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 PRIDE II Takes First Place in Class B
in Waterford, Ireland to Cherbourg, France Tallships' Race!
We have just finished the first race of the 2005 Tall
Ships' races. It was a slightly meandering course set between Waterford, Ireland
and Cherbourg, France. The race was plagued by very light winds. While it is a
popular myth that light winds are PRIDE II's strong suit, something she seemed
to confirm by finishing First in Class B, she fell to 5th in Fleet behind four
square riggers. Notwithstanding the fact that those square riggers are larger
than PRIDE II, it was interesting to see those square riggers do so well in such
light winds, even when sailing close to the wind during the last 6 hours of the
race. But let me catch up with our adventures since the Portsmouth, England
Festival of the Sea held in Portsmouth Navy Yard.
Portsmouth to Waterford
We ran into a series of bad luck and timing for our
transit to Waterford from Portsmouth. First was a delay in the taking down of a
foot-bridge that was set up over the entrance of the tidal-locked basin where
PRIDE II and several other vessels were docked. As a result, we missed the
morning tide that first Monday after the Festival. We had to wait 12 hours for
the next high-water, which meant we would miss our window of moderate westerly
winds during a shift to the northwest. Second, during the fresh northwest winds,
PRIDE II had to anchor in the shelter of a cove near Falmouth for 24 hours and
wait for the wind to subside. The end result was that we would not make our
desired arrival into Waterford, Ireland on Wednesday evening.
 Our problem with the weather is the sea that gets up
when the current and wind are opposed. The English Channel flows westward (ebb)
and eastward (flood) twice daily. Whenever the wind is blowing freshly against
the current, the sea size gets short between crests and steep sided for the sea
height. This often results in PRIDE II doing some heavy hobby-horsing as she is
motored into the wind and sea. That up and down motion can get such that the
long 50 foot head rig can run the risk of plunging into the next sea. When this
happens, the strain on the head rig and other parts is significant and can lead
to damage. To avoid damage when this situation occurs, it is better to motor
away from the direction of the sea and wind. But if you are in a rush to cover
the mileage to the next port, this is not necessarily a good solution. The
increased mileage created by "going around the sea" so to speak, can create
enough extra mileage that there is a possibility of greater delay. There is also
the consideration of general wear and tear on crew, as well as the ship.
 I have often debated with myself the merits of heading
off in a deviated direction to create a less violent smashing of the bow into
the sea verses, verses stopping for a while to let the weather pass by, thereby
reducing wear and tear and maybe even provide some "rest" to the crew. By my own
count, it would seem I more often chose to stop rather than head around the
problem. This is particularly true if the required course takes us close along
the shore, thereby reducing the options available for dealing with the localized
conditions. Stopping is what we did on our way to Waterford. As a result we did
not arrive in Waterford until Friday morning and the crew had to move quickly to
get ready for the race, which was scheduled to start the next day. But we did
manage to see some wonderful sites!
Waterford, Ireland
 Waterford is described by some as the oldest city in
Ireland and its first real harbor. It dates back more than 1,000 years. I knew
it as a typical Irish town on a river with steep sides running through. When we
arrived late, we found a river full of vessels tied up two or more deep - many
with flags flying. The harbor was made nearly beautiful by the crowded view of
masts and sailing hulls we found as we arrived shortly after dawn.
After our preparations for the race leg to Cherbourg,
the crew got a little time off and I went to a Captain's meetings about the
race. Racing tallships in Europe is a 50-year tradition and, therefore, is not a
hastily put together affair. The starting ports have many logistics to attend to
in accepting so many vessels and assembling them for a race. The same goes for
the receiving ports after the race. The race organizers also have their rules
about vessel readiness and safety. However, once I was finished dealing with all
the details, I had the to chance to go for a walk into town with my wife Leslie,
who had flown over to sail with me after she was finished with teaching school
back at home.
 This is when I learned that Waterford is as old as it
is. Without Leslie, I doubt I would ever have discovered that tidbit. Without
her aboard to remind me of the interesting things around the ship, I often get
to the end of a day with no thought of going ashore to explore other than to go
for a walk. She reads about where we are and I learn from her. Once a teacher,
always a teacher.
Waterford to Cherbourg Race
 Events leading up to the start of a tallship race almost
invariably include a Tallships' Parade, as was the case as the fleet departed
Waterford. The race start was not scheduled until 2:00 pm. As luck would have
it, for all the wind that held PRIDE II back from arriving on schedule, there
was NO wind at all for the start of the race. In fact, it was so calm, the race
committee abandoned trying to start the race after four false starts and,
instead, ordered the fleet to motor through the night to a start location 60
miles down the race course. It was an interesting feeling, navigating PRIDE II
along the course with some 60 other vessels, all moving at the same speed and in
the same direction. I often mused about what the commercial traffic thought as
they looked at their radars and saw so many contacts all moving in the same
direction, at the same speed, while being spread out over a 6 mile distance.
 The Sunday start of the race went off nearly without a
hitch. One snag was the lack of shallow water and extra logistical help. The
start line markers that were used when the fleet was trying to start near
Waterford were not all available for the postponed start, which was located out
in the middle of the Celtic Sea. The Irish Navy had one vessel tasked to follow
the fleet, so she took on the job of starting the fleet, but without actually
anchoring, as it was too deep. Have any of you fine readers been involved with a
start that was drifting? The trick was further complicated by needing to start
four different classes spread out over an hour's time. There was quite a bit of
radio chatter about that start.
To highlight the situation, one of the Class A
competitors, the CHRISTIAN RADICH of Norway, chose to take advantage of the
racing rules and execute a 14 knot running start. What a surrealistic scene it
was to watch her speeding past all the other sedately starting Class A square
riggers under sail. That, too, got the radio chatter going. But she did not
break any rules, which provide for all vessels to use their engines up to 10
minutes before the start or up to half a mile from the start line. So, at the
half mile line, the Norwegian ship turned her engine off at a speed of 14 knots
and glided on across the line as she set sail. She won her class by over an
hour. So, her maneuver was unnecessary. It remains to be seen what her class
members will do for the next race, and whether having some 8 or 10 large square
riggers "racing" for the start will make things dangerous or not. Of course, a
more dangerous environment will probably cause a change in the rules.
PRIDE II is in Class B because her length is less than
40 meters on deck and she is not a true square rigger. She is a fore and aft
rigged schooner, possessing a couple of yards for her square topsail. This year
PRIDE II was the largest in her class and her rating was the largest, as well.
She needed to not only to get ahead of her class members, but lead them by a
fair time margin if she was going to beat them for a prize.
 With the start being downwind, I directed PRIDE II in a
series of gibes down wind, in what might have looked to some like a slow slalom
through the fleet. The crew got pretty adept at taking down the studding sail
and, after the gibe, resetting it. We executed one gibe in the moonless dark and
it went without a hitch. Kudos to the crew and trainees!
The crew of the vessels participating in the races are
not just anyone interested in sailing in a tallships' race. At least 50% of the
crew of a participating ship must fall in the age range of 15 to 25 (inclusive).
This is not easy for PRIDE II to achieve. PRIDE II's mission is to visit ports
to promote Maryland; as such, she does not have an "underway" program that would
be typical to the other tallships participating in these races. With a large
crew of 12, out of the total overnight sleeping capacity of 19 that PRIDE
possesses, there is no guarantee that there will be 10 or more individuals
aboard that fall within the age range required to qualify as a racing tallship.
Additionally, the 6 berths that are available for a fee are typically filled by
guest crew in the age range of 45 to 75 years.
 It is no small commitment for
Pride, Inc. to send PRIDE II to any of these tallship races. But, with the help
of Sail Training International (STI), which is responsible for scheduling and
organizing these races, we have been able to find enough paying trainees, of the
correct age, to compliment the already hired crew (of the correct age range), so
that PRIDE II was able to qualify. For this race we had two German trainees,
brother and sister - Florian and Caroline Schuerenkraemer. We also had 3 Irish
trainees, Michael Mulrennan, Kate O'Shea, and Naomi McIlvenny. They were a great
addition to the hired crew. They fit themselves well into their new watches and
worked hard alongside the professional crew.
One of the highlights of these tallships' races is the
requirement to call in our position to the race organizers. This is both a
safety issue, as well an opportunity to keep the trainees and any other
interested enthusiasts pumped up for the length of the race. The called in
positions are entered into the race computer and race standings are then
transmitted back to the fleet. For the first two call-ins (the evening of the
start of the race and the morning of the next day), PRIDE II was last in Class
and deep down the roster of the Fleet as a whole. Meanwhile, she was leading the
fleet of 60 odd vessels along with 4 or 5 other vessels. It was beginning to
look to me like we would be hard pressed to place well in handicap against
others in our Class. But time did its thing and by the second evening PRIDE II
was 2nd in Class and much higher in the Fleet.
Late in the second night of racing, the fleet organizers
called every participant to notify all that the race was being ended at dawn the
next day. This notice came to PRIDE II 6 hours before the official ending time
for Class B. It was immediately evident to me that we had to change our racing
strategy and go for speed over all other concerns. The crew and cadets did a
terrific job of steering PRIDE II for speed because the ship was able to achieve
her First in Class by beating her nearest competitor by a mere 10 minutes. It
was the 10 minutes, I am pretty sure, we achieved through the six hours spent
trying to maximize speed, rather than going for an advantageous geographic
position, assuming we would be continuing to race through the rest of the third
day.
 Now we are motoring in flat calm along with the rest of
the fleet in order to cover the remaining distance to Cherbourg in time to
participate in their festivities scheduled to start Thursday. We have about 130
miles still to go. Considering the virtual flatness of this calm, it would seem
the premature ending of the race was a good idea. Some of the smaller vessels in
the fleet can just barely make 5 knots under power. They will be spending the
remaining time until Thursday morning merely covering the remaining distance.
But it is my intention to get in early Wednesday morning, in hopes of taking
advantage of the more summery weather and accomplishing some much delayed
cosmetic maintenance.
Cheers,
Captain Miles
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