearl River is a very complex junction of many tributaries. Looking at a chart does not provide an easy clue as to which of several waterways is the main one. In the more open lower portion of the Delta, we saw lots of fishing vessels and the occasional commercial ship along with the high speed ferries racing from Hong Kong on one side of the mouth of the river to Macao on the other side. Further up the Delta, as it becomes a river, there are commercial port facilities. It is here that the water traffic starts to get very busy. It is also here that the shores are close enough to actually see communities. On the left side, we saw a temple with a huge gold leafed statue of Buddha. It was at the top of a ridge of land and had a very wide span of steps going up from the water to the top of the ridge and the foot of the statue. It presented an impressive scene as it came clear in the haze. Further up the river on the right side, we saw a lot of smoke over a large group of self powered barges. After some difficulty understanding the pilot, we finally understood these were dredges with barges taking sand from the river bottom for use in construction. There had to be thirty of these dredges working with another thirty barges all clustered together.

The river showed some of the serenity that must have been the norm before industry came. We passed some smaller river communities with rice farms along the edges. There are levies built up to protect the low lands of the river and, as we passed, it appeared the land beyond the levee was lower than PRIDE. In the outer reaches of the city of Guangzhou, we passed several more splits in the river with lots of barge traffic going in different directions. We also saw lots of smaller docks where the coastal traders would dock or the local river commerce would come and offload. There were small and big shipyards too. A number of modern ships with European names were in being repainted. We even saw a very modern wave-piercing express passenger vessel. Given the older appearance of China ports, it was startling to see such a modern vision as a wave piercing vessel. It looked as if it just came out of a Star Trek movie. It sat very bold in its proud white and purple paint over a convex shaped hull.

Just before it came time to anchor in the middle of the river and wait for the next day's official arrival at our assigned dock, we passed our last low bridge. It is under construction and looks very modern with its two tall towers of concrete with spidery metal rods holding up the center span. Up ahead is another fork in the river with a tall white building with lots of windows. The pilot points out the White Swan Hotel where we will dock the next day. At 1700 hours, we let the anchor go and the pilots go ashore with promises of coming back the next day for the 100 yard move to the floating pier. The crew starts immediately to put the topmasts back up so the ship will look whole for the cameras during the formal Welcome Ceremony scheduled for 1000 hours the next morning. Since we were putting the topmasts back only temporarily (they had to come down again for the trip back downriver), the job of hoisting them into position went quickly and the crew was done in two hours. Meanwhile the local river traffic happily moves around us, often at less than 30 feet away as they proceed on their missions. I order an anchor watch to be ready with bright lights in the event that a local craft seemed unsure whether we were actually an obstruction in the river. It is very hard to see PRIDE when she is at anchor if there are a lot of background lights. I was worried that a tired barge operator might become more interested in the neon than in the river traffic, so the anchor watch was given the task of keeping an eye out for the possibility of a collision.

Arrival and Welcome Ceremony

April 30 began slowly with a normal breakfast schedule. But soon after 0800 a military looking river patrol vessel decended on us and wanted to come alongside. From it, some 23 individuals in official olive green uniforms and one civilian, the agent, came aboard. After a half hour of formalities and commemorative photo taking, they left and the media came aboard along with the pilots. The crew hauled back the hook, and we proceeded to the pontoon 100 yards away, where a group of colorfully dressed school kids waited with musical instruments and two Chinese dragon dancers that cavorted about the pontoon.

Once secured, the official Welcome Ceremony began, after which a press conference was held with me and Leslie as the main attraction, while the crew set the ship up for the evening reception to be hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce. Whenever there are official ceremonies here in China, certain little niceties can be expected. I was given a flower and a ribboned badge to pin on, which was similar to what the other dignitaries wore. Dignitaries included the representative of the American Consulate, the senior Director of the Guangzhou Harbor Authority, and the Vice Mayor of Guangzhou. During the Welcome Ceremony, the crew and Leslie were all lined up on my right, while we were to the right of our hosts. The school kids were positioned in front of us with spectators behind them. At one end of the two lines stood the musicians and the dragon dancers who went into a paroxym of movement and celebration at the introduction of each of the dignitaries. After the press conference, all official guests were escorted to a formal lunch. This took the form of the traditional twelve courses, each very small by western standards and much of it local seafood. All of it delicious! Two hours later, everyone disbanded, pleasantly filled.

Guangzhou

Guangzhou offered something for the crew that, to my knowledge, has never been available before. Having PRIDE tied up to the White Swan Hotel gave the crew access to the hotel facilities as guests, courtesy of the hotel (and thanks to the sweet talking of our advance man from the office, Director of Education and Teacher Leslie's alter ego, Jerome Bird.) While this did not include rooms, it did include showers and use of a beautiful pool only 150 feet from the ship. Since there were few formal events planned for the ship because our visit occurred during the National May 1st, Labor Day celebrations, I decided to give the crew the weekend off. This was not as much time off as it might sound. But Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were available to be shared by the watches with no maintenance required -- they needed merely to keep an eye on the ship and have one person available at all times to deal with visitors. I took myself ashore and rented a room. But I did not have all that time to myself, either. I went on an official photo tour of Guangzhou with our advance man Jerome and our teacher Leslie on Friday.

On Saturday, I went with the crew to a morning of traditional sports activities that the public enthusiastically participates in at a large, centrally-located sports arena in the newer part of the city. But I had Sunday free, which was a blessing. Even so, I tried to get some work done by writing the Captain's log (that ill-fated one that the laptop swallowed after my two hours of work). The crew spent a lot of time in the pool or on the ship watching videos sent out from home. They seemed to be quite happy to not have to be sweating up a storm working on ship projects with the hotel just next door.

On Monday, the whole crew was taken on a tour of the Guangzhou port facilities. This was especially important to our hosts, the Harbor Bureau, because Guangzhou is a sister port to the Port of Baltimore. This was followed by a "thank you" lunch hosted by the Far East representative for the Maryland Port Administration, Mr.Y.K. Pin. After an afternoon tour of the city we hosted the port officials to a tour of the ship and then became their guests at a dinner they hosted in our honor. At both the lunch and the supper there were twelve courses. By the time we were half way through supper, the familiarity between the crew and the port officials was close enough to permit some friendly teasing during the obligatory toasting that was offered back and forth. The day ended in very good spirits (after considerable amounts of spirits including Hennessy brandy, Great Wall red wine, and JaiJin (local) beer).

Our last day in Guangzhou was a day of vessel prep for going down the river, hosting school tours for local kids, and a tour by the office staff of the local COSCO group, a major Chinese shipping organization whose ships often stop at Baltimore. Our departure day started early, with the crew on deck at 0600 hours to lower the rig again. Then at 0730 there were the formalities of clearance and an informal goodbye by our hosts. With the pilots aboard, we got underway at 0820 and proceeded down the river. Traffic was the same and bore watching like a hawk. After we cleared the last low wire, the crew jumped to raising the topmasts again. By 1600, they had them up and in place and the key lanyards tightened well. However, we were still one and a half hours from the pilot station. We didn't make it downstream quite so fast as coming up because of the tidal situation and the afternoon breeze. On the way up we had a flood the whole way. On the way down we had an ebb for only half the way. The afternoon also brought us fresh onshore breezes that slowed our speed some. However, by 1730 the pilots were off, and we were on our way back to Hong Kong to spend the night.

Back to Hong Kong

Returning to Hong Kong was important for several reasons, not the least of which was our next destination -- Taiwan. Relations between China and Taiwan are stressed and passing directly between them is not acceptable. By clearing into and out of Hong Kong, officially considered a Chinese SAR (Special Administrative Zone), we would avoid contributing to the stress. Returning to Hong Kong also meant we could refuel without running into the Chinese regulations about foreign vessels buying fuel. It was also my intent to get the ship's laundry done. A day's time spent in Hong Kong would also permit our new cook, Tina Koch, to get a little more shopping done and give the crew time to finish adjusting the rig for sea, a very time consuming process that is critical to the strength of the rig for sailing. We got all of our tasks accomplished -- except the laundry. For some reason there was not a laundry in Hong Kong that would take our 13 garbage bags of laundry and return them by the morning of the next day. They all insisted they needed 2-3 days. I wonder what they would have said to thirteen different individuals that came in? It seems very strange to me that we could not get our laundry done in Hong Kong -- a city of millions with an international appeal that rivals all cities. So we put to sea on May 8 with our dirty laundry and motored our first day underway to the east toward Kaohsiung, Taiwan, a sister port of Baltimore.

Yesterday brought fresh northeast breezes and we went sailing, a blessing in spite of the foul direction of the wind, for the breezes helped cool the vessel off. Weather now is very tropical with temperatures in the 90's and the humidity nearly as high. Last night the wind moderated and shifted to the east. After tacking for the night and getting nowhere, we started motoring again and are still doing so. I woke to the news that we had a new passenger aboard, a pigeon. It had been tagged too. We recorded the numbers and fed it some water. It remains aboard resting and waiting. Little does it know that we are due to arrive Kaohsiung tomorrow around noon.

We are homeward bound now. Our most distant port for this campaign was Guangzhou. It is as far west as we are going. We are now heading back home to the east. Our trip home will be a bit long, however. We will first visit Taiwan, then South Korea, and Japan, before heading back across the North Pacific. This route will hopefully bring us favorable winds. Once we are back in the States at Seattle, we will move south for Panama and then north again for home, arriving some six months from now. It seems strange to be thinking about being homeward bound. We still have so much more to do. Yet we have done so much getting to this point.

We are now beginning to change the out-bound crew for the return crew. Andy Jackson, our intrepid cook, left us in Hong Kong and Tina Jo Koch joined us. She is from Ocean City, Maryland, and is a very hard working cook. Andy fed us well on our way out, but he was ready and a little anxious to get back home as his time to go came near. In Kaohsiung we lose Damion Sailors and Kelly Landon, but gain old shipmates Chris Flansburg and John Hope. The change brings sadness but also gladness. Those leaving are happy to go after a long challenging time of crossing the Pacific and seeing all of China. Their replacements are happy to be joining us for the trip home, still a long way off with many miles left to sail, and many sights left to see. Change is a good thing, especially when the job of crewing aboard PRIDE II is such a demanding one. While the change can be sad, it is a good sad, for it is timely and it comes after a good job has been done.

Cheers and finally all written out,
Captain Jan Miles