PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II rests at anchor in Portland Harbor, Maine after sailing in at 0800 hours this morning (Saturday). Rain and wind that started around 0200 hours out in the Gulf of Maine created a decent swell that caused quite a bit of heaving and yawing for PRIDE while also making all on watch in the pitch black night dripping wet. With the wind came a chance for PRIDE to sail at 10 knots after motoring most of the way across the Gulf of Maine through near calm conditions.

Approaching Portland Harbor entrance in the pre-dawn light with the ocean swell and the rain at great speed created a lot of fast action on deck for the crew to prepare for entrance while also executing a jibe. First take in the mainsail, then take the jib, then pre-brace the square topsail yards, then turn the ship and jibe the foresail and staysail, then set things up properly for the new reach while steering into the narrow slot of the harbor entrance. A slot with ample space but looking pretty small with the heaving and the yawing brought about by the increasing swell.

We are invited to lay alongside a floating pier at Portland Yacht Services to clear Customs and remain the weekend if we want. But the dock is exposed to the SE to E winds and I have decided it is not prudent to lay alongside in the current conditions. So we are at anchor. We launched the small rigid bottom inflatable boat to go fetch the Customs Agent aboard for clearance.

Now that all the formalities are completed we can settle down a bit and wait developments with the weather. Till things change for the better no one is going ashore and we remain in watches keeping an eye on PRIDE’s anchorage…to be sure we do not start dragging without knowing…should the wind come up a bit more than predicted. Improvements will come…maybe sooner if Danny drifts offshore a little more than projected as he passes by. We can hope. We all hear that Portland is a great town for an evening.

Signed,
Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II is likely to be back in the USA tomorrow in Portland Harbor, Maine. Currently she is motoring along in virtually calm wind conditions with little to no sea swell. A beautiful high pressure like day. Tropical Storm Danny has recently been forecast to nearly fall apart…i.e. is forecast to be somewhat smaller than earlier forecasts. This is not a bad thing…eh?

PRIDE got into Lunenburg the day before yesterday…very early in the morning.  With the awesome generosity of locals like the Captain of the Schooner BLUENOSE II, the folks at the Museum of Fisheries and the staff at the office of the Barque PICTON CASTLE, the crew were able to attend to the necessary details of ship care and preparation for eventual departure by lunch time. So they got Wednesday afternoon off in that wonderful pocket of just barely surviving traditional sail-centric activities in this new 21st Century we are experiencing.

Yesterday (Thursday) was spent on more maintenance as I dealt with Canadian Customs, US Customs and determined the best time to get underway considering local weather and the developments of TS Danny. Eventually we got underway in a decent NW breeze and sailed out of Lunenburg and down the Southwestern Shore of Nova Scotia. The goal being to get across the Gulf of Maine quickly, within 48 hours cover the 300 nautical miles to Portland ahead of Danny, and be positioned on the “safe semicircle” side of Danny and located in a safe well protected harbor of Portland as he passes by mid-day Saturday. Since sundown yesterday we have been motoring with little to no wind. At this writing there remains 150 miles to go and it looks like we will be on schedule to be in good shelter for Danny and meet with US Customs in Portland at 1000 hours Saturday…tomorrow.

Then we will have to keep an eye on ole’ Danny. Smaller it may become…but still there are forecasts of 30 knots or more along the coast of Maine for Saturday night into Sunday. It is unclear if there is a dock PRIDE can lay at for those winds. We may have to go to anchor at first when the wind is out of the East. But when it shifts to NW…as is expected…maybe then we can go to a dock and be able to let the crew get ashore for a visit in downtown Portland.

Signed,
Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

Rain. Lots of rain. Monsoonal rain. But no wind as yet. Forecasters have steadily been downgrading the likely wind strength PRIDE is likely to experience while sheltered in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.

What was a possibility of 50 knots forecast all they way back to when PRIDE was sailing past the north side of the Gaspe Peninsula on Thursday has dropped to maybe 30 knots. But that does not mean there is the same kind of reduction of strength on the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia. They will still experience more than 50 knot winds as Hurricane Bill runs more or less parallel to the coast from Cape Sable in the west passed Cape Breton Island to the east. The closest distance to PRIDE that Bill will have as it goes by is around 110 nautical miles. The farthest 50 knot winds reach from Bill’s center is forecast to be 40 miles at the time it passes by PRIDE. So it makes sense that with PRIDE being so much further away from Bill’s center than 40 miles, we would experience substantially less wind strength than 50 knots.

So we sit tight and keep an eye on things. We have had some heavy rain this morning…the wind that is due will not be here till after lunch and maybe not till mid afternoon and last into late evening before reducing. This morning I am holding forth to the crew on what I know about hurricanes and how they move.

Cheers,
Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

We are down to the last 2 pilots of a total of 6 for the outward bound run of the St. Lawrence River. We departed Montreal yesterday at 4 pm. It is now 11 am and we are already past Quebec City. Going down stream is sooo much faster than struggling up stream! Estimates are we will be dropping these last pilots off before midnight…then we will be on our own again…save for the regular check-in calls with Vessel Traffic Control.

PRIDE’s reception in Montreal was very appreciative by the local organizers of our visit. The setting is a good one for PRIDE to amplify the potential beauty of the older part of the port, an area that has been under re-development for a couple of decades. In fact PRIDE’s presence was to help transmit the message that there is more development to be done…so please approve budgets for that to be done…or support such budget approvals.

For the crew Montreal has been a great experience. French style culture, big city, old architecture, and all the amenities right at hand. For a short stay what more could a sailor ask for?  Especially with the local friends that were around.  There were a number of up-bound Guest Crew who came back during the weekend and shared “their” Montreal. Meanwhile a staffer with the American Consul in Montreal, also a traditional vessel sailor from the West Coast, escorted the crew to some of Old Montreal.

Au revoir Montreal.  From here it is on to Lunenburg, our last Canadian port of call this season. 

Cheers,
Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

PRIDE just received and returned a salute from “the” venerable gentleman of Cap-Charles, Quebec, located right on the shores of the St. Lawrence River.

For years this gentleman has raised the flag of the nation of registry of any ship passing by Cap-Charles on their way to or from Montreal. Included in the salute is the playing of the national anthem from huge speakers set facing the river from the shore. As PRIDE has traveled this part of the St. Lawrence River each time she has gone into and departed the Great Lakes, there have been a number of salutes exchanged over the years.

In this salute we heard “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Anchors Away”. In return PRIDE fired a single gun salute and dipped The Star-Spangled Banner.

Anyone interested in reading about this tradition one can visit the web site at www.bencancour.net/capcharles

Signed,
Jan C. Miles Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

Cloudless sky, light winds, warming temperatures, Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City, Plains of Abraham where the French and British armies fought…oh yeah..and a change of pilots.

We carried the first two pilots from Escomins (near the Saguenay River) to Quebec City. At 0930 hours the exchange by small boat was made and while our first two pilots, David and Silva, got off (they boarded the ship yesterday at 1530 hours and have been aboard 18 hours) two more pilots have come aboard. They will likely be aboard about 12 hours…or until PRIDE reaches Trois-Rivieres (Three Rivers).

Motor, motor, motor…since 1100 hours yesterday. This will continue till tomorrow in Montreal…till maybe around mid day. With pilots aboard my own focus changes from acute oversight of navigation and recreational & commercial traffic to a more relaxed oversight.  To have the pilots aboard is a great expense…for me this is an unnecessary service as until 1999 PRIDE’s size did not require a pilot.  I made this trip up and down this river almost two dozen times in a mixture of vessels of similar size to PRIDE on my own without pilot.  But the regulations are the regulations and in 1999 a change was made and it has been required since then that PRIDE take pilots between Escumins and Montreal.

Meanwhile with such good weather and smooth conditions it is possible for PRIDE’s crew to get some significant cosmetic maintenance done. Not only for preparation of being in Montreal, but for catching up with the wear and tear that has accumulated since PRIDE departed from the Chesapeake Bay in the middle of May.

Arrival in Montreal will be tomorrow.  We’re running a little ahead of schedule so have to work out logistics with the port organizers in Montreal.  Ideally, we’ll be able to time it so that we get the largest audience possible so we can make a real show of it! 

Cheers,
Jane C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

Soon we pick up a St. Lawrence River Pilot.

The weather is windless and clear. We can see both sides of the 10 miles wide St. Lawrence River…high topography on both sides.  A little bit like A good day to be motoring…if one must motor a distance with a sail vessel.

We anchored for the night at Ile du Bic. It is a small uninhabited island/bird sanctuary located about 30 miles east of the Saguenay River.  We arrived in dungeon fog at 2245 hours and did not see anything of the island until 1000 hours this morning when the fog lifted. The coast line is similar to that of Maine and Nova Scotia.  Although inhabited, there are plenty of seals.  We could hear them last night – all night, and finally got to see them today.

After we pick up a pilot we will motor past the entrance of the Saguenay River.  The confluence of the Saguenay and the St. Lawrence is a popular area for the Beluga Whale. Maybe we will see some this trip. I have seen them on several previous trips back in the 1980s and the 1990s, but not in the 21st Century.  This trip of the St. Lawrence past the Saguenay will be the 4th one this decade, with no whales sighted during any of them.  So, what has happened to the Beluga Whale?

Signed,
Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

Favorable winds for a change! But now we are looking to be early to the pilot station in the St. Lawrence River and may need to absorb 18 hours or so before we start the pilot-run up the river past Quebec City and on into Montreal.

Currently PRIDE is just inside the first of the narrowing part of the river as one moves from the gulf portion to the estuary portion. PRIDE is a little west of the Gaspe Peninsula with an easterly wind of about 10-15 knots letting PRIDE glide along on a smooth sea heading on a port jibe towards the southern shore. Just 16 nautical miles east of us is Matane, Quebec…a small port town with cross-river ferry service to the north shore.

Tomorrow, sometime in the afternoon, we will pick up a St. Lawrence River pilot (or two) at Escoumins, Quebec, located on the north shore just east of the Saguenay River. From there it is about 270 odd nautical miles to Montreal. It is likely to take 44 hours to motor to Montreal. This will require three different pilot boarding’s with the likelihood of two pilots coming aboard to start and again at Quebec City as the original two get off.  Last there will be a pilot exchange at Trois Rivieres (Three Rivers) about half way up to Montreal from Quebec City that will guide us into Old Port Montreal.

Signed PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II

PRIDE just crossed into what is called a Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) zone. VTS zones are created to eliminate the possibility of ship collisions in areas considered to have significant ship density. There are several VTS zones around the world…but rather few of them in Eastern North America. New York Harbor has one. Galveston to Houston has a VTS. Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts is a new one started less than five years ago. Halifax Harbor has one. Canso Straits (between Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island) has one. Northumberland Straits (between Prince Edward Island and the mainland) has one and the St. Lawrence River between longitude 66 West near the top center of the Gaspe Peninsula all the way to Montreal is a rather large one. In Europe there are traffic zones stretching from the beginning of the English Channel separating France and England all the way into the Baltic Sea with numerous smaller zones in the numerous commercial harbors on either side of the main traffic zones between Great Britain and the European Continent.

On the navigation charts, traffic lanes are depicted for inbound and outbound shipping to follow. Radio communication is setup for regular reporting of a vessel’s position within the traffic scheme. Overall it is not unlike an airport landing pattern with parallel lanes being monitored by a central control. Sometimes these VTS Zones provide areas for smaller vessels with no radio reporting requirements as long as such vessels do not wander into the “freeway” lanes of a VTS. This is not the case with the St. Lawrence Seaway…all commercial vessels regardless of size and regardless if they are not using the traffic lanes are required to participate in the VTS radio contact system. And so PRIDE is participating.

There has been no wind of any consistent strength or direction of 10 knots or better since PRIDE departed Gaspe yesterday morning. This morning there has been rain since before dawn. But there is the coast of Gaspe to see up close (within half a mile) as PRIDE slides by at about 4.5 knots using one of her two engines (to conserve fuel) while trying to escape the outbound river current of the St. Lawrence that runs along the Gaspe shore mostly out in deeper water further off shore.

Cheers,
Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

Canada has a system of ship reporting requirements for vessels vessels than PRIDE that for reasons I cannot fathom is being applied to PRIDE. Since 1981 I have been sailing around Eastern Canada, either going into the St. Lawrence River or exiting it on average every 3 years. Since 1989 I have been doing these trips with PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II.  At no time has this big ship reporting system been asked of PRIDE…except this time.  No one has provided an explanation and I am not going to ask. I am taking the position that the next time we depart port, if I am not told to report in…I will not ask if we should be reporting in…and see what happens.

Meanwhile, making our way around Gaspe (we just went past Cap des Rosiers marked by its proud tall whiteness with red painted band near the top light house) in August is proving to be a benign experience…so far.  For all the years that I have passed by Gaspe all but this trip have been made in the spring months of May or June or in fall during September. During those seasons the weather has been pretty brisk and fresh…some times against us and sometimes with us…but not often calm or benign. Right now it is next to completely calm as we motor along close to the Gaspe shoreline to try and beat the contrary St. Lawrence River current on its way to the Atlantic.  It gives us a good look at the Gaspe topography, its greenness with local homes scattered along the shore, and we can watch the vehicles go by along the only road that makes its way around the peninsula.

We are not alone as we motor along with the company of the Canadian Brigantine FAIRE JEANNE from Ottawa. She does not normally come to the Canadian Maritimes.  Today both vessels have created a training ship parade of sail along the north shore of Gaspe. Both vessels are motoring but both vessels have as much sail up as possible while not causing us to slow down. I hope we are putting on a nice show for the Sunday drivers!

Cheers,
Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II