DATE:	TUESDAY, December 30, 1997
TIME:	0100 HRS GMT DECEMBER 30, 1997 (2100 HRS SHIP -4)
POSITION:	12 51.7 N x 070 39.1 W. Leaving Aruba headed toward Panama
ENTERED BY:	Captain Jan Miles

Ahoy,

ARUBA - a very low, desert island in the southern Caribbean Sea. It's very windy here too. But we did not stay long. We got in at midnight last night and left late this afternoon. We now have Captain Dan Parrott aboard. We are sailing on a broad reach in fresh trade winds of near 25 knots. We have the square foretopsail up with the forestaysail and jib in front and the foresail underneath. The mainsail is up too, but shortened down to a triple reef. PRIDE is sliding along at 10 knots with the wind on the starboard quarter. The sea is not as big as it may get, but it is 8 feet. However the ride is smooth and the roll easy. The steering is easy too. Compared to some of the sailing we have done since leaving Baltimore, this is a smooth and comfortable ride. About time, I'd say! This crew has earned some ease for their days at sea.

The sail down from Puerto Rico started out easy enough, and we had a lot of sail up. But as Sunday, December 28 passed by, the wind started to build out of the southeast. I guessed it would fill in a little from the 10 knots it had been earlier that day. But by night fall it was up to nearly 18 knots steady and we took in the maingafftopsail and jibtopsail. By Monday morning the wind was above 20 knots and the sea was getting up to around 10-12 feet on the beam. PRIDE was charging along at 10-11 knots, leaning over at 15 degrees (sometimes more) as the seas rolled by. I decided to take the topsail in. The apparent wind direction was forward of the beam at 50-60 degrees - close enough to cause some laboring in the rising breeze and sea. With the topsail in, things improved, but not for long. The wind continued to build and was getting to between 25 and 28 knots true strength. With the apparent wind forward of the beam, that meant we were experiencing 30-32 knots on board. We took a single reef in the main. That seemed fine, but the wind continued to build as did the sea. I decided to take in the jib and the main entirely. This was successful at slowing us down but not at making the ship comfortable. PRIDE now started to roll some to weather. Rolling to weather as well as to leeward is an awful feeling for sailors. We spend much time at an angle of heel, but usually only on one side.

Later in the day the wind moderated some and the rolling really got going. We finally re-set the jib and a triple reefed main. Now things were finally better - no rolling to weather and the speed was back up to 9+ knots. Funny how going faster can sometimes help. Soon, though, it was dark and Aruba was only 30 miles away. At 2100 hours ship time, we rounded the southeast corner of Aruba. That meant we would be jibing -- in the dark, too! But it worked out fine. With the main triple reefed, the jibe was pretty easy, and we had smoother seas once around the corner of the island. We took in the foresail and the jib and reached up the southwest coast of Aruba toward Oranjestad, the main town on Aruba. It was a wonderful change from being on the windward side of the island where all the rolling sea was. On this leeward side, the sea was very smooth. The island lights were more visible too. And there were occasional fireworks - just never from the same location. Obviously the locals were getting ready for New Year's.

I called ahead to the port of Oranjestad and asked permission to come in and lay at the pier. We were readily cleared in. But it would still be an hour before we got in. As we glided up the island coast, the crew went to all hands and got ready. The anchor chain was re-attached to the anchor. The jib and jibtop were re-stowed to look neater. The docklines and fenders were brought up on deck. As we got close, it was evident where the harbor was by the ocean liner that was in port. But the entrance to the harbor was not so easily seen. The lights marking its entrance were obscured by backlight from the shore. So I plotted the entrance of the harbor into our GPS (global positioning system), and within seconds the harbor entrance was showing on our radar. It was then easy to find the buoys marking the entrance. We rounded up into the wind at the entrance and took in the forestaysail, then the mainsail. By midnight we were secure dockside and able to go to sleep. Everyone was happy to have the motion stop.

Today, Tuesday, December 30, began with Immigration. Then Customs. Once the formalities were over, it was possible to plan the day. First, clean the ship below. A lot of salt spray got below with the beam breeze and sea that we experienced the previous day. Also there was more rigging work to do. But as the first hour of the day went by, the breeze came up again after a quiet night. PRIDE was being pushed against the dock hard enough to cause trouble with her fenders. I sized the situation up and called the port authorities up on the radio and asked if we could move to where the wind would blow the ship off the pier. We got that permission and made the move. Right to where our friends of PICTON CASTLE were docked. Did I not mention they were going from Bermuda to Aruba? They were still in Oranjestad having arrived Christmas Eve. They were due to depart today, but it was great to see Captain Dan Moreland again along with his crew.

There wasn't much time to mingle, but I was able to spend some time with my friend, Dan Moreland. He described how they had spent the week over Christmas -- driving around the island, exploring beaches, and just whatever came to mind. He then went on to describe more about where they were going from Aruba and what they would be doing. Their next stop -- the San Blas Islands off the coast of Panama for more desert island exploring. It occurred to me that they really had this sailing thing well scoped out. They may have fought their way out of Nova Scotia a month later than they wanted to. But their goal was to be in the tropics for a year. Now that they are here in the tropics, they are going to spend the rest of their time working their way around the world. As of this very moment, they have successfully arrived at their destination. It is now their job to take maximum advantage of being in the tropics, i.e. sail from nice place to nice place for more than a year. And what about when they get around the world in the spring of 1999? Well, they go back to Nova Scotia for the summer. What could be better? If you're thinking of sailing around the world, think of PICTON CASTLE. It's a great adventure!

And what is PRIDE doing, you might ask? It is purposefully gliding by lots of interesting places on its way to Asia, with an important agenda when we get there. But we won't arrive till the end of March, 1998, and only then if we keep sailing as fast as we can with minimum down time in port. The crew will have had little time in port and lots of time aboard with lots of work to do. I am excited about this trip, but I must confess that PICTON CASTLE has an enviable schedule - one packed with variety and time to enjoy things once they arrive at whatever destination they pick. PRIDE will arrive at various places and the crew will have some time to see things, but they will also be involved with the mission of PRIDE when she is in her foreign ports of call. I am enthusiastic about our mission, but there is something to be said for cruising slowly through the tropics. With that said, what traditional American sailing vessel is going where we are going? None that I know! So "Fair well!" PICTON CASTLE and Captain Dan Moreland. You're a great ship and a good friend. There will be tales to share when we cross paths again.

After the square rigger left, I got back to the business of a short turn around in Oranjestad, Aruba. I checked with the Mate about the priorities of vessel care and maintenance. I then got into town and made a phone call to the office to review details of Panama, where we could arrive as early as Friday, but probably Saturday. It is our hope to transit the Canal on Sunday, January 4. Then back to the ship and see if Captain Parrott had arrived. So he had! Then back to town to arrange clearance for the ship from Immigration and Customs.

After some confusion with Immigration as to when we were leaving, we got our clearances and made for sea ourselves. We too sailed off the dock and scudded out quickly under jib and foretopsail. After the crew got the docking gear stowed, they set the foresail, the forestaysail, and triple reefed the main. PRIDE was again going her 9+ knots. But this time she was running before the sea and the decks were dry. Life was grand again!

As we got underway, Captain Parrott, who will be skippering PRIDE on the Panama-Hawaii leg, spent time with me covering a variety of details. There have been many little changes on PRIDE since he last sailed aboard as First Mate back in 1991. Considering he had only just stepped aboard, it was not realistic to get too deep into the changes, but there was a lot that could be touched on as the crew set sail. In the middle of all this, I happened to glance forward and see a dark, smooth, and roundish shape just off the starboard bow. A WHALE! It was SOOOO close! It flopped a little and then disappeared. I think we startled it. I wonder if it was asleep or had just come up for air but had not noticed PRIDE. Sailboats can be pretty quiet as they slide along. It could also have been that there was a lot of other noise - the waves, the wind, and as well as motor vessels in the area. We did not hit the whale, but we were very close! We saw him spout two or three more times as he increased the distance between us. Everything happened so fast we could not tell what species he was. By the curve of his back and general mass, I would guess he was a humpback. But he did not flop his tail. So it could have been something else.

Having Dan Parrott here changes the dynamics aboard considerably. Already the crew has a different situation to contend with -- two captains -- one soon to leave and one to take over. The one leaving has driven the crew to his perception of the needs of the vessel. They are doing that with greater understanding now -- but still, it is I who has driven them to my way and at my tempo. Now they can already see differences in the way Dan might handle things. It goes without saying that everyone wants this process to be successful. Dan will want to know everything he can about the ship and crew. I will want him to know everything I can pass on so he can be comfortable and well informed in order to make good decisions. The crew wants to be seen as knowledgeable and competent by the new captain. (It does not hurt that old captain is around to show them off.) Fortunately, the sailing is so much easier than it has been. This fact does not lessen the sense that the crew is now demonstrating that they understand what is needed to set the various sails. It is no longer the first or second time they have accomplished a procedure. In fact, they probably can't count how many times they have done it. GOOD! They are now the crew of PRIDE, and not the "new" crew. Doing their stuff for Dan Parrott has made that very clear and I am delighted in their progress. Alleluia!

Cheers
Captain Miles

Getting to San Juan

Puerto Rico took a long time to make itself visible in the tropical haze. But after a while one could also begin to see the markings of man as the high rise buildings of greater San Juan began to materialize out of the haze. Finally we could make out El Moro and the other fortifications dating back to 1640 that surround Old San Juan.

Meanwhile the crew were cleaning up the ship and getting the flags out. Just as we reached the 2 mile mark from the entrance to the San Juan ship channel, I was advised over the radio by the port controller that there was an outbound tug and tow that was likely to reach the entrance just as we were entering - not a good idea. To avoid getting into his way we trimmed sail and turned upwind before we drifted downwind of the entrance.

Suddenly the crew was in a situation they had not yet been in with PRIDE. While beating to windward, we had to tack. In our voyage down the Chesapeake, across the Atlantic to Bermuda and Puerto Rico, they had never had to do this. We got the tack accomplished - but it was very rough. We tacked again. It was better, but still rough. I knew the crew had no experience tacking PRIDE. And I knew I would need to find the time and location to show them what it is all about. Seeing what happened outside of San Juan pushed that task up several notches on my 'To Do' list.

But not this time. Just after our cannon shot to El Moro, we sailed into a rain squall. Very little wind, not much rain, but the wind was the wrong direction for sailing in the narrow channel. So we struck sail and motored to the pier. (Some bad grinch stole our show.)

While the crew got the ship ready for being dockside for the next 5 nights, I went off to Customs and Immigration. I was gone a couple of hours seeing to each organization in their respective offices. The crew had a lot to do furling sails, setting up awnings, and cleaning things up after the hard ride from Bermuda. When I got back with the paperwork completed, the garbage could be taken ashore now that we were cleared. We got to the dock about 1430 hrs. It was not till 1800 hrs that all the arrival chores were completed. And the ship's officers still had to have a planning meeting to organize the work to be done before departure and to figure out what we were going to do for Christmas.

When a Captain assesses ship and crew priorities on arrival into port from sea, he has a number of options. For instance, he can keep everyone at work with no special time off except at the end of the day; or split the crew into groups alternating between on and off duty; or give the whole crew a day off and stop ship work altogether for that day, etc. With Christmas and the open houses scheduled for the day before and after Christmas, plus the work to deal with the heavy wear and tear that had accumulated in sailing down from Bermuda, it was not practical to split the crew into groups and give alternate days off - there was just not enough time. But shopping and personal business were important, too. So we decided to borrow from the tropical practice of siesta. We would start Tuesday early at 0700 and work till 1100. We would then begin again at 1400 and would work till 1800. The crew could use the siesta any way they wanted. Then, during the open houses on Wednesday and Friday from noon 'til 5 pm, the working hours would be as usual (0800 to 1700 hrs), but we would keep all hands - some working on the ship and some interacting with the visiting public. During those days, crew with errands could be rotated off if everything was going OK.

In fact the Siesta Plan worked out quite well. The shopping got done, the work went well, and everyone had time off. Even Amy, our hard working Second Mate, had a reasonable amount of time to visit with her husband, Dave, who flew down from Pennsylvania. I, too, was able to visit with my sister who was down from Baltimore and was staying with old family friends. I also got to see other island friends accumulated over these last 16 years that I have been sailing the first and second PRIDEs into San Juan.

Just before supper, Myrna Rodriguez, the public relations director with the original PRIDE when she sailed to Europe in 1985, arrived with some of her family - and a gift. Myrna now lives in San Juan. Her gift was a Puerto Rican style roasted pig called 'lechon'. It was a very fine tasting but heart stopping addition to the supper! She also brought a couple of cakes with personalized inscriptions on them. There was enough sweets aboard to share with a small army! The cool wine and local beer helped keep everyone cool in the quiet San Juan air. The sense of family and togetherness was really aboard with the presence of Myrna's three nephews and nieces playing hide and seek around the deck while the crew and the guests chatted and relaxed during the post meal recovery.

The evening celebration ended with a 'white elephant' Christmas gift giving among the crew. The gifts were provided by Leslie Bridgett, our Teacher Aboard. This white elephant concept is a game. None of the gifts are addressed. All participants have a number assigned to them from a random drawing. Then one by one, each crew member steps up to select a gift. However there is a special step that must be taken before unwrapping the gift. The selector must decide if her or she likes any of the already opened gifts or if he or she wants to proceed in unwrapping the gift they have selected. They can't do both. With a crew that is still coming together, it was interesting to watch the dynamics of the group change during the game as they loosened up a bit. This crew still has a lot of coalescing to do. But this wonderful Christmas party and the white elephant ritual has probably taken the crew a major distance up the road of becoming a well knit unit.

Christmas Day found me and my sister at our friend's house near the beach. The crew split in different directions. Some rented cars and traveled. Some had to stay near the ship because their two assigned hours on the ship came in the middle of the day. But in general, everyone got a rest from the intense life aboard the ship for a day.

Which is what we did. My sister, her host, and Myrna stood on the dock with Amy's husband, Dave, as we set off on the next leg of our adventure. We saw them later up on Fort El Moro waving PRIDE's crew off as we set sail against the wind and headed east from San Juan. Samantha Heyman, our new cannoneer, shot a salute to both the fort and our well wishers as PRIDE met the first swell of the Atlantic. With a clear day and a moderate trade wind, PRIDE started her slow trek to windward. We could see our friends up on the fort waving back to us as we waved to them for quite a while. There is something quite poignant about sailing off directly into the ocean and be able to see your bon voyage party standing high up on an old structure like El Moro until they are too small to distinguish. Unlike leaving Baltimore's Inner Harbor where the tension is ended by the rounding of a bend, the tension of a "so long, fair well" like this stays with you far past being able to see each other due to distance. I think this is so because one can still see the fort where the well wishers were standing. You just know they are still there wishing you off, even if they are not. I found myself looking back as much as I was looking forward for a very long time.

We spent three hours motoring around the east end of Puerto Rico in order to enter the Caribbean Sea. To have continued sailing would have taxed the crew's energy reserve excessively. Once we got around the south side of the island, we reset the foresail, staysail, jib and foretopsail. We added the jibtopsail and the maingafftopsail, too. Then with one motor, we made our way southsouthwesterly toward Aruba. Earlier this morning we finally got an increase of wind and we turned the one motor off and we have been sailing well since.

The wind is just aft of the port beam at about 14-15 knots. The sea is about 6 feet. PRIDE slides along at a steady angle of heel around 12-15 degrees. She heaves gently up and down as the seas go under her. The sun beats down on us with a clear shot of the deck. Right now, the sails provide no shade -- this will eventually occur later this afternoon as the sun gets further to the west. Life aboard is quiet. All hands off watch are asleep. The watch on deck goes through its routine of checking the rig and making hourly reports in the logs and checking the bilges. The heat is a little oppressive, but there is a breeze. It is going to be hot and humid aboard PRIDE for the next three months - or until she starts to get close to China. From now on, the ship will be near 90 degrees all of the time with very high humidity. The only respite will be the breeze. In Panama there won't be much of a breeze. It will be truly close then. And it won't return to what it is now till she reaches the trade winds some 1700 miles (or two weeks) out of Panama into the Pacific.

Dan comes to the ship with a lot of experience in addition to his time aboard the two PRIDE's. He has been the master of a number of sailing vessels, some larger than PRIDE. He has spent time in the Pacific around Hawaii and the Marshall Islands. But he also knows the US east coast well through growing up in Connecticut and sailing a number of vessels along the coast from Florida to Maine.

Dan might have joined us in Puerto Rico, but it was too close to the holidays. He is married and there were plans in place that did not permit him to join us in San Juan the day after Christmas. But it is really important to have ample time to execute a rotation of skippers! So it turns out that going to Aruba was the best way to give Dan time to get ready and still keep PRIDE on schedule for her passage through Panama. So here we are reaching speedily for Aruba off the coast of Venezuela before heading west to Panama.

PEACE
Captain Miles

Ahoy!

We are motoring. Have been all day. Our nearly idyllic sail of yesterday came to an end this morning with the approach of squalls. Often squalls are understood to mean wind - sometimes lots of it. But the approach of squalls can often mean the end of the sailing breeze even before the squall is near. I think of it like the ridge of some hill blocking a breeze. The squall is a disturbance. The breeze tries to get around the disturbance but instead drives the squall along.

So it seemed this morning. We dodged several squalls as we motored and sailed, changing courses frequently aided by the radar to slip between the rain. But finally we went through a few. One was pretty big. Gave us 30 knots of wind. We have taken all sail in now since there is so little breeze that the sails can't stay full. Thus they are spared the chafing that comes from flogging and slatting due to the ship heaving about in the sea swell. While we are now out of the way of any squalls, the wind has not come back. My suspicion is this could go on through our remaining 150 nautical miles to San Juan. In the tropics, where the weather has the reputation of being the same every day, there are changes. In this case, a trough may be the cause of both the rain clouds and the lack of wind. Or maybe this is just the odd meander of the trade wind in both its strength and direction. In any event, we are motoring through an area with less than 10 knots of wind and a left over swell of 6 to 8 feet. It's a disappointing way to end this leg of the voyage since I had high expectations of sailing all the way to Puerto Rico. Whether or not the wind comes back, I think we can be in San Juan before dark tomorrow, either by motoring or sailing. This will give the crew a full extra day for dealing with ship needs before we shove off again after Christmas.

Dealing with weather changes aboard PRIDE requires more than a single watch team to handle sail. During a watch at sea, there are 3 or 4 people keeping her on course and monitoring the ship and conditions around her. When the conditions change, it may mean changing the sail configuration. To do that requires more than a single watch of 3 or 4 crew members. So we call the 'stand-by watch.' If they have been taking care of themselves, they will have already had their 'offwatch' time and gotten some sleep. They can continue sleeping during their stand-by watch, but need to be prepared to hop on deck and handle sail quickly. This puts some 6 to 8 persons on deck to handle sail, which is ample to do anything that is not an emergency. Still, calling the stand-by watch is not something a captain does without considering the effect of the disturbance to that watch's personal time.

Sailing in squally conditions can require disturbing the stand-by watch any number of times over the course of the four hour watch. A squall almost always means rain, too. So one needs to advise the stand-by watch of that when they are called. Having called them up, it may be necessary to keep them on deck for a while to wait out developments, even though the job they were called to do for has been accomplished. Squalls are also frustrating because they often represent only a temporary change of conditions. Knowing this makes it harder to commit to making a radical change to the sail configuration. What is changed for the squall will likely have to be put back up after the squall passes by. That will, of course, require the help of the stand-by watch. Seeing a lot of squalls on the radar is pretty disappointing. No one is going to get any rest or quiet time if there are squalls around!

But who can complain as we motor along? What must it have been like back in the "good ol' days" when life was simple and there was no modern technology to fall back on to alter a given weather situation? We are out of the squalls now because we were able to motor past and through them. The stand-by watch is below enjoying their personal time. We can look forward to arriving in San Juan on schedule or even a day early because those same motors allow us to move when the wind is not available. Without the engines we would still be in the middle of a large group of squalls being buffeted by mixed up wind associated with the squalls. Given the 10 knots of breeze that we have now, PRIDE would barely be making 4 knots if we were sailing. And the breeze has shifted more southerly, almost right from where we want to go. So those 4 knots would not likely be directly toward our desired destination. So while my expectations about sailing this leg of the voyage have been dashed, I am VERY happy to be able to use the motors to keep moving. Everyone aboard will be happier getting in and having the chance to get work done and Christmas preparations made than be still trying to sail in contrary weather. By the way. Are all your Christmas preparations done yet? No? We have yet to begin to begin ours.

Cheers,
Captain Miles

Ahoy!

We're two days out of Bermuda. We've come 350 nautical miles and have 540 more to go before we arrive in San Juan, Puerto Rico, our next stop. It is only now that conditions are approaching being comfortable. We got started Wednesday morning after an easterly gale. The left over sea from that and the swell coming in from approaching lows from Florida set up a pretty uncomfortable ride. It may be hard to imagine, but try to think of 10 foot swells rolling in from different directions about 120 degrees apart. Give them irregular periods and then heel the ship over 15 degrees due to the wind and the forward motion of the boat at 8+ knots. Now add periodic rain and periods of darkness so black that you can't see anything. And don't forget the spray of the sea splashing aboard. Whether on deck or below, these conditions all served to make everyone aboard uncomfortable. At one point even I got a little sick. With all this going on, there was not a soul on board that did not appreciate the moon making its appearance tonight -- particularly after the darkness that previously surrounded us.

But now the sea has turned behind and has reduced a lot. So too the wind. We just shook out the reefed main and set the full fore-topsail. The decks are remaining mostly dry. Everyone can walk around now without feeling they have to crawl or grab onto something to keep their balance. In comparison to before, life is good again.

Based on my interpretation of the weather picture, we can look forward to moderate conditions for a while. One high is moving off to the east and a new one is coming in from the west. The wind is likely to stay northerly for a while. It may or may not stay a sailing breeze. I have not yet seen a tropical wind analysis so I don't know how far away the trade winds are from our current position. Maybe we will reach them as early as tomorrow, but I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see them until Sunday.

When we experience rough conditions, it is amazing to me just how many little things going wrong can pile up to be a pretty big thing. Take the galley diesel stove. It has been working fine all year. It just needs a good cleaning every now and again. For some reason it has been developing a series of minor irritations since before we left Baltimore. When we left Bermuda it would not remain burning. It would constantly go out. Our homeboy engineer, John Shellenberger from Maryland, worked on the thing on and off for a day and a half. He checked fuel flow, cleaned the stove, etc. And still it would not light. Today, now that things are moderate, it seems to be working again. It's a good thing we have the propane stove though. Our Yankee cook, Andrew Jackson from Connecticut, has been able to feed the crew throughout the rough sailing. And not having the diesel stove fired up has not left the main salon chilly because it has been in the near 70 since we arrived in Bermuda. But even now as we re-light the diesel stove, we are sensing that something is not right with the way fuel is metered into it -- more work needs to be done.

In other areas, the foc'sle bilge/shower pump stopped working in the middle of the rough sailing, just as the diesel stove did. The foc'sle pump has been working for over a year. But NOW it needs a part changed out. Meanwhile I have been having trouble determining why one of our satellite communications systems has been out of service while indicating it is in service. Plus, I have been worried about why we are getting air in the water-maker intake when in the past that has not been a problem. (When enough air gets into the system the water-maker shuts itself off. It's nice to know it can protect itself, but it's a nuisance to have the problem develop under rough seas.)

In and of themselves, these are little headaches. But in the context of sailing PRIDE through the rough conditions I described above, they add up to huge distractions. Quality of life is impacted and that is a concern for the captain. Safety can also be impacted when a tool, such as the foc'sle head pump, is not performing properly. And then there are expense concerns when a sophisticated device such as the water-maker is not able to operate in what could be termed normal conditions (of a sort). Rough weather is a given on a sailing ship and systems should be able to operate in that kind of weather. It's frustrating to deal with these little things when all our attention should be focused on what's happening outside!

But now life is good and we can take a deep breath before we go on to our list of "Things To Do." In addition to what I have mentioned so far, we must get aloft into the rig and check for wear and tear. Whether or not there is any, we must rotate halyards to new wear points. And then there is the sailing. We may have shaken out some sail, but there is more sail to be set, for instance the jib-top and the main-top. But that takes time and that means taking time from other items on the To Do list as well as cleaning up the ship from the rough weather. There have been spills and salt spray dousing that must be attended to both below and on deck. Well, I'm sure the crew would rather set sail than do the chores!

Cheers
Captain Jan

Ahoy!

Rain, rain, rain. Bermuda may be warmer than Baltimore, but it sure has been wet! The crew has been involved with ship maintenance, rain not withstanding, and an open house with what little public who braved the weather. Last Saturday was a good dry day, but we only had 218 visitors -- I suppose because this island still holds strong older traditions and Sunday is the day for visiting (after having gone to church). But Sunday rained steadily all day and we only had 101 visitors. However, many of our visitors were from Maryland!

Yesterday was an active day for the ship. We moved over to Hamilton for a mid-day reception held by a fledgling group interested in building a replica of a Bermuda Sloop for leadership training of the island's youth. The vessel will commemorate a remarkable maritime history and also be useful as a business development tool - like PRIDE. This is an ambitious project. But what is most interesting is the historical heritage that will be the basis of this effort.

Slavery came to Bermuda about 100 years after the first settlements were established in the early 1600's. The reason - tobacco. Bermuda began growing tobacco early on in its history and used slaves to do so. But it was not long before the colonies on the North American continent began growing large quantities of tobacco. This effectively put tobacco growing on Bermuda out of business. So what does a community of whites do with a growing population of slaves? Since Bermuda is surrounded by the sea, it was decided to use them in the maritime trades. This was a sound decision since Bermuda could prosper and feed itself only via the sea - through transportation and fishing. Over time it was the black population of the island that became its sailors. They became so important to the well being of Bermuda that it was possible for a successful black sailor to purchase his freedom through his success at sailing. By the time emancipation came to Bermuda, over half the blacks on the island had bought their freedom through their maritime skills.

Bermuda is now 60% black and is looking at the third generation of modern youth that have no real appreciation of their maritime heritage. Commercial sailing has been dead at least that long and the island has been making the transition from rural to urban. The youth are faced with the same issues as youth in North America. Overcrowding adds to the complexity.

So the proposition has been raised to build a Bermuda Sloop that will help young people develop teamwork and leadership skills while also gaining a greater understanding of their maritime heritage. The vessel could also be used to enhance the image of Bermuda in the minds of business people. PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II was used as a backdrop for this midday reception that brought out a wonderful mixture of individuals. Many were elderly that could speak to the "old days" of sail. Many of us in the audience were impressed by the historical readings about the role slaves played in the heyday of sailing in Bermuda. Bermuda Sloops, which were extremely rigged privateers, played an important role in support of English interests during the American Revolutionary War. There is one account of a Bermuda Sloop privateer that was caught by an American naval vessel and taken to Boston. The Sloop had some 70 slave crew aboard. The slaves were offered freedom or return to Bermuda. Every one of them chose to return to Bermuda.

There was a lot of press at this announcement about the Bermuda Sloop program and much was made of PRIDE and her mission as a model for the local program. The attendees walked aboard PRIDE and enjoyed telling each other anecdotes of their family heritage. It is too early to tell if this idea will be well received. But it seems to have a place in the framework of Bermuda's potential list of attractions.

Upon the close of the reception, PRIDE was moved to a fuel dock at the west end of the island to top off. Then we motored back to St. George's. I left the piloting to young Eldon Trimmingham, a Bermudan national treasure who is both a marine artist and an active yachtsman. Eldon has drawn a possible rendition of a the new Sloop that could carry students and passengers. (By the way, Peter Boudreau, the builder of PRIDE, has been commissioned to design the sloop). Eldon lives in St. George's and had also piloted on the way over to Hamilton.

Now we wait for the weather. A moderate low that came out of Florida a few days ago is coming up towards Bermuda, giving east to southeast winds with rain before changing to southwest, hopefully tomorrow. I think we will leave tomorrow. Meanwhile the crew continues maintenance chores and ship readiness for sea. They may be done soon after lunch. So maybe there will be some time off for them this afternoon, although we are all interested in getting underway. Our friends on the PICTON CASTLE left last night. They are far behind schedule and are all itching to get down to the tropics. We are not behind schedule, but Bermuda is not an inexpensive island and seeing it in the rain is not a great experience. It might be best to get underway soon and do some sailing before Christmas in San Juan.

Cheers
Captain Miles

Ahoy!

We arrived Wednesday afternoon after a bit of a wild night. I have not written in two days because it has been pretty busy dealing with entry, changing weather, crew training, ship maintenance etc. Suffice it to say, everyone is happy to be in Bermuda!

I left you last motoring along on Tuesday evening nearly 200 miles northwest of Bermuda with a darkening sky . The wind remained moderate till midnight. Along the way the wind shifted to the southeast. So we took sail in again, except the mainsail, and continued motoring in rain and a dying swell, using the main as a steadying sail.

Around 0100 Wednesday morning, the sky cleared to a lovely moon. But the wind was rather quiet. I could not make heads or tails of this, considering the reports and weather pictures. Around 0130 the southwest wind came in and rose to 25 knots very quickly. With only the main up, it was important to get a headsail on for balance. I called for the staysail. In the time it took for the crew to get it ready, the wind had passed 35 knots. This made the problem of speed worse. PRIDE was heading along at 10 knots and that created a problem with the swell coming from the south. She would hit the waves too fast and risk burying her bow.

As I dealt with this problem temporarily by heading off to the east, the crew up forward was having a problem setting the staysail because of the wind. I managed to reduce the mainsail myself by lowering it to near the double reef, which made steering a bit more manageable. Jason, our First Mate who was on the stand-by watch, had come up and I sent him forward to help with setting the staysail. By then the wind had climbed to over 40 knots. Even with the reduced mainsail, PRIDE was still making 10 knots and was still hitting the swells hard. As I was considering taking the mainsail in altogether, the mate returned, having been injured in the right arm and chest. While helping to get a snagged sheet un-snagged, another sheet came over in a flog of the sail and rapped Jason so hard that it sent him down the deck some ways. He and the crew had been successful at getting the staysail set, but my priority now was the injured mate. As luck would have it the wind was now moderating a little and the ship had slowed down a bit. So we got Jason below.

We found no blood and he was quite lucid, but in pain. My immediate thought was for broken bones. An initial assessment did not uncover anything obviously broken. So, on with the cold packs. After a while the cold packs were helping but the pain was a distraction. Upon consulting the med-kit, I gave him ibuprofen for swelling and pain. After reviewing how he felt and what had happened, I felt it was best to get him secure and comfortable and we would consult the experts upon arrival in Bermuda, which I figured would be in the next 12 - 15 hours.

The rest of the wee hours of the morning were spent dealing with conditions. The wind gusted to 45 knots a number of times but otherwise held to a pretty steady 30 knots. But a new problem arose as the wind was veering again. This meant PRIDE had to sail more into the swell. Funny how these things work, but the strength of this new blow had the tendency of knocking down the old sea. So although we were steering more southerly again, it was not as rough.

But south was the wrong direction! So after dawn we jibed over. That was quite a trick in the conditions, but it was handled well by good crew teamwork. It also helped that the wind had moderated a little. But while this meant the jibe was easier, the leftover sea was a problem. To get better control, I put the engines on ahead and got a lot of stability by keeping the speed constant. Once we were jibed, I checked on Jason's condition, which was remaining stable, and then went and got a little rest myself.

By late morning the wind had dropped more and the sails were slatting back and forth, so we took them in. By this time Bermuda was in sight and the sea had moderated further. So it was time to start cleaning up the deck in preparation of entry. I got onto the paperwork for clearance which involved getting everyone's passport. As we approached, we had washdown going and flags being set. By the time we entered, PRIDE looked pretty well ordered considering our hectic night.

But there was a surprise inside! The barque PICTON CASTLE was in port at anchor. My longtime friend Dan Moreland has recently masterminded a change of this vessel from an old English off-shore fishing vessel into a very handsome barque. His first trip is to sail around the world from Nova Scotia. They had arrived the day before from a very rough ride down from Canada. What a lovely happenstance that we two would be aboard vessels outbound on very great adventures at the same time and in the same port -- one which was NOT on their itinerary! A good omen? I hope so. His vessel is the newest square-rigger in North America. There has not been a non-government owned square rigger in North America since the late 1970's. With PRIDE being the first Baltimore Clipper to make its way to Asia in a very long time, it seems a wonderful serendipity to have both of us in the same 'first port stop' for our respective voyages at the same time.

Between formalities of entry, communications with the office about Jason to set up a visit to the doctor, plus getting to see old friends, it has been a hectic period of time. But the best news is that Jason has only a minor problem with his arm and his convalescence should be pretty quick. He has his arm in a sling and is systematically running the crew as he always has.

Cheers
Captain Jan

Ahoy,

We are motoring. The wind went light at 0200 hrs but we continued sailing till the change of the watch at 0400 hrs when we shook out the double reef in the mainsail. By the time it was reset, the wind was light enough and the sea still big enough to cause me to get the starboard engine going and push. Things stabilized a little and we continued till 0700 when the wind conditions became so light that we had to take in the square-foretopsail, the jib, and the foresail due to their slatting. By then, I had started the port engine and we have been pushing ever since at about 8 knots.

Around 1300 hrs the wind filled back in just a bit from the south so we reset the fore and the jib. This has had the effect of stabilizing the ship from rolling, as well as adding some speed to the motoring. As I write, the sky is darkening to the west and the air is filling in a little from the south. That low that was passing over Florida is moving east fast while it continues to dissipate. I don't know how strong the conditions will become. We are now 180 nautical miles from Bermuda. If we don't run into something that diverts us, we could be in tomorrow.

The calm we have had this morning has been well received by all hands. Life has become quite nice with the rise in temperature, the ease of motion, and the chance to get some real rest. The new crew is getting acclimated to their jobs on PRIDE. They've still a long way to go, especially as it pertains to efficient sail handling, but they are learning. They are already going over the rig and looking for chafe while Engineer John Shellenberger checks the systems down below. For instance, when we motor or get into big temperature changes, the temperature of the ship's batteries rises. They are a different technology than the ordinary liquid battery found in a truck or car. These are not a liquid but in fact are a gel. Hence they are referred to as gel cell batteries rather than wet cells. Gel cells are more sensitive to heat than wet cells. If they get too hot, they will gas off, thus reducing their ability to hold a charge. So, the engineer must reduce the voltage recharging the batteries to protect them from gassing.

Gel cells are not always the best choice. However, they're good for PRIDE because they can take very deep discharging and fast recharging with little to no risk of damage or the possibility of a shortened life expectancy that would occur with wet cells under the same circumstances. Most of the life spent aboard PRIDE is with the engines off. In these circumstances the batteries are draining to support lights, navigation gear, and the ship's computer and its communications gear. Twice a day we charge the batteries back up by starting the engines. We are able to recharge the batteries from a level of 70% of their capacity to full (some 150 amp hours) in less than 3 hours. The experts tell me that wet cells would not normally be expected to do this for years at a time. Also I am told that wet cells would not be able to recharge as quickly as gel cells. So, in the end, we must adjust the rate we charge the gel cells as the temperature rises. A small inconvenience overall that requires care and attention, but one that keeps our lights on, and our computers humming to send you these scintillating logs!

Cheers,
Captain Miles

Ahoy,

We entered the Gulf Stream just after midnight. Water temperature got to 71 degrees. Because of the direction of the wind, we are forced to choose between going east or going south. I have chosen east due to early weather reports. Now that we are in the Gulf Stream, we are experiencing a boost in our speed over the bottom of nearly 3 knots! Even though the wind has moderated and boat speed is down to between 7 and 8 knots, we are still able to travel east at a rate of 10-11 knots. However, the new weather reports are talking about a low developing from the southeast coast near the Carolinas starting as early as tonight. I can't decide if going east is better than turning south. Our distance to Bermuda is now some 400 nautical miles. If we could go directly towards our destination we might be able to stay ahead of this anticipated low.

Meanwhile, the degree of comfort aboard has increased a great deal with the rise in temperature. I no longer feel the need to keep the aft cabin wood stove going, which has reduced the amount of smoke down below. It is amazing where that smoke can get to! But the smoky warmth it put out was very welcome when it was really cold on deck. With the coming of daylight and the reduced wind, the crew is resetting the fore-topsail. It should help with the ship's motion as well as the ship's speed. The next big question is strategic. Do we jibe and go south or stay pat? I will let you know.

More cheerily yours,
Captain Miles

Ahoy,

We have been underway for more than 24 cold hours. Things have not all gone smoothly. It is now blowing a lumpy Force 5 and 6 with gusts of 7. (That means the wind is blowing from 20 to 28 knots and the waves are getting near 8 feet high.) The moon makes the coming darkness a little more palatable. We are traveling fast, although not directly toward our desired destination, Bermuda. However, we are going east and that will get us away from the coast and into warmer water, now some 60 degrees rather than the 45 degrees of the Bay which we just left.

Our departure from the warm send-off at the Inner Harbor ceremony 24 hours ago was fast due to the fresh northwest breeze. We got out past Fort McHenry just as the sun was setting. We dipped our colors and shot two cannon salutes as the Fort raised its own 'Old Glory' in farewell. It was getting truly dark as we passed under the Key Bridge. Our last well wishers aboard the tug IRELAND wished us bon voyage with a long sound of her horn. Except for the busy crew working with a will and a certain excitement about being underway, that one lone vessel of friends was a melancholy sight as I looked back at her framed against the last bit of sunset sky with the lights of Baltimore harbor shining like crystal in the crisp night air. So long, Baltimore! You look so warm as we press on into the cold and breezy night under PRIDE's wind filled sails.

And filled those sails were! Her full four lowers (main, fore, staysail and jib) plus the fore-topsail pushed PRIDE along at a good 10 knots the whole of Saturday night. We passed through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel around 7:30 am this Sunday morning and sped on out into the Atlantic in a very bright sunny day.

By then we had discovered a couple of things. The lazarette had suffered an accident when a badly stowed container of linseed oil had upset and mixed with water in the bottom of the laz bilge. Meanwhile, Leslie, our Teacher Aboard, was discovering that modern technology can be very time consuming. She had spent most of the night trying to organize the digital photos she had taken and get them ready to send to the web page. As it is, she has sent only two as of an hour ago. She has had a very long day.

Meanwhile the crew is experiencing a baptism of sail - having had no opportunity to practice first. Last night was spent learning about safety checks while underway. I continued to do the primary navigating while everyone got familiar with the routine. I considered it a blessing that the wind was so favorable. It made piloting easy because the only thing to do was steer straight down the Bay. (None of that tacking or jibing that can so often be necessary when traversing the length of the Bay.) We went so fast we passed a tug pulling an empty barge!

Even though all the crew are experienced sailors, they are having to learn the PRIDE way of doing things as they go about their jobs. For instance, log entries can be a real puzzle to sort out - especially the engine room log. There are many meters to read and their values must be written in small print as PRIDE hoves to in stiff winds. Andy Jackson, our new cook, has had his hands full learning the idiosyncrasies of his new galley. And learning them in a galley cocked at a 15 degree heel has not made it any easier.

While going fast was exhilarating last night and today, it has ceased to be comfortable. The temperature is still cool enough to require many layers of clothing to stay warm. Moving around in the dark with the ship in constant motion takes one's full concentration. Combining bulky clothes, foul weather gear, constant motion, closed hatches, and the steep ladders reminds us all that we are indeed at sea in the cold Atlantic.

After getting off shore and out of the Bay, the wind veered more northwesterly so we jibed ship around noon - another first for this crew. They did well, due in part to a detailed discussion before executing the maneuver. Throughout the afternoon, PRIDE sailed east in increasing seas. Part of this was due to steady wind of upwards of 30 knots. But the further out from land we ventured the bigger the seas got. This is because the waves have a chance to build up as they are pushed further and further out from shore. At 1600 hours we took a double reef in the main and took in the fore-topsail. We continued to sail fast on into the dark.

With a chill in the bones,
Captain Miles

The countdown for Asia is ticking fast! We went into dry-dock on November 24, about a week later than we hoped -- General Ship Repair was very busy with a previous customer. But up she went and out of the water she came. PRIDE makes a pretty picture when you can see all of her, hull and all. We painted the bottom of the ship with green marine resistant paint so that will hold her a year until we get back. We performed other necessary maintenance as well.

We put PRIDE back in the water last Saturday and are going full blast to get her ready for the trip. We're actually running with a double crew. The Asia-bound folks all reported in Monday, Dec. 1. And we've held over most of the summer crew to help with the preparations. We're installing a new topsail, putting in new alternators that will increase our electrical capacity, installing a new water heater, and lots of other chores. Perhaps the biggest item is the installation of an additional satellite communication systems. It's called Mini-M and will allow us to have phone, fax, and data transmissions while at sea. This will enables us to conduct phone conversations with the news media while underway. Look for weekly updates from the ship on WJZ-TV from the middle of the Pacific.

The Asia-bound crew are full of enthusiasm and excitement about the trip, which helps them through the hard work we're demanding this week. Several are old friends who have sailed aboard PRIDE before. This includes First Mate Jason Quilter and deckhands Summer O'Malley, Jennifer Muther, and Samatha Heyman. I'll be telling you more about everyone after the voyage gets underway. Our most unusual addition to the cast of characters aboard PRIDE this time out is a certified teacher - Leslie Ann Bridgett, a science teacher at Westlake High School in Waldorf. Leslie was chosen for the role of Teacher Aboard from a great field of candidates. She received a Christa McAuliffe Fellowship from the State Department of Education to support her through the trip. She'll be reporting and sending back pictures and stories to you and the students of Maryland via our new Mini-M system. Look for Leslie's updates on the ASIA button of PRIDE's great Web site - www.pride2.org.

There's much to do and little time left, so I'll sign off for now. Please come down to the HarborPlace amphitheater to see us off - that's this Saturday, Dec. 6. The Bon Voyage celebration starts at 3 pm and the boat leaves at 4 pm. We'd be glad to see you.

Cheers,
Captain Jan Miles

Past Logs

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