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 tall ship master with more than 35 years of experience as a professional sailor.  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 Lady Maryland, Californian, Bill of Rights, New Way, Alexandria, Brilliant and Clearwater. Along the way he also helped develop model sailing programs for youth at risk. His accomplishments and contributions to the tall ship sailing 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 was honored with the first Special Seamanship Award by Sail Training International, which was awarded to the ship for seamanship demonstrated during dismasting.  Captain Miles is currently participating as a Steering Group Member for Sail Training International on a project to develop self-assessment tools for Sail Training program evaluation.

Jamie Trost, Captain
Now in his fourth season as Partner Captain for Pride of Baltimore II, Captain Trost began sailing small boats at an early age and has been working aboard and commanding traditional vessels for 12 years. In 2010 he commanded Pride II for the entire Great Lakes Tallships' Challenge Series, an international four-race contest. Pride II placed First Overall in the Series, earning her the Perry Bowl for a record-tying third time. Captain Trost holds a USCG 500 Ton Masters License Power and Sail as well as numerous other certifications.

Captain Trost has an extensive background in War of 1812 Maritime History.  In addition to his Pride of Baltimore II experience, Captain Trost has been Master aboard 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.  He brings vast knowledge regarding the history of that era that he uses 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 Amistad and Inland Seas.

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.

Sarah Whittam, First Mate
Sarah returns to Pride of Baltimore II as First Mate.  She is no stranger to the ship, having spent 2 sailing seasons and 3 winter maintenance periods working on the vessel.  A native Marylander, Sarah grew up in Annapolis with sailing in her blood.  She is an accomplished sailor, having worked aboard a number of other vessels, including the schooner A.J. Meerwald, Spirit of Massachusetts, Victory Chimes, and Lady Maryland.  Sarah earned a B.S. in Biology from Haverford College.  She holds a number of licenses and certifications, including USCG 100 Ton Inland Masters, USCG 100 Ton Near Coastal Mate, AB with lifeboatman, as well as Basic Safety Training, First Aid and CPR.

John Pickering, Second Mate
John rejoins Pride of Baltimore II this year as Second Mate.  He has previously been the ship's engineer (Fall 2011 and Spring/Fall 2010 seasons), bringing a wealth of Pride II experience to this year's crew.  He has been sailing professionally for the past six years, and has held positions of engineer, deckhand and educational coordinator.  His experience spans a variety of vessels including the Skipjack Sigsbee, Lady Maryland, Mildred Belle, Schooner Virginia, the Spirit of South Carolina, and the Sailing Yacht Hanuman.  This past winter maintenance period, John was instrumental in Pride's engine repair project.  John earned a B.S. from James Madison University.  He holds a USCG 100 Ton Inland Masters License and is basic safety training certified.

Abi Iverson, Engineer
After a two year hiatus, Abi rejoins Pride II's crew this season as Engineer.  Abi's first experience with schooners was at the age of 9 when her mom volunteered for the Charlotte Ann in Chicago.  From then on, she spent a good bit of time in boat yards sanding and varnishing.  Abi began sailing professionally in 2007, and has held positions as deckhand and educator aboard a number of vessels including Pioneer, Lettie G. Howard, Westward and Harvey Gamage.  She sailed aboard Pride of Baltimore II as deckhand in both 2008 and 2010.  Abi brings 13 years experience in education, both in the classroom and through experiential and extracurricular programs within the United States and abroad.  She earned a BA from Long Island University's Global College with a concentration in Education.  Abi holds a USCG 100 Ton Near Coastal Masters license and AB Special certification.

Elizabeth Foretek, Bosun
Elizabeth is another returning veteran to Pride of Baltimore II.  This season we are happy to welcome her back as the ship's Bosun.  Shefirst joined Pride II's crew in 2007 for the East Coast tour, and has since logged three sailing tours and one winter maintenance period.  Her initial interest in sailing began when she served as a volunteer aboard Gazela Primeiro in Philadelphia.  Elizabeth has also worked on Northwind, Niagara, Hawaiian Chieftain, Lynx, and Spirit of South Carolina, as well as vessels in Mystic Seaport. She enjoys working with different crew and volunteers and teaching students about both the present-day and historical maritime industry. Elizabeth earned a B.S. from the College of Charleston.  She is USCG certified 100 ton Near Coastal Masters, 200 Ton Near Coastal Mate, BST and NAVI SCUBA.

Kevin Moran, Cook
He's back!  Kevin rejoins Pride II's crew as cook for a repeat of the 2011 season.  Born on Nantucket, Kevin spent most of his summers growing up on the island surrounded by a sailing culture.  Kevin began his culinary profession in High School, where he participated in a three year culinary program.  He has five years of experience in the culinary field and is familiar with the numerous challenges that can be presented.  Last season was Kevin's first venture as cook aboard a sailing vessel.  He is excited to bring his skills and expertise back to fill the role this Bicentennial season.  When he is out of the kitchen, Kevin enjoys dabbling in the arts (painting) and music; he has been playing the drums for ten years. 

Frank Bell, Deckhand
Frank is a newcomer to the tall ship world.  Prior to joining Pride of Baltimore II's crew, he served on the winter maintenance crew of the HMS Bounty.  He brings great enthusiasm and a strong desire to learn.  Frank is a native east coaster who calls Wilmington, DE home. He is excited about the opportunity to improve his skills and share his enthusiasm with those who come aboard Pride of Baltimore II.

Joe Hauser, Deckhand
Joe is new to Pride of Baltimore II.  He first became interested in sailing while in college, when he joined the sailing club.  In 2011, Joe worked on the schooners Sultana and Lady Maryland, where he assisted students in sail handling, water quality experiments, and American history, while also performing ship maintenance duties.  Prior to his life underway, Joe worked with youth in after school or summer programs, where he honed his skills in communication and conflict resolution.  A native of California, Joe earned his B.A. from the California State University at Long Beach. He is currently working towards his Able Bodied Seaman Certification.  Joe is excited to be part of this year's crew and looks forward to getting out on the Atlantic Ocean.

Sarah Kaplan, Deckhand
Sarah's love of tall ships began during a middle school field trip on the Irving Johnson.  Fast forward a few years to 2011, and Sarah spent the summer season sailing on the Irving Johnson as a deckhand/educator.  In this role, Sarah engaged students in activities such as setting sail, cooking, cleaning the vessel and navigation.  She assisted in training new volunteers on vessel safety, line handling and duties associated with running a watch.  A native of California, Sarah earned a B.S. from the University of California at Santa Barbara.  She is First Aid and CPR certified.

Brandon Orozco, Deckhand
Brandon is another newcomer to Pride of Baltimore II.  His interest in sailing developed as a direct result of his work in a boat yard, where he was as an apprentice rigger preparing, repairing and maintaining mast and rigging systems.  Brandon has worked aboard the Tall Ship Windy inChicago and the SV Denis Sullivan in Wisconsin, where he sailed under the leadership of a former Pride II crew member.  Brandon has also spent time volunteering aboard the Lady Washington and the Schooner Adventuress, both in Washington State. 

Rohan Rao, Deckhand
Rohan joins Pride of Baltimore II's Spring crew fresh off of the ship's Winter Maintenance.  Rohan grew up on the water, both in India and in New York.  He became interested in sailing in high school.  In college, his interest and desire to expand his knowledge grew even more after sailing aboard the Oyster Sloop Christeen.  Rohan spent the next two summers sailing aboard the Christeen.  In 2010 and 2011 he gained additional experience sailing aboard the schooner Soundwaters.  Rohan holds a number of certifications, including SCUBA/PADI, First Aid, CPR AED and Basic Keelboat.

*Crew Photos provided by Greg Pease.