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In addition to all of this traveling, we hosted three evening receptions, two daysails, and three open houses for the public. My time has been further occupied by a problem with the ship's batteries, a problem I am still attempting to resolve with my partner, Captain Parrott, the office staff, and our long term marine electrical contractor, Mike Christie of Christie's Electrical Service in the Philadelphia area. All of this action, as Pride II continues to fulfill her schedule with her clients at all of these European ports.

Sailing in Scandinavia

Sailing in the southwest Baltic is similar to sailing in the larger bays and sounds of the U.S. east coast. One must always be conscious of the nearby shore and what course and sail adjustments are required. The abundance of commercial maritime traffic here is a major difference, however. Apparently Europe uses its waterways much more than in America. I can only speculate as to why this is the case.

Tradition and the small region shared by many different maritime nations probably play key roles in the prevalence of maritime commerce in Europe. Also, these waterways are under continual modernization even though many are centuries old. These advancements allow cargo to be transported from the Baltic Sea nations (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Russia, and the former Soviet Republics) to nations as far south as the Mediterranean Sea without crossing the rougher North Sea or the Atlantic Ocean. Finally, the governments of these nations provide support to their maritime industries - something that declined in the United States after World War II.

During our sail from Kiel, Germany, to Copenhagen, Denmark, we must have seen at least one commercial vessel for every hour of our twenty-four hour transit. They ranged in size from self-powered barges some 200 feet long to salt water cargo ships of 600 feet or more. Numerous ferries added to the traffic, and on several occasions the number of vessels we saw in a five-mile radius was as high as twelve.

A new addition to the cityscape is an electrical windmill farm with huge cyclopean white pillions with three arms waving in rotation. A half dozen of these monoliths mark the harbor at the shoreline and stand rather proudly next to a tank farm. Past these modern structures stands the architecture of a very old style city right on the waterfront.

Pride II's docking location was near the center of town. She shared the space with a modern overnight ferry that appeared to be more like a cubical starship than a glamorous ocean liner that practically flies between Oslo and Copenhagen. At first, the weather was cool and somewhat damp in Copenhagen. The receptions we had with the Tourism Branch of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development and the Maryland Port Administration were all well attended, despite the cool. Fortunately, the weather was dry, if not warm, for the daysail we had with Maryland Tourism and Iceland Air. It felt strange to be out on a daysail - we had not been on one since leaving North America back in July.

Tragedy in Denmark - a near-miss for the original Pride

The most significant moment for me in Copenhagen came when some of our Danish guests told me about the collision between a commercial ship and a smaller ketch-rigged sail training yacht from Poland. The collision occurred north of Copenhagen in the Kattagat. Apparently, only one of the nine persons on the ketch survived. The survivor was on the helm following instructions from her captain to aim at the lights ahead of them that belonged to a ship he thought they would follow through a narrow pass. The captain then went below, presumably for a short errand. The collision soon occurred and it seems the lights the young lady was told to steer toward were on a ship that was headed right at them. Sadly she steered right into the ship.

I wonder what the larger ship tried to do to prevent the collision. I assume the ketch had lights on. I assume the ship had radar on. Even with the possibility that the young trainee did not recognize what she was seeing as it got closer, would not the ship operators on the bridge see something, especially if their bridge was elevated enough to give them a downward look at the sea?

I had a similar experience with the original Pride the first time I was her captain. We were in the Upper Chesapeake Bay and had spent all night at anchor in the Sassafras River re-tightening the head-rig. That is not something we would normally do, but I was new to the ship and had found the newly replaced headrig was not tight enough. Since we had to wait for some weather to pass through and for a fair tide to get through the C&D Canal, we took the time to do the tightening at night while at anchor rather than later while underway. The crew worked in watches while I stayed up to direct them. By morning, but before daylight, we got underway.

I was working from memory of my years in the Bay during high school. I told the mate to head for the range lights up the channel. Less than five minutes later, while I was below checking the chart, the engine went to full ahead, and I raced for the hatch. Once on deck, I saw we were crossing the channel and passing in front of a down bound ship. We were clear, but it was obvious she had tried to turn to her left to avoid us. But the mate had turned us to the right which resulted in our crossing the ship's bow rather closely.

After some discussion, it became apparent that I had given the mate instructions to head for lights that were the range lights of the ship coming toward us. When it became clear to him these were not the normal channel range lights, he took evasive action. He chose to go to the right following the "guide right" rule. But that was just when the ship was turning to its left. Normally, a ship will sound a specific horn signal to indicate its intentions. Apparently, this was not heard. Upon further investigation, I found that the crew forward putting away the anchoring gear had indeed heard the distinctive two blast horn signal for "turning to the left," but did not pass the word aft. Aboard the original Pride, engine room noise was very loud on deck, so it seems the mate back aft could not hear the horn. I did not hear it either because I was down below near the noisy engine room. Nevertheless, the experience of the crewmember at the helm along with his prompt action prevented my seriously flawed direction to him from continuing into disaster.

I have sympathy for the young trainee aboard the ill-fated ketch. It will be quite natural for her to assume responsibility for her shipmates' deaths when in fact the responsibility belongs to her captain and the officers in command of the commercial ship.

Göteborg, Sweden

Our sail to Göteborg, Sweden, was fast, lively, and cold due to fresh winds from the east. We wound up heaving-to from about 0400 till 0700 on our date of arrival. Then, we sailed up into the inland channel to the harbor of Göteborg.

The inland channel to Göteborg is typical of Sweden. There is a geographical change from the lowlands of Denmark, northern Germany, and Poland to that of Sweden's granite rocks and low mountains shaped by the last big ice age. The coast of central and upper Sweden is dotted with a zillion rocks and islets. Some of the coastal waters are purposefully not surveyed for reasons of defense, it seems. Proximity to Russia in the Cold War created an environment for taking advantage of the wondrously complex coast with its many harbors and inlets. A number of the crew remarked how the view was similar to that of Maine.

It is, but with one distinct difference - it is always high tide in Sweden. I really enjoyed the challenge of piloting, under sail, the narrow channel. But it was quickly over, and we were in the big ship channel motoring up into the center of Göteborg on the river, since the wind was coming down river against us.

Göteborg is the second most populated city in Sweden. For centuries, it has been the most important busiest harbor in Sweden.

East Indiaman Göteborg

We got a taste of local history first hand through a persistent but friendly invitation to come and see a traditional tall ship construction project that has been underway for several years. The Swedes are building a replica 18th century East Indiaman. This will be a near duplicate of a ship called Göteborg that sank is 1743. The ship was on its way home from its third voyage to China laden with cargo goods from China when it hit rocks and sank in Göteborg harbor in clear view of the crew's family members who had come down to the harbor to welcome their loved ones home. Since we had no mission responsibilities on the day of our arrival, I made the invitation mandatory for the crew - but none of us regretted going. This project is massive and, as far as I know, unique.

While not quite as large as Constitution or Constellation, Göteborg's hull is about three-quarters as large. As you can imagine, this requires a lot of wood. She stands now fully framed and her shape is quite evident. She is very full forward, deep and round amidship, and fine and high aft. The construction is not entirely traditional because the Swedish authorities are not permitting an exact replica hull. For instance, the builders are making use of a lot more metal in the hull than would have been the case in the 18th century. They are driving spikes down vertically (edge nailed) every foot or so through the inside ceiling planking into the next plank below. There will be metal hanging knees and lodging knees, and the hull will have watertight bulk-heads, as well as two engines. Also the framing members of the hull are made of composite pieces rather than full width lumber. All this is necessary in order to be 'classed' for carrying trainees.

However, on the weather (top) deck and the first deck below, she will be built and presented as she may have looked in the 18th century. For instance, she will have traditional hemp rigging and flax sails. The Swedish authorities, who are financing construction, have decreed that the ship, in addition to traditional rigging and sails, must have no specialized metal reinforcement in the masts and spars. So her large lower-masts, which had to be originally built out of six trees and lashed together with hemp rope back in the 18th century, must be done the traditional way today rather than with the modern method of steel banding. As a further example of authenticity, the rope for the rigging is being made by hand on site. A huge amount of hemp marlin in small diameters is being imported from Hungary. Then the hemp marlin is tarred with Stockholm tar before it is used to make rope. This procedure is necessary because it would be nearly impossible for an outside application of tar applied to a 2-3" diameter hemp rope to seep all the way into the center of such a rope. Tar saturation is important for preventing rope rot.

What I find fascinating is the contrast of being forced by the same authorities to build the rig by and with completely traditional means and materials, but the hull with modern materials and methods. Why must they be so exactingly traditional in the rig when they where not allowed to be so in the hull? The authorities have decided, if I correctly understood our most accommodating and gracious hosts, Joakim Severinson, master shipwright, and Bjorn Ahlander, head rigger, the rig must duplicate tradition because it has been proven to work. Whereas, the authorities are not convinced mixing new and old has been adequately proven to work. So, I am told, tank testing and computer modeling to understand the stresses at work have been exhaustive. Trial and error experiments have been unlimited. Each rigging step must be thoroughly worked out before the final go-ahead is be given. I suppose all this needed to be done anyway as they plan on sailing Göteborg on a recreation of its voyages to China following the traditional route around South Africa.

The Swedes are implementing the findings of their research and experimentation with enthusiasm. For instance, the research that led to the modeling of how the lower masts will be crafted has demonstrated what careful traditional craftsmanship could do to enable six pieces of large timber to go together with rope and withstand the strain and rigors of being at sea. The project is proving that the shipwrights of yore knew well the forces with which they were dealing and found very simple ways for dealing with them. In the end, this work will be a stunning example of archeological discoveries of traditional rig construction in a pre "machined metal" period.

When the project is finished and ready for sea, it will be the beginning of an odyssey of archeological discovery and seamanship. The massive hull, with its thoroughly replicated 18th century rig, will be sailed by sailors new to the rigors of handling and caring for such a rig. The handling will be the easiest part, although not for the faint of heart. The sails will be of flax, a natural fiber. Flax sails gain a lot of weight when wet, and handling the yards is always heavy work. I think, however, that maintenance will be the big challenge. Natural fiber ropes need adjusting as they go through wet/dry cycles and will quickly suffer from not being dried thoroughly once they've gotten wet. Despite the fact the rope was made with lots of tar, frequent applications will be needed because the tar in the standing rigging will be worn through chaff. The smaller the diameter the rope, the more frequent the re-tarring. The ratlines will need a lot of tarring to replace wearing caused by sailors climbing the rig. Lax care could lead to a nasty surprise.

In the end, the experience of Göteborg may fill books on things long forgotten about 18th century rigging and East Indiaman sailing. And it will also add important information to the small body of literature on the limits of a very strong auxiliary powered traditional hull wedded to a non-reinforced replica rig. The crew enjoyed the tour and a lovely lunch at the shipyard - and I enjoyed talking shop with our extremely knowledgeable and agreeable hosts. Göteborg will be ready for launch in two years time.

Good scenery and good sailing marked our sail to Oslo. We motored through the very complex island archipelago channels that lay between Göteborg and the Skagarak. The crew took advantage of the time to view the sights as the mates and I negotiated the rocks and islands. This can be a lot of fun. The complexity offers a chance to practice the art of piloting. Also, there is always something new to see instead of hours seeing the same scenery move by very slowly. Since our the day of departure was Sunday, many local boats were out.

Once we were out of the archipelago and into the Skagarak, sail went up and Pride II sailed north as the sun went down. By midnight, we were going too fast with the fair easterly winds and so we hoved-to again to kill time. Just before breakfast, we got underway again. This time, we sailed up into Norwegian waters amongst much taller granite.

The hills of Norway gave way to low mountains as we slid slowly up the Oslofjord. With the wind from the south, we were able to sail all the way up the fjord seeing it get narrower and the hills rise taller. At the narrowest, the navigable area of the fjord is only about 500 feet and is full of rocks and islets.

Also, this area of the fjord is successfully fortified as it sank the German battleship carrying the new puppet parliament to Oslo at the beginning of the invasion of Norway in World War II. This gave the legitimate government about 8 hours to get out of Oslo before the full invasion force was felt.

By the end of the day, we had sailed to within 12 miles of Oslo and arrived at the small port of Naersnes on the western side of the fjord. At anchor, the view to the east was beautiful in the clear air with the sun descending behind us. The air was crisp and cool, the harbor quiet. It was a thoroughly grand and peaceful experience as we have not been at anchor since leaving home waters. Tomorrow, we will be back to the job of Pride of Baltimore II - meeting and greeting people - this time in Norway!

Cheers,
Captain Miles