A MESSAGE FROM CAPTAIN JAN MILES ABOARD PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II
DATE: WED., NOV. 27
POSITION: Latitude 28 19, 89 N Longitude 073 39, 59 W
We are hove-to for the second time. With weather the way it is now, I suspect we are here for the night and into tomorrow. It all started this morning......
long before dawn, about 0130 ship time to be more precise, I was notified that a couple of squalls were being observed on radar. Being in a very deep sleep I took several minutes to get to the radar. I was not in a hurry because the bigger of the two was 20 miles away. By the time I got to looking it was 10 miles away and had the tell tale shape of a frontal squall line. No time to dawdle, get the kits down. So by the time the squall was within a mile we were down to just the fore and fore staysail. In the moonlight the cloud had the signal straight edge line to it's leading edge stretching some distance across the horizon. As it turned out it did not have more than 20 knots of wind in it and that for only 1-3 minutes. Even its rain was not heavy nor long in duration. So much for the 'tell-tale sign' of a threatening squall. But don't ever ignore the sign either, it will be the one with 50 knots plus.
After it passed off we could see more echoes on the radar some 50 miles out that seemed similar to the one we just experienced, so I opted to reset the foretopsail but not anything else and wait and see what happened next. I was expecting the wind to go SW and we would be able to sail along till the cold front came in later in the afternoon. In fact the first squall had a West wind in it. Just as I was settling into a nap while I waited for the second line of squalls to arrive I noticed via the wind indicator instruments down below that the wind had gone back South again. A big disappointment! After the second squall line went by with no impact at all and the wind stayed South we started one motor and pushed along towards the North and waited for the next event. Around dawn the wind changed to North and blew to 20 knots. Thinking the cold front had arrived we hove-to with just the mainsail set to the third reef.
For as long as I have sailed this vessel, I have only hove-to maybe 8 times. Each time has been different except for what we experience. PRIDE just loves to yaw some 80-100 degrees when she is hove-to. Normally the practice of heaving-to leaves a vessel pointed reasonably close to the wind and waves. But PRIDE merely swings back and forth from near the wind and waves to beam to the wind and sea and back again. Depending on which sails are set the oscillation can be quick or slow, but there is always an oscillation. Even when there is only one sail set all the way back at the stern, such as today with the triple reefed main.
By early afternoon I was getting frustrated with an uncomfortable heave-to because of not enough sail area to prevent a lot of rolling and so started to experiment. First the fore was set. She did not rock as much but she continued to oscillate, only a little more slowly. Then we took down the triple reefed main. Still the oscillation but even more slowly. Meanwhile the wind seemed to moderate a little and had veered to the NE. It occurred to me we could sail toward the NW in this breeze with more comfort than heaving-to. So we set the staysail and gybed over and reset the triple reefed main with the intent to sail close to the wind and up to the NW. But PRIDE's balance at the helm was off. The forestaysail was big enough to over power the triple reefed main. So we shook out the triple and proceeded to tie in a single reef. As we finished that the wind strengthened from 20 to 35 knots! Why was this? Was the cold front here in the form of a second wave of wind? I did not recall reading that we would get that much wind. But here it was. So, back to the third reef. Then forward to reef the staysail once and trice up the jib so it would not get dragged through the sea if the jibboom went under once in while. But as we got all that under control (not without dunking some of the crew when a large swell came by and swept the jibboom as they were tricing up the jib and reefing the staysail) the wind waxed and waned between 30 and 38 knots. With a tidy tricing up job and the staysail reefed we started to sail but quickly I discovered we were going too fast at 5 knots. The jibboom just could not stay out of each wave that we approached. So, quick as could be we got the main down as well the staysail and slowed right down and hove-to with just the foresail. Now get this, PRIDE is not oscillating! Must be the 30 knots we have now. She is finally sitting like a gull on the water. To be sure this is the highest wind I have hove-to in with her. So, maybe nothing is wrong, just not enough wind!?
Looks like we will be this way for a while, probably all night. Maybe some of Thanksgiving Day too before we can get underway again. But the long range projection hints at a good chance to get across the remaining 500 miles to The Bay over the period of Friday through Sunday. That would be nice!
Happy Thanksgiving Day everyone!!!
A MESSAGE FROM CAPTAIN JAN MILES ABOARD PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II
DATE: 18:41 1996-11-26 GMT TUESDAY (1441 SHIP -4)
POSITION: Latitude 26 39,76 N Longitude 073 00,36 W
SP: 9+KNOTS. C: 020 M. WX: SExS FORCE 4-5. SS: 6-8 FEET E'RLY SWELL.
TEMP: 83 F. BP: 1019.9 F. SKY: 2/8 STRATUS AND CIRRUS. 24HR POS:
29Nx71W. 24HR WX: SW'RLY 5.
SAILING WITH FULL LOWERS PLUS MAINTOP, FORETOP AND JIBTOP.
We have had a pretty fast day so far. Since noon yesterday to noon today we covered some 237 miles for an average speed of 9.8+ knots. The day before, Sunday to Monday, we covered some 210 miles for an average speed of 8.75 knots. But soon all this is going to end with a shuddering stop. A cold front is coming off of the SE Coast today and will likely reach us later tomorrow. When it passes by we will have fresh NW winds that will veer to N and NE. With luck it will take no more than 24 hours to pass by after it arrives, but it could take longer. With wind strengths of 20-30 knots we won't find much to gain by trying to sail into it. So we will likely heave-to and ride the blow out. Turkey Day hove-to in the South West North Atlantic. What an intimate place to be!
Last night was the first sign of seas moderating since they had started to build Sunday morning. As a result of the diminishing sea but the continued speedy sailing morale, which was never low, lifted and greater signs of life have been observed aboard. A good sail with a near full moon also helps with the human spirit at sea. Today is really quite sublime too. No big sea to throw everyone about (especially the cook) and no spray to get people wet. So it is nice to be on deck during the day for a change.
We are now steering to the North. Up till now we have been steering NW'rly. The wind has gone from the NE to the SE now and that enables us to head for the 'barn' more directly. But as I have mentioned, this won't last. As the cold front approaches the wind will continue to veer to the S and SW. Then as the front gets closer the wind strength will build, possibly to 30 knots and we will get rain and possible thunder showers. As the front passes the wind will veer further to the W and NW, maintaining it's strength. Behind the cold front is another high pressure system. As that pushes into the area the wind will likely stay fresh and veer further to the N and NE where it will settle till the high pressure pushes far enough over us to become almost centered over us. If this happens, the wind will moderate and we will begin to get underway again.
At the point the wind shifts from SW to W to NW we will probably heave-to. This is a process of reducing sail to a very little bit, only enough to keep PRIDE pointed toward the wind and sea in a controlled drift. With the bows pointed toward the weather PRIDE could be quite comfortable as she rides over the sea like a sea bird. However with PRIDE's long head-rig, if the sea gets particularly large, we may need to head her off the wind and kind of sail under bare poles (no sails at all) along with the wind. Trouble with this strategy is the loss of distance to the South or SE. If the seas are not more than 12-15 feet we should be able to heave-to.
At the moment the strategy is to sail as fast as we can to the North until the cold front passes. With luck we could be within 500 miles of The Bay when it hits. After cold front passage and moderation of the wind it may be possible to start motoring toward The Bay. Assuming it does not take longer than Thanksgiving Day for the weather to do it's thing, we could be underway again Friday morning. Then again, it could be later.
Now, having considered all of this, what can we do about Thanksgiving Dinner? Already there has been some talk about postponing it till we get into The Bay. Terrisa wants to do a good job and the notion of doing some of her delicacy's in a heaving and rolling vessel has given her pause to consider doing Thanksgiving Supper when we are in The Bay. But there is just something about being an American and not having Thanksgiving Supper on Thanksgiving Day. Maybe we can compromise and do something sorta grand at sea and then, with crew help, do something really grand when we are in The Bay. I will talk with her when she is up from her nap.
I just now got off of the long range radio (the Single Side Band) with the Tug Pilot. They are at 27 21N x 79 45 W (pretty near Cape Canaveral) with clear air and SW breeze of Force 5. We are some 360 miles due E of there. With a SW breeze and no rain they are near the cold front but not yet into it. This front must travel at 15 miles per hour to reach us in 24 hours. So, I think we will have moderate conditions until late tomorrow. Frontal passage may occur in the moonlit dark of Thanksgiving Eve.
Cheers
A MESSAGE FROM CAPTAIN JAN MILES ABOARD PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II
DATE: 14:41 1996-11-25 GMT MONDAY (1041 SHIP -4)
POSITION: Latitude 23 04,64 N Longitude 070 31,01 W
NEAR GRAND TURK ISLAND
SP: 10 KNOTS. C: 325 M. WX: ExN FORCE 5. SS: 10-12 FOOT N SWELL WITH
6-8 FOOT EASTERLY SEA. TEMP: 82 F. BP: 1021.0 S. SKY: 5/8 STRATUS CU.
24HR POS: 25.5Nx73W. 24HR WX: E'RLY FORCE 4-5.
It has been just over a week since the crew were led through San Juan's Fort El Moro on a candle light tour. And what a week it has been too! First, it was determined there would be a delay of departure because of mechanical difficulty. Then it looked like we would have a further delay because of Tropical Storm MARCO. These delays caused for a lot of dialog with PRIDE's office staff regarding setting a new Home Coming date. But finally, the mechanical difficulties were solved, Marco shrank and became less threatening and we got underway Saturday, November 23 with plans to arrive The Bay in time for welcome home ceremonies to be held December 6 and 7. Since our departure from San Juan we have covered over 350 miles in 48 hours. We currently have Force 5 winds from the East and are sailing under double reefed mainsail with full fore, foretop, staysail, jib and jibtop. We are making about 10 knots toward the NW trying to get as far as we can before the next cold front hits us sometime late Wednesday night. At this time it is hard to tell what we are going to do when it hits. It is possible we could motor through it. But it is also possible we will be better off sailing, particularly if the cold front has substantial strength to it. At least we have a bit of time to play with. Some three days extra than was planned originally, being that the original plan was to leave San Juan on a Monday and arrive in The Bay on a Thursday of the following week. We actually left on a Saturday and are not due until a Friday of the second week. But even with the extra time, getting up the coast from near the Bahamas and around Cape Hatteras into The Bay could be a struggle with the rapid advancement of autumnal weather. So we drive PRIDE as fast as we can and stay vigilant of the weather in hopes of catching an opening that will permit us to slide on home.
Departure of San Juan was a small chapter out of the classics. We aboard PRIDE setting sail and making our slow, almost reluctant way to sea while waving to our new and old friends of Fort El Moro. They waved back as we passed under the old gun emplacements. PRIDE saluted the departure with a cannon. The waving went on for as far as the eye could still tell that waving was going on. Maybe PRIDE has found another home away from home. Certainly, while all of us were anxious to get PRIDE home, there was a little of that tearing sensation when departing from a friendly place.
The departure weather was as flat a calm as I have ever seen in the Trade Wind Belt. It had been calm for at least 3 days too. So the sea was quiet as we motored on our way. Marco was having its effect on the area by disturbing the normal wind patterns. Also, it was bringing much rain. I had a concern the Marco Affect would be wide spread and we might have to motor for a long time to get out into a windy area. As it turned out we motored for 7 hours and set sail in a slowly building N-NE breeze. The first night out was very mystical. The sun had not been out much all day because of heavy cloud cover. But as it came from under the breaking up clouds there was an orange hue scattered all over the sky. There was also a rainbow over San Juan! As darkness quickly took over, a new lightness appeared in the form of a near full moon. All night long we sailed at 6 knots in a smooth sea with clouds breaking up and the moon shining through causing a wondrous change of shadows. When the clouds were gone, the moon light was so bright one felt one could read a book.
Sunday found the wind freshening and acting more like a trade wind usually does. NE'rly in direction PRIDE was close hauled to hold a NW course along the North side of the Bahamas. The sea began to build too. Before long PRIDE was moving along at 8 knots. Her motion was not that comfortable though. A storm to the North was creating large swells from the North. As PRIDE made her close-hauled way she would sometimes hit these swells pretty hard. Combine this with the normal sea caused by the NE breeze and the two different sea conditions made for an uncomfortable ship-board experience. Many of us were just lying around as we tried to get used to sea going life again. Others were happy in every way to be at sea again and merely ignored those of us that were getting sea-sick.
Now we are experiencing a wind from the East. It is quite fresh in strength and has caused us to take the main gaff sail in and double reef the main. We are not close hauled anymore and so with sheets eased PRIDE is charging along at 10 knots in the slowly reducing N'rly swell and the slowly building Trade Wind Sea coming from the East. Those aboard that were getting sick are not anymore, so they appear to be acclamating. Spirits are up as we all observe PRIDE sliding along at great speed. Fantasies abound that we might hold the favorable wind most of the way home. It sure would be nice if that happened, but I fear not. Even so, it is great to be sliding along with such abandon.
Daily ship board routine is now in full gear. This is the third day of doing domestic routines while underway. The sea motion does not make that chore easy. PRIDE is at a near constant 12 degree angle of heel that is regularly being rolled deeper as the seas go underneath her. Try sweeping and mopping a flat surface you are standing on when it is at those angles and moving all the time! On deck the crew are very vigilant about checking for chafe in the rig. Each day they go aloft to check things out. They also shift all halyards a little so the pressure on the line in the blocks is spread out over some distance of the line. This 'shifting' requires that the sails be lowered a little in order to be hoisted again from the other end of the halyard so a new pressure point is created. A lot of work! But must be done daily or a halyard may break. In these conditions bilges are pumped every two hours to prevent water accumulating. Normally we do it every 4 hours no matter what. Every morning the fishing lines go out in hopes of catching a meal. Every evening the lines come in to prevent tangling during a possible event during the night. And there is always the constant search for the updated weather depiction. The latest information is important for being prepared. Such is the way of this small ship on this big ocean.
A MESSAGE FROM CAPTAIN JAN MILES ABOARD PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II
DATE: 20:07 1996-11-18 GMT MONDAY (1607 SHIP -4)
POSITION: DOCKSIDE IN OLD SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
Delayed in San Juan. It is a long story of minor problems becoming big ones. Only today at 1500 hours did I finally arrange a fix. But it will take till Wednesday to complete! If there is golden hue to this problem it is that to our north the Atlantic is kicking up a fuss. NE to N to NW winds from 35 knots+ yesterday now reducing a bit to 20-25 knots. Maybe by Wednesday the weather picture will be different enough to allow us a quick passage to Baltimore. A really fast passage would help all our friends in Baltimore, who are all anxious to welcome us home on Thanksgiving Weekend. I sure would hate to disappoint them. But these mechanical repairs are vital to the last leg home from Europe. So we sit and hope things will break to our favor in the future.
Meanwhile we all had a most interesting experience at San Juan's Fort El Morro last night, a unit of the National Park Service. So I have invited Baltimore's own Fort McHenry Park Ranger and PRIDE volunteer Scott Sheads to describe this evening to you and pull in reactions from the crew.
**********************
There is no better opportunity to take advantage of, than one that provides an exchange of cultural heritage. The Pride of Baltimore II and the National Park Service, both endeavoring to preserve and interpret our nations past for those we serve, have begun to lead us on a new cooperative adventure in the years ahead as we return to this island along the Spanish Main.
Last Thursday afternoon, November 14th, we began a voyage of discovery - between the Pride crew and that of the staff of San Juan National Historical Site that promises to be a continuing effort to enhance our understanding of maritime history that binds us together. In a cooperative exchange of ideas between Captain Miles and Mark Johnson, Historian/Park Ranger at San Juan, the NPS interpretive staff were invited on Pride for a 3 hour day sail. In return, the NPS staff invited the crew for a rare torchlight tour of El Morro, the 400 year old Spanish fort that guards the entrance to Old San Juan.
Pride Day Sail
- Departing at 2 p.m. we set sail under fair skies into the Atlantic, past the fort to a distance of 6 miles beyond the coast, offering the rangers, for the first time, a unique view of their city, as seafarers have done for 500 years, the traditional method of arriving by sea. It was a delight to view the reactions of these guardians of their Spanish culture as the Pride carried them into the world of the early 19th century Baltimore clipper, at a time when the world was turned upside down by the Napoleonic wars. When the conditions of sail were safe, our guests were shanghaied into service, to haul on a line or set a sail. But, most of all, their delight as waves made an entry over the bow to our unsuspecting guests. I wonder if the helmsman was having fun with these landsman.As we sailed past El Morro, Mr. Johnson was allowed to fire an artillery salute as we re-entered the harbor - the reverberating sounds seemed to fill every narrow cobblestone street in San Juan.
El Morro Evening Walk
- We were greeted by the staff at 6:45 pm for what turned out to be an exhilarating walk at the base of the massive stone walls (125') that faced the coastline yards from the 8-10 foot breakers below us.The walls facing inland were lighted up provided an unusual yet inviting welcome to the world of the 16th century Spanish guardian of the Spanish colonial empire. The visions and sounds of sentries on the walls sounding the "all well" to each other, the beat of the garrison drum and shrill of the fife, imparted a scene rarely seen by a 20th century visitor. Mr. Johnson, dressed in the uniform of a Spanish lieutenant, guided us through the dark passages unseen by the public, as our shadows followed the crew along walls that have seen 400 years of history in the making. The rain and mist shrounded our evening walk, adding to the awesome feeling as if making a mystical voyage through time.
An interesting stop was the kitchen where Mr. Johnson had prepared a period meal, that consisted of a variety of native foods, one of which was called "cassava bread" a crunchy thin wafer made from a root vegetable, pounded into a meal substance and baked. This bread was to be dipped in a soup mixture known today as "sancocho." It was said that Christopher Columbus was so impressed with its lasting qualities that he routinely thereafter fed his crew this new food from the Americas.
Declared a World Heritage Site, El Morro certainly lived up to a young person's fantasy of Spanish buccaneers, musketeer, pirates, and the heraldry of European nations at war for the prizes of the Americas.
Remarks from Jennifer Fox
"The evening walking tour was truly unique and wonderful. I found it a pleasantly surprising opportunity to explore the fort under the veil of darkness.....Just as the representatives of El Morro experienced the Pride in our element, we took great advantage of their enormous pride, enthusiasm and knowledge ....Their generosity was overwhelming ....as we heard the sentries and drums calling out into the night, all with the ocean crashing against the shore was an experience I will keep with me always."
Remarks from John Tohanczyn
"The following of century old passages and seeing them by lantern light...working our way up and through the fort to the lighthouse [that afforded a spectacular panorama view of San Juan], truly a wonderful experience from beginning to end. Again, I'd like to thank the staff of the fort for sharing their knowledge and experience with us."
Remarks from Theresa Tiedman
"By far, one of the best tours of a historic site I have ever been on[except of course a Ranger Scott tour]... I had a wonderful time...''
Remarks from a presentation plaque presented to the crew upon the occasion --
"In appreciation of your exceptional willingness to teach and to share our rich maritime patrimony, we, the Interpretive Division of San Juan National Historical Site, United States National Park Service, Department of the Interior want to express our personal and professional thanks for your gift to us of a once-in-a-lifetime learning experience."
In all, both parties, enjoyed an exchange of new perspectives, a sense of reliving history, but perhaps above all - new friendships.This is the story Pride has always excelled in, and has become a trademark of her continuing voyages around the world - bringing all of us a little bit closer in our attempt to understand that all of us share a common ground, no matter how diverse our livelihoods. As our own passage of discovery nears the end, we leave San Juan, as we entered it - with a sense of history, and hopefully we left something behind, as we always do - Pride in our accomplishments, as each of us, no matter what station of life we may be, there will always be a sense of discovery, a sense of wonder .........
Scott
A MESSAGE FROM CAPTAIN ROBERT GLOVER ABOARD PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II
DATE: 15:56 1996-11-15 GMT FRIDAY (1156 SHIP -4)
POSITION: SAN JUAN HARBOR
Thursday, November 14 -- 0800 hrs SHIP
The rain has stopped! For now anyway.