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New London to Boston

We set sail for Boston from New London, CT, on July 10, at 2000 hours - right in the midst of our victory party! We had just beaten Highland Sea, our old nemesis, and two other schooners in a pick-up race as the kick off event of Op Sail Connecticut. It's now two out of three for Pride II against Highlander Sea. We'll have one more go at Highlander as she races against us back to her home port of Halifax.

As we left New London, it had just started to rain as predicted. But the course to Boston is to the east, so the wind was fair after Pride II cleared the Thames River. Again the crew set sail and Pride II sped off at some 10 knots or more. In short order, Pride II reached the Cape Cod Canal. We had transited the 100-mile distance to the canal in only eight hours. By then it was 0400 the next day and Pride II turned north up the Massachusetts coast in Cape Cod Bay as the weather cleared during the dawn. Soon it was lunchtime again and Pride II lay peacefully at anchor behind an island in the Boston Harbor archipelago. The crew deserved a rest and had earned it - especially as the next day, at 0630 hours, another large group of guests would come aboard to witness and participate in the Parade of Sail into Boston on the first day of Sail Boston's tall ship event.

Parade of Sail into Boston Harbor

At 0530 hours with a clear sky and cool temperatures from a northwest breeze, Pride II's crew hauled back the anchor and maneuvered the ship to a pier in Hull, MA. There we boarded 33 guests from John Hancock Insurance to spend the day aboard watching and participating in Sail Boston's Parade of Sail into Boston Harbor. The CEO of John Hancock was aboard with the group. It was a really early start to the day for our guests who had to be bussed to our location from the center of Boston. Naturally, they were excited - a crystal day is always invigorating. Being on a beautiful topsail schooner, such as Pride of Baltimore II, and having a chance to watch a large fleet of traditional vessels from around the world make ready to parade into your home town only adds to the excitement and pride.

With guests and caterers with food for the day aboard, Pride II got underway and motored to the parade staging area - as did every other vessel of any size for miles around!

The waters of Boston Harbor were getting very crowded for so early in the morning as everyone with a boat scrambled to find a good position for the parade. Outside the harbor at the staging area lay the visiting fleet of traditional sailing ships. They presented a majestic sight not common in this modern world of motorized cargo vessels. Pride II's crew made sail and sailed slowly through the fleet. Meanwhile the caterers had a continental breakfast laid out for all to enjoy. Think of it! Juices, muffins, bagels, cut fruit, coffee, jam and a spread or two while the fleet of tall ships eased by. Pretty special, indeed, I think. As did our guests.

The complication of coordinating a fleet of visiting sailing vessels and a horde of floating public is a monumental task. It involved all of the water authorities from federal, state, and city governments. The voice traffic on the radio among all of these groups was astounding. Pride II was provided a volunteer pilot from the Boston Pilots as well as a United States Coast Guard Reservist to help with our job of being the lead vessel in a small squadron within a flotilla of 19 squadrons. We were Squadron #12 and so had to wait till 1145 hours to start the parade. With a nice breeze, we made the most of the wait and sailed back and forth through the staging area and watched the fleet get slowly underway.

When it came our turn to lead off, we were going too fast. Instead of reducing sail, we maneuvered. Sometimes it was a process of zigging and zagging. Sometimes it was a process of backing the square topsail. Sometimes, if the wind was puffing up, it was both. The fun part of the whole process of slowing down when the ship wanted to go fast was the reaction of the spectators. We would get pretty close to the sides of the cleared channel between the spectator boats during the zigging and zagging and they would give loud cheers and beep their horns -- as if Pride II was a dancing mare bowing to her audience as she bounced along.

The channel into Boston Harbor is one that curves from southerly to westerly as it enters the inner harbor. Then it turns further toward the northwest. With a northwest wind, it became difficult for many vessels to keep their sails full. Those that did not mind letting their sails flog like flags or could continue to motor into the wind with their sails aback (filled with wind from in front rather than from behind) kept their sails up. Others, like Pride II, took their sails down. We did this because flogging can be quite damaging to the sails over an extended period of time. Hence we did not present a very beautiful picture as we passed the main grandstand aboard the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy.

One vessel that could push against the wind with all sail up was the Kaiwo Maru from Tokyo. She is a large four masted barque with squares on the forward three masts. She followed the parade route all the way into where the Constitution is moored and then turned back out to the outer harbor and her berth at the commercial passenger piers. Having all sail set through the turn meant she had a chance to fill her sails with the northwest wind after turning around. She was the only ship to get front-page color photographs in both of Boston's main newspapers!

Sail Boston 2000

The rest of our stay in Boston was a blur of activity. Open house for the general public. Private receptions for our favorite corporate client, Tate Access Floors and their local distributor, the Longdon Company. And one reception for a newcomer, St. Paul's School in Brooklandville for alumni located in the Boston area. The crew got two days off in a row, too! So they were able to see a lot of friends and get away from the ship a bit. My time was taken up with ship's business getting ready to sail from our home country for the next four months. It was also taken up with a lot of events put on by Sail Boston in honor of the visiting ship captains. There was a evening ball, a formal cocktail party at the State House, and a Captains' luncheon. I also got invited to a reception aboard the Japanese training ship Kaiwo Maru. Finally there was a reception by the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) and the obligatory meeting of all captains of vessels participating in the Race to Halifax.

Our stay in Boston was made particularly enjoyable by having a docking position rafted outside of the Dutch training vessel Eendracht. She is a modern steel hulled vessel with a massive three masted gaff schooner rig. The Captain and officers are all volunteers except for four - the engineer, cook, and two bosuns. She often carries adults but is now carrying youth in order to qualify for the mandatory age range for the tall ship Race. The rule for the Race, which is being sponsored by the International Sail Training Association (ISTA) and the American Sail Training Association (ASTA), is that at least 50% of the ships company must fall in the age range of 15-25 years.

The crew and cadets of Eendracht speak English as well as we do. The differences between our vessels caused a good bit of conversation. We also had to coordinate our continual movement across Eendracht to get ashore, bring supplies aboard, host open house visitors, and accommodate guests and caterers. Plus there was the practical matter of water and power cords. Before long we had spontaneous parties occurring aboard Pride II and Eendracht late into the night. We also had three Dutch cadets come with us on an evening sail with Tate/Longdon. The Dutch girls were a fun addition to the sail as they sang and participated with our crew in handling sail.

Now it is near time to leave Boston as we have all our cadets aboard and the crew is back from their time off. Several parents have come with their children to see the ship and the scope out the place where their child will sleep for the next month. Much comment has been made about what a terrific adventure this will be - to sail across the Atlantic aboard Pride II with a fleet of international tall ships! I am glad this feeling abounds. Indeed, this is a unique opportunity for Pride II, and the crew and I feel it will be a high point in this year's activities.

Cheers,
Captain Jan Miles