Crew

Jan Miles, Captain

Captain Miles joined Pride, Inc. in 1981 and was one of three rotating Captains on the original Pride of Baltimore. He is a traditional sailing ship master with more than 40 years of experience as a professional sailor after extensive sailing throughout his youth. His voyages include five Atlantic Ocean crossings, as well as three Pacific voyages of 5,000 miles, each taking about 25 days. He has traversed the Saint Lawrence Seaway more than a dozen times. Captain Miles holds a USCG 500 Ocean Master License for Power and Sail, as well as numerous other certifications.

Prior to joining Pride, Inc., Captain Miles served as master or mate aboard 15 vessels, including the Schooners Lady Maryland, Californian, Bill of Rights, New Way, Harvey Gamage, Brilliant, the Sloop Clearwater and the Bark Elissa. Along the way he also helped develop model sailing programs for youth at risk. His accomplishments and contributions to the sail training profession have been recognized both within and outside of the maritime community. He was named Marylander of the Year by the Colonial Society of Maryland in 2001 and Sail Trainer of the Year by the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) in 2003. In 2005, he received on behalf of Pride of Baltimore II's sail training and professional crew the Special Seamanship Award by Sail Training International. This was given to recognize the conduct of those aboard during and immediately after Pride of Baltimore II's catastrophic dismasting while 100 nautical miles at sea in the Bay of Biscay. Captain Miles was also a 2010 Steering Group Member for Sail Training International on a project to develop self-assessment tools for Sail Training program evaluation. In February 2013 Captain Miles was recognized with the Lifetime Achievement Award by Tall Ships America.   

Jamie Trost, Captain

In his five years as Partner Captain for Pride of Baltimore II, Captain Trost has entrenched himself with Pride, Inc. both aboard and ashore. He has commanded Pride II for six of her last eight Tall Ships Challenge Races, helping to earn Pride II her third and fourth Perry Bowl Awards for first place in this international Tall Ships contest. Pride II now holds the honor of being the only ship to win the Tall Ships Challenge four times.  In 2012, Captain Trost co-authored a grant to develop Pride II's first underway educational programming, and is currently collaborating with a team of teachers, administrators, and scientists to develop an engaging program focused on the combination of history, technology and patriotism the Baltimore Clipper embodies. Captain Trost holds a USCG 500 Ton Masters License Power and Sail as well as numerous other certifications.

In addition to his Pride of Baltimore II experience, Captain Trost has been Master of the Schooner Lynx, another reproduction 1812-era Chesapeake Bay topsail schooner, and Chief Mate of the U.S. Brig Niagara, hailing from his hometown of Erie, PA.  These experiences have given Captain Trost has an extensive background in War of 1812 Maritime History and he is always eager to educate the public about the role Baltimore Privateers played in the conflict. Captain Trost's non-1812 experience includes sailing as Master of the Schooners Sultana, Denis Sullivan, Wendameen, and Bagheera, as well as Mate of the Schooners Amistad and Inland Seas. Starting from a background of sailing and racing small boats at an early age, Captain Trost has been working aboard and commanding traditional vessels for 15 years. In addition to his maritime experience, Captain Trost has a Bachelors Degree in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he was Captain of the Crew team. His writing and photographs have been published in Time Asia, Sailing and Chesapeake Bay Magazine. He also speaks Japanese, having taught English in a small farming town of Bisei-Cho in Okayama Prefecture.

Jill Hughes, First Mate

Pride of Baltimore II is pleased to welcome aboard Jill as First Mate. A Buffalo, NY native, she is looking forward to returning to the Great Lakes and participating in the festivals celebrating their history. Sailing in middle school on Lake Ontario and racing competitively in high school and college, Jill has been on the water ever since. An accomplished sailor, she holds a USCG 200 Ton Master license, and has worked aboard Flagship Niagara, Westward, Schooner Bowdoin, Lynx, Spirit of South Carolina and Harvey Gamage. When she's not sailing, Jill enjoys traveling, fishing, hiking and snowboarding.

William McLean, Second Mate

William joins Pride of Baltimore II as Second Mate, and is looking forward to sailing through the Great Lakes and participating in the bicentennial of the Battle of Lake Erie this season. An alumni of Maine Maritime Academy, William holds a USCG 1600 Ton Mate Oceans license, USCG 100 Ton Master Near Costal license and Sailing Endorsement. His interest in sailing was sparked at 10 years old on the Chesapeake Bay, and seven years ago he began his professional career on a schooner in Naples, FL. William has since sailed aboard Schooner Lady Sterling (now Aquidneck), Sloop Bahama Star, Kahuna Catamaran, Schooner Bowdoin, Corwith Cramer, Robert C. Seamans, Elissa, Flagship Niagra, Eagle and Picton Castle. He also enjoys skiing, scuba diving and wooden boat building.

Meredith McKinnon, Apprentice Watch Officer

Meredith is no stranger to Pride II, having sailed aboard in 2007, 2008 and Fall of 2012. This season she looks forward to getting more familiar with the details of the rig and practicing navigation under sail. Meredith started sailing tall ships when she was 14 years old, in and around the Great Lakes region. In addition to the 12 years of experience under her belt, she holds a diploma of Marine Technology from a maritime college in Canada, and a Bachelor of Maritime Studies from the Memorial University of Newfoundland. Meredith also has a passion for music, playing sports and traveling.   

Seth Page, Engineer

Seth joins the Pride crew this season as Engineer. Six years ago he was offered a deckhand position on Cape Cod Bay, and has been sailing ever since. His experience spans five sailing seasons on Bay Lady II in Cape Cod, and two seasons on Fox II out of Littleton and Akaroa Harbor, New Zealand.  This year he's looking forward to exploring new parts of North America from the water. Seth studied automotive technologies and holds a USCG 50 Ton Inland Masters license, with a Sailing and Commercial Towing Endorsement. When he's not sailing, he enjoys woodworking and playing volleyball.

Mark Zwick, Cook

Mark's love of the ocean and meeting new people who influence one another through the love of food makes him the perfect candidate for this season's Pride of Baltimore II Cook. A graduate of the Connecticut Culinary Institute, Mark also holds a Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping- 95 Certificate. Sailing experience includes racing in Glouster, and traveling between Maine, Boston, Virginia, Key West and Bermuda. After growing up in Naugatuck, CT, Mark has called Key West and Boston home.  In his spare time he enjoys local food sourcing, shell fishing and growing vegetables and herbs.

Melissa Brauner, Deckhand

After spending this past winter performing maintenance on Pride II, Melissa joins the crew as deckhand for the sailing season. First gaining interest in tall ships in 2008 after touring the HMS Bounty, she joined their crew in April 2012. She has also sailed aboard Privateer Lynx up the Hudson River. Melissa has taken Rating Forming Part of a Navigational Watch classes, and is looking forward to learning from Captain Miles and Captain Trost during the adventures aboard Pride II this season. When back home in New Orleans, LA, Melissa enjoys riding, show jumping and training horses.    

Andrew Elmaleh, Deckhand

Andrew is looking forward to sailing through the Great Lakes for the first time as a deckhand aboard Pride II. Embarking on his third sailing season, he first fell in love with tall ships after his sister urged him to drive from California to Connecticut, where he served as Deckhand and later Chief Mate aboard the Mystic Whaler. Andrew holds a PADI Open Water Diver certification, sailed as guest crew aboard the USCG Barque Eagle, and has participated in Outward Bound's two week sailing course. When he's not improving his seamanship and taking care of our beautiful ship, he loves playing steel guitar, skateboarding, martial arts, traveling, cooking and learning new cultural customs.

Brandon Fiew, Deckhand

This is Brandon's first sailing season as a deckhand aboard Pride of Baltimore II. A native of Victoria, TX, he began sailing after moving to Austin to attend the University of Texas. At a friend's suggestion he sailed competitively on the UT sailing team from 2007 – 2010, in regattas on the East, West and Gulf coasts. Following graduation, he worked as a childcare specialist at a residential treatment center for at-risk youth. This past summer Brandon crewed for the Schooner Liberty Clipper in both the Bahamas and Boston.  He is PADI Advanced Open Water Diver certified, and excited to travel and see the Great Lakes region while aboard a topsail schooner. When inland, Brandon enjoys hiking, backpacking, rock-climbing, yoga, reading and writing. 

Sarah Goldhammer, Deckhand

As a deckhand, Sarah looks forward to developing a familiarity with Pride II's rig, programming and crew.  After growing up surrounded by former Sloop Clearwater crew mates of her parents, at 15 years old she joined the ship as a volunteer. Since then, she's gained experience sailing aboard Corwith Cramer, Mystic Whaler, Liberty Clipper, Liberty Star, and Gazela. Sarah is looking forward to seeing new vessels while sailing on the Great Lakes this year. In addition to sailing, her other favorite hobby is singing.

Nate Hathaway, Deckhand

Also a newcomer to Pride of Baltimore II, Nate joins the crew this season as a deckhand. In the 5th grade a chance field trip on Lady Maryland sparked his interested in sailing, which led to racing performance catamarans with his Dad in high school and college. A photo shoot assignment in the Caribbean really "showed him the light," and led to experiences aboard performance racing CATS, 30-50' charter sailboats, an 80' Maxi Kialoa V, power cruisers, and last season, Lady Maryland. Nate has two years experience working for National Geographic, and is currently a semi finalist for the National Geographic Young Explorers Grant. He has a Wilderness First Aid certification, and has clocked over 140 days of sea service. This season he's looking forward to seeing the Great Lakes, adding more sea time and coming away with a good story or two. Nate enjoys rock climbing, photography, shooting clays, skiing, studying history, reading and cooking. 

Chad Lossing, Deckhand

After spending this past winter performing maintenance work on Pride II, Chad joins the crew as a deckhand.  Following a Sunfish sailing experience in the third grade, Chad never left the water. He's taken classes with the America Sailing Association, received Professional Mariner and Celestial Navigation training from the Chapman School of Seamanship, learned Basic Safety Training through the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Program and has First Aid and CPR certifications. This past summer Chad worked as a deckhand on Victory Chimes. A native of Michigan, he's looking forward to returning to his home waters aboard Pride II this summer. Other hobbies include studying political and economic theory, playing soccer, biking and dabbling in ukulele.

*Crew Photos provided by Greg Pease.