The Captain's Logs are below.

Back to Captain Logs 2000

After surviving the awful weather for the first 24 hours of the Boston to Halifax race, the wind died altogether. It was the beginning of a nine-hour drift. Being becalmed can be a very unhappy experience. Strangely, it was not so this time. The swell had moderated significantly so shipboard comfort was rather good considering what it had been. After a hectic stay in Boston and the uncomfortable and stressful start of the race, it was relaxing not to have to worry about the many things one would if Pride II was actually making way. Everyone got some needed sleep.

Early on Tuesday morning around 0200 hours, we sensed a light breeze coming from the south as promised by the various weather reports. This was the beginning of a long day taking every opportunity to make Pride II sail fast in hopes of getting around Cape Sable before the expected cold front materialized. At first, I had wanted this cold front to come sooner. What I did not want was it to pass through quickly. If it did, we would have good winds but then, when we sailed the coast of Nova Scotia, the wind angle would be behind us and not good for making speed. I wanted the wind to be more on the side of the ship for fast reaching.

So while the cold front was approaching, the southerly breezes that precede such an event were put to maximum use. Meanwhile the fog came back again and we had to concentrate on the traffic around us. Our radar showed where the other race vessels around us were. We had also received the positions of all the race participants for 0600 that morning and knew who was around us. Highlander Sea was well to the south and still a bit ahead. Arung Samudera was to our north and ahead a bit. The rest of Class B was substantially behind us.

The other vessels in our area were from Classes C I, II and III. These are mostly modern vessels of the yacht type, all a lot smaller than Pride II. But being smaller and generally more modern, they are able to perform well in the sloppy conditions and light winds that we were experiencing.

We also found the USCG Barque Eagle out ahead of us. She presented a wonderful sight as we caught up to her and passed her in the waxing and waning fog. We also saw the Russian, ship-rigged Mir. She was ahead of Eagle. Mir had started the race with us in Boston and it was impressive that she was this far along the course considering the conditions and her rig. Square-riggers are not supposed to be so good, right? Eagle was not racing. She had come from New London instead of Boston and was acting as one of two radio ships for the racing fleet.

Tall Ship Racing Protocols

There is a tradition in modern tall ship racing that all participants must radio in their positions at specified times. This information is run through the computer back at race headquarters and the results of position in class and fleet is then radioed back to the participants. And in these cyber-days, the positions are also posted on the race web site for the general public. (For daily standings of all the ships in the fleet, go to TallShips2000.com. Click on Race Information, then Latest Race Results). This requirement of daily position reports is a safety measure. Sharing the current standings daily is entertainment for folks ashore and afloat. Knowing where everyone is can create and preserve race tension. For instance, knowing where Highlander Sea and Arung Samudera were gave me even more reason to closely consider the details of weather, timing of currents off Cape Sable, and the most profitable wind angles in hopes of improving our position.

As Tuesday night arrived, the wind continued a very slow increase in strength as it also veered to the SW as predicted. By very early Wednesday morning just as predicted by the weather prognosticators, radar indicated rain advancing into our area. By this time, we were just coming on to Cape Sable. Luck was with us as we picked up wind strengths of 18 knots from the starboard quarter, so Pride II was going as well as she ever does - about 10 knots. The major fly in the ointment was the fog. Visibility ranged from a hundred yards to a third of a mile. Going as fast as we were with the rest of the racing fleet meant most of the participants were moving too fast to avoid each other once they actually saw one another. Hence a good radar watch was critical. Everyone in the fleet was also monitoring the same radio channels. So it was fairly easy to picture the situation between vessels by their conversations. Twice we passed a smaller race participant by a mere couple of hundred feet. Unlike an approach situation, a passing situation is a slow process and thus not particularly dangerous. Still, we could hardly see them as we passed which only served to sharpen everyone's sense of attention.

Dawn found us in just the right position to gibe over from a starboard reach to a port reach with the passage of the cold front bringing the more westerly and northerly winds. After the gibe, we were heading directly for the finish line. Fog was still around and we were still going a solid 10 knots. The 0600 morning position report gave the positions of the race participant. However, I missed Arung Sumadera and Highlander Sea, our chief competitors. My friend George Moffitt aboard Brilliant was now only abeam of us rather than ahead. I felt grand about this. I was mate aboard Brilliant for five years in the early '70's when I was just beginning my sailing career. She is a perfectly preserved example of the best of America's yachting design and construction of the early part of this century and she is very fast for her size. Being along side rather than behind her was a good feeling. If the wind held, we would pass her by because of our longer waterline length.

Highlander Sea vs. Pride of Baltimore II - Match Four

Around breakfast time, we were treated to a mythical scene. There had been a radar contact behind us we could not see in the fog. As the cold front continued to make itself felt by lowering the humidity, the fog started to thin. Right behind us was Highlander Sea! And she was moving very fast! The scene she gave us as her bow slowly sailed out of the fog was a throwback to the great days of schooner fishing in these waters. It tore at our sense of competition. Our disappointment in knowing that she would soon sail right by in the current wind conditions seemed not to matter as much as appreciating her powerful and beautiful image penetrating the fog.

As the next hour passed, she came alongside and moved on ahead. During that time, the sun's rays began to burn through the fog and lit up Highlander Sea as if she were some saint. Was this another message of who between these two vessels was going to finish the race first?

My mind started to race over the possibilities of what we could do to keep her behind us. There was nothing at hand. We would just have to stay close enough to take advantage of something when and if it presented itself. At least my strategic considerations of the night before had worked out and we had in fact gotten ahead of Highlander during the night. Staying more to the north rather than falling off to the southeast as Highlander had done during the becalmed period meant that we passed Cape Sable more closely than she did. This reduced our sailing distance going around the Cape. In these fresh winds, it is expected that she would sail faster than we would. At least she had to pass us to do so.

Soon after breakfast and as Highlander Sea pulled ahead, the fog lifted completely to a sun filled sky and a clear horizon all around. What a good feeling that gave everyone aboard! The damp of down below started to dry out. Heavy clothing began to be shed as the moisture in the air evaporated away. We found another square-rigger visible ahead in the distance. It was Soren Larson. She was not actually racing with the fleet. I wondered what it must look like to her to have Highlander Sea and Pride II Of Baltimore II racing up behind her in the rising sun. Gazing back at Highlander with her tall narrow sail plan and Pride II with her broad, stout sail plan must have occasioned some speculation as to the best rig to have. If I was aboard Soren Larson, that's what I would be thinking about.

At this time, a change in the weather gave us an opportunity to attack Highlander's lead. As the sun got higher, the wind pattern changed and we began to slowly close the gap. This was due to a reduction in the wind force as well the wind direction changing to a point further behind. For reasons I am not sure of, Highlander does not perform well with the wind far aft. Pride II does not perform as well as she might with the wind far aft either, but compared with Highlander, Pride II does better with the wind from that point. Eventually Highlander headed up to the left of the course for the finish line in hopes of sailing better in a reach to stay ahead by tacking downwind.

"Tacking down wind" is a common chore with fore and aft rigged vessels. Unlike square-riggers, fore and aft vessels experience a lot of slating in their sails when the wind is far aft. This is due to the aftermost sail blanketing, or blocking, the wind from getting to the sails forward. With square-riggers, the sails are spread between the yards and the yards cross the ship from side to side. As the ship rolls, the sails don't slat even if they are blocked from the wind by other sails. With fore & aft riggers, the common solution to slating is to reach down wind, first one way then the other. Reaching also provides faster speeds through the water, although not directly down wind. Thus the ultimate question is, will the increase of speed over a longer distance be enough to arrive at the desired destination down wind before the competitor who is heading more directly for the finish but sailing at a slower speed.

Highlander's problem was how to prevent Pride II from catching her in the new downwind condition. She chose to reach. That left us with the decision to continue straight down wind or to reach. After much consideration in which I also dismissed the strategy of simply following Highlander, we gibed over to the starboard reach and passed ahead of Soren Larsen and away from Highlander.

But we went away from Highlander only for a short while. It is poor racing strategy to loose sight of your opponent, just as it is poor strategy to merely follow your opponent. So we gibed back and headed for the finish line wondering how Highlander was making out. We kept track of her via radar and visual bearings and found that our maneuver had served us well. Ultimately, Highlander gibed back towards us and passed three miles astern of us. We gibed again to stay between her and the finish line. When she gibed back towards the finish, so did we. Even so, we finished ahead of her by only a little more than a mile, or by about 10 minutes, at 1821 hours in the evening. But make no mistake, this was two wins against her in two weeks and the best three out of four races between the two vessels in a series that started in September of last year!

Arriving in Halifax

The good feelings aboard Pride II abounded. Even so, I pointed out that this did not give anyone the freedom of talking badly of Highlander. She is a good vessel and well sailed. While winning against her was not a matter of luck, Pride II's mission is to make friends and leave a good impression of Maryland upon those we meet. So I suggested everyone aboard Pride II be happy about a job well done and courteous about how they told the story.

All this occurred while we sailed speedily up into Halifax Harbor, Highlander's homeport, ahead of her. At the center of the harbor, we turned back toward her and, in front of thousands, saluted her with a cannon as she passed us by headed to her berth. There would be no racing her again this year as we would be sailing to Europe and she would be staying in home waters.

As darkness approached, the crew got sail stowed neatly and the welcome committee for Tallships Halifax directed us to the fuel pier first before leading us to our permanent berth for the weekend. By midnight, all hands were able to take a run ashore. The nightlife was teeming as the incoming racers were welcomed and docked as fast as they came into the harbor. But eventually, we all went to sleep.

Which is what I am going to do now. More about Halifax in my next log.

Cheers,
Captain Miles