For the last 72 hours, the weather forecasters have been correcting their original forecast for a coming northwest wind with every update. Yesterday’s evening forecast indicated there would be no northwest wind…that the wind would remain light. With 200 nautical miles to go, and only 36 hours left to cover the distance, PRIDE II got moving ahead under power. Of the small fleet of collected vessels within range of PRIDE II’s AIS that left PETER VON DANZIG as the only vessel remaining underway under sail at 2100 EDT yesterday.

Off in the distance, with the aid of some VHF propagation “skip”, yesterday afternoon I had seen on PRIDE II’s AIS both KRUZENSHTERN and EAGLE some distance to the west-southwest; they were right next to each other and evidently sailing by the indication of their speed and their course over the ground. Considering they can motor pretty fast, maybe they continued their “match sailing” well into last night as well.

Light wind sailing can be pretty frustrating. Aboard PRIDE II it was seen as quite acceptable this time around because of everyone being tired from all the activities in Boston. There is anticipation of a lot going on in Halifax, so there is no desire to get in early. Hence everyone aboard was quite comfortable drifting along until it was absolutely necessary to push on.

This morning PRIDE II is just to the east of the fabled Cape Sable and its strong ocean currents located at the southwest end of Nova Scotia. The morning weather report suggests some wind coming off of the land before shifting to parallel the coast and increasing to 20 knots in a typical summer day southwest flow. We have 110 nautical miles to go and do not really have to be in Halifax till business hours open tomorrow. I think we will go sailing again!

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

The non-parade of sail out of Boston was sort of a slow parade of sail with each visiting vessel departing hour by hour with a favorable northwesterly breeze that permitted all to sail out of Boston. Once outside of Boston the wind died and some of the fleet started motoring. But soon the wind was up from the south at a strength of 20 knots and all the fleet were gamboling eastward toward Cape Sable, the southwest tip of Nova Scotia, on their way toward Halifax. Last night’s sailing was cool…a big change from all the sailing before Boston…and all of PRIDE II’s crew are dressed with multiple layers of clothing and talking about using blankets below while sleeping.

Now, Tuesday morning some 115 nautical miles east of Boston out in the middle of the Gulf of Maine, the wind is very light from SW to West and many of the fleet have chosen to move on under power. With only 240 miles to go over the next 48 hours till the “official” arrival in Halifax the morning of July 16 and vague wind promises by weather forecasts it is a tough call deciding to motor PRIDE II or remain sailing. We can do 7 knots under power with quiet conditions, which means only 34 hours. But in 4 hours time there is supposed to be more wind coming from the SW. Maybe we will wait for that wind. Meanwhile, out of our company of local sailing friends…JOLIE BRISE, PETER VON DANZIG, TECLA, AMISTAD, URANIA…all but PETER VON DANZIG are now pushing on under power, so maybe we will continue to have some company today.

The Sail Boston event was a fun event for PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II. There was not the press of enthusiastic crowds lined up to get aboard due to special restrictions for this tall ship festival where only some of the fleet were open to the public. As a result PRIDE II’s crew was able to get some maintenance done as well as have some time off rather than get no maintenance done. Also, the fleet was spread over a distance of almost three miles of Boston’s waterfront. With PRIDE II positioned in the middle along with EUROPA, JOLIE BRISE and all of the Class D vessels we were the happy recipients of a lot of visiting crew from other vessels located some distance to either side of us as they traveled from one end of the fleet to the other.

What do the crew do at a tall ship festival?

If you are a member of the professional part of the crew, you have a lot of work that needs to be done. If you are a member of the training crew, you have a lot of shore based events to attend and participate in.

For PRIDE II, the professional crew have ship maintenance and consumable resupply to attend to while also hosting private receptions and tours of PRIDE II with school age kids learning about the origins of our country’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

PRIDE II’s cook must get out into town and shop for food to resupply what was consumed coming to Boston, then also fill the ship up with food for the sail to Halifax. He will also shop for more than is needed to get to Halifax as a strategy to keep food costs down while in Canada till mid-August.

PRIDE II’s engineer must attend to an electrical glitch in the reverse osmosis water maker, an irritating problem that has been troubling us since just before arriving Bermuda at the end of the first week of June.

The bosun and the rest of the crew will take advantage of the good weather and check the rig for any wear or tear, as well try to catch up on some cosmetic maintenance.

Meanwhile, PRIDE II’s Captain splits time between talking to officials of the festival, organizers of the sail training races, consulting with crew about maintenance and the technical glitches, phone calls to technical advisors, co-hosting the private receptions, attending official festival events and scraping time together to spend with his wife, who took a train to Boston to see him…the last opportunity before PRIDE II leaves the country till near the end of August.

Included in all of this is splitting the crew up so they too get some time off…even at the expense of not getting some general maintenance done.

Altogether the time in Boston flies by very quickly. Tomorrow PRIDE II and the fleet depart bound for Halifax. 

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

Fourth of July in Norfolk, Virginia, along with foreign visitor sail training vessels CISNE BRANCO and CAPITAN MIRANDA, was blessed by some of the most uncommonly fair weather for the time of year. Low humidity and not extremely high temperatures. To complete the picture there was no rain…until today.

So called “tall ship” festivals have been an annual event for Norfolk for 33 years now…a somewhat unique track record as American East Coast ports are concerned…and both the Brazilian and Uruguayan vessels are frequent guests. Why neither of them wanted to do the Atlantic Challenge race between Charleston and Boston is an interesting question considering both vessels are financially fully supported by their home governments and not receiving monetary exchange from Norfolk for attending. Maybe it has to do with both vessels being naval training vessels hence are taking the opportunity to further enhance a close relationship with the American Navy during a holiday that has popularity outside of the United States as well within.

CISNE BRANCO did not participate in the Bermuda to Charleston race either…but she sailed from Bermuda around the time of the Class A start from Bermuda and she did indeed take off very quickly (as observed via IS) to lead the Class A’s both in speed and in going to windward. Considering how well CAPITAN MIRANDA did in the Bermuda to Charleston race it is too bad the Brazilians did not participate.

All three of us (CAPITAN MIRANDA, CISNE BRANCO and PRIDE) are motoring ahead quickly for Boston now. The weather is not favorable for covering the distance under only sail power…we have almost 500 nautical miles to make by Wednesday July 8th. The wind is not blowing strongly enough to provide the power to sail fast enough and it is forecast to go against us for a bit as well. Hence I believe this leg will be more a motorboat ride than usual. But there is compensation at the end of this leg…rejoining the rest of the international sail training vessel fleet in Boston to be followed by the cruise in company to Halifax for the last port festival in North America for TSAC 2009 fleet. Unlike in Europe, international sail training fleet gatherings in the United States are rare and often are smaller in the number of attending vessels…especially this year considering the Tall Ships Race in the Baltic numbers some 150 odd vessels. So it is with great pleasure and anticipation that we aboard PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II look forward to seeing again our international sailing friends.

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

TSAC Race #3 Awards -First in Class and First in Fleet

It’s official….the results for Sail Training International’s (STI) International Tall Ships Atlantic Challenge (TSAC) Race #3 are in and PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II, the reproduction circa War of 1812 American Baltimore Privateer Schooner, has been declared 1^st in Fleet and 1^stin Class B based on handicap rankings. PRIDE II’s Captain and crew were presented with two sculpted glass awards for their accomplishments. 

The International TSAC 2009 fleet is represented by nations from Europe, South America, North America and Bermuda. The racing crews, both men and women, represent an even broader spread of nations and also represent ages from 15 years to 75 years. American sailing vessel representation in international fleet regattas is not a common occurrence, so having the American PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II lead the standings for both class and fleet is rarity.

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II has represented both Maryland and the United States during voyages to far-off destinations such as Ukraine and Russia to the east and China, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan to the west, as well as nearly every large maritime port in between located above the equator. During those voyages PRIDE II represents the unique Baltimore story of defense from the British Royal Navy’s attempt to burn the shipyards that were building the fast privateers used by the Americans during the War of 1812.  It was a successful defense that inspired American Francis Scott Key to pen the poetry that is now America’s National Anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.

Since 2000 PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II has participated in a number of international tall ship races sponsored by STI. In the Millennium Race #4 from Halifax to Europe PRIDE II was one of two American entrees, the other being the Schooner BRILLIANT of Mystic Seaport. PRIDEII was the second vessel in a 40 vessel international fleet to cross the finish line after sailing over 2,500 nautical miles and earned 1^st in Class and 5^thin Fleet after the handicap. In 2005, PRIDE II was one of two American vessels, the other being the U.S. Coast Guard Barque EAGLE, in a 67 vessel international fleet race between Waterford, Ireland and Cherbourg, France and earned 1^st in Class and 5^thplace overall behind four Class A vessels.  Also in 2005 PRIDE II was the only American vessel in an international fleet of 8 vessels sailing between Southern England and Northern Spain when, while leading the fleet, suffered a total dismasting of her entire rig while sailing in the Bay of Biscay 100 miles west of France. Six months later, with new masts installed, PRIDE II departed France for home and on to a full season of activities in the American Great Lakes.

The unique style of PRIDE II’s American watercraft history and her presentation of the creation of The Star-Spangled Banner cause her to be a singular stand out to all who see her. Being the only frequent American vessel in the STI races and regularly placing well in those regattas brings wonder and appreciation to all for her existence and original story. Marylanders and Americans have every reason to be very proud of their Icon of American Maritime History, the War of 1812 Privateer Schooner PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II.

Handicaps are amazing things when it comes to the effort of making very different vessel types all “equal” under sail. It has been over 36 hours since PRIDE crossed the finish line. Behind her are two of her Class B “mates” TECLA and JOLIE BRISE with large handicaps. So large in fact that if TECLA is able to cross the finish line less than 52 hours after PRIDE did, or sometime around noon local time tomorrow (if I have done my sums correctly), TECLA will likely hold onto her 1^st in Class and 1^stin Fleet…hence my reference to “sitting in limbo”. JOLIE BRISE passed her chance to gobble up PRIDE’s lead sometime around 1700 local time today.

KRUZENSHTERN at dock in Charleston with broken upper foremast.

Limbo time is really not accurate. PRIDE’s crew have been getting after maintenance. On the day of arrival we were docked at 1000 local time and it took till 1600 to clean the ship. Today started at 8 am on maintenance and went to 5:30 pm. Tomorrow will be the same thing. Down river from us is KRUZENSHTERN with a crane next to her holding the broken upper half of the foremast and its associated yards in place with sail still billowing while the crew very carefully and methodically disconnect her rigging, both running and standing, before lowering all to the dock where it will be further disassembled and loaded on deck to be brought home…or so the rumor on the street has it. Makes sense to me. Keep everything you can…do not cut anything you do not have to…no telling how important it all will be as the repairs begin.

Don’t think I spend all of my time looking over my shoulder at the rest of the fleet. While PRIDE’s crew have been hard at work on caring for PRIDE, I have been steadily at email after email dealing with schedule details for the foreseeable future of this summer’s itinerary. On three separate occasions I have had official business meetings with local authorities and organizers. For the emails I must sit below in a very warm vessel sitting in very warm water with very little flowing breeze going through down below. It is much more comfortable on deck…so the meetings that have interrupted my email progress are somewhat welcome so I can be up for bit of fresh air. But the best part has been being the messenger boy connecting those still out sailing with those here in Charleston that might be able to provide special services such as carpentry and sail repair.  

Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

KRUZENSHTERN and PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II entered Charleston at the same time today. The broken foremast of KRUZENSHTERN was plain and painful to see. It appears she was on a braced up sharp port tack with sails set to her royals when the breakage occurred. From the topmast trestles up, which is nearly the upper half of the whole mast structure, has folded over to the starboard side. The word on the street is that no one was injured. But the same source says that there is evident pain and sadness aboard. I sure hope there is available support to make KRUZENSHTURN whole again. She is an early 20^th Century sailing machine that today has accumulated a nearly unbreakable track of international sailings throughout her life as both a cargo vessel and as a training vessel. The 21^st Century sail training world and tall ships community will be wholly changed for the poorer if it is determined that repairing her is not worth the money and time. Speaking from personal experience, it is indescribable how one feels in such a situation. I can only imagine the difficulties with such a large and unique vessel that is also a significant sailing ambassador for her country. Let me be a voice to join others out-loud in the support of making KRUZENSHTERN whole again and sailing for her country out to the rest of the world!

Keeping the daily Race Control radio schedule has proved nearly impossible while dockside in Charleston. It was only by a radio relay via CAPITAN MIRANDA to Race Control that I was able to pass on PRIDE’s status and time of finish. To learn of PRIDE’s new standings for today I went to the TSAC 2009 web site and discovered PRIDE had increased her lead over JOLIE BRISE to take 2^nd in Class and 2^ndin Fleet. There is vindication in these results for where we sailed and how much work it was on the part of the crew to accomplish the finish. Now we wait to find out if JOLIE BRISE is able to reclose the gap and/or TECLA falls back enough for PRIDE to jump ahead. Meanwhile I got an email from TECLA asking for a local contact of a sail maker because “our mainsail has split”. I was able to get local tall ship liaison to tell me of a sail maker and get his email address. Then with the assistance of URANIA still being at sea and equipped with a powerful radio, pass onto TECLA the sail maker’s email address. In TECLA’s email message to PRIDE asking for help locating a sail maker they carefully wished us “good sailing (not too good) and good winds (not too good)”. Right back at you my good sailing friend!

Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

The first vessel of the fleet has crossed the finish line. PETER VON DANZIG crossed just moments after the 1400 UTC schedule of radio call-ins to Race Control aboard MIRCEA, the Romanian Training Vessel.

The rest of the leaders of the fleet, mostly Class D vessels with PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II tagging closely behind, are near and far spread behind the first finisher. FAZISI is not far from the finish. Behind her some distance and sailing along the coast is RONA II. Fanned out in a circle behind her nearly equidistant from the finish are PRIDE, well to the north near the coast, with XSAAR and URANIA nearly forming an arc to the south from PRIDE.

Today’s 1st and 2nd in Class and 1st and 2nd in Fleet are TECLA and JOLIE BRISE of Class B. Their ranking today goes to demonstrate how well sailed those vessels are as well just how slim the lead has been for PRIDE. Tomorrow is another day and the weather is proving a bit fickle in terms of producing what the forecasters suggested might happen. While this is frustrating to PRIDE because she is not gliding along with a fair breeze to the finish…rather she is tacking her way around the coastal shoals looking to get out of the current and stay in the off-shore breeze…maybe the other competitors are having as much frustration. Well, we will all find out tomorrow when the daily position report results are transmitted.

The most interesting thing to observe is EAGLE. She has gone and produced the longest distance between position reports for the second day in a row. This time she came back from being in the far south to being pretty far north. She may not be pointing very high, but she is surely sailing pretty fast! Meanwhile CAPITAN MIRANDA remains the most westerly Class A. She has done very well I think. I doubt any fickle weather will please her at this time. Way to the north of the fleet “the fox” EUROPA has managed to sail 40 miles in the direction of the finish. I hope the northerly winds suggested for her area come to pass for her. Certainly the NW winds forecast for today have not materialized.

In spite of the fickleness of the wind, the weather is clear. Hot and muggy with the wind from land. There have been heat advisories ashore posting 100 F temperatures when accounting for the humidity. Weather forecasts suggest the weather will become “more seasonable” with the crossing of the cold front. I cannot wait!

Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II managed to regain 1st in Class and 1st in Fleet overnight. To give a small idea of what it took, the distance between 1400 UTC plotted positions of yesterday and today was 98 nautical miles. But the distance actually sailed was 150 nautical miles. Looking at the plotted positions of the fleet, it is hard to see if many of them had to work as hard or not. Certainly EAGLE has the longest run between 1400 positions of any Class A vessel. But it was all to the south and east of her position yesterday! Going dramatically so far south from her somewhat northerly position should do well for positioning her to approach the finish line with the southwest winds now in place and should also help with crossing the Gulf Steam more directly. Meanwhile EUROPA is way to the north with nothing seeming to advantage her position for getting to the finish line. Not only will the next day or so bring southwest winds to her, but the Gulf Stream will slow her down with any effort to steer for Charleston. But maybe she is like the fox…a cold front is due to come over her Sunday and maybe it will provide her with a favorable beam breeze for getting down to Charleston. The Class A that is closest to Charleston is CAPITAN MIRANDA. She looks in pretty good position weather and Gulf Stream wise.

The vessels leading the fleet seem to be mostly Class D vessels with lonely ol’ Class B PRIDE doing her best to keep up. SPIRIT OF BERMUDA was right there in the mix with us…but she dropped out unexpectedly this morning and started motoring to the west…we could see this on our Automatic Indication System (AIS). During today’s radio schedule position report she declared her situation. She was headed into port to meet a dry-docking schedule set for early next week. Between her and SPIRIT OF SOUTH CAROLINA dropping out there are now five Class B vessels contending, down from an original seven vessels. TECLA posses the biggest threat to PRIDE by not only being sailed very well, but posses a very big handicap that could very easily gobble up any of the lead PRIDE may have. Meanwhile JOLIE BRISE, always sailed well, is also closing in from behind with her significant handicap. ETOILE also looks in very good position for dealing with the southwest wind and Gulf Stream. So PRIDE cannot rest at all.

While the competition in Class B seems pretty hot from PRIDE’s perspective, the weather is getting significantly hot and muggy. While the sea has been nearly smooth and the sky clear during day and night, the wind is so full of moisture that standing on deck makes one soggy. With the sun up now it is adding to the embedded heat in the southwest air that is coming from the Gulf of Mexico. While being on deck causes evaporation through the affect of wind blowing, down below is nearly a sauna…with only the occasional puff of air coming through open sky lights and deck hatches. Charleston will probably not be cooler. Oh boy!

Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II

The sea conditions continue to remain benign for the whole fleet. Especially those to the south with today’s sunny and moderate sea.

PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II managed to find the center of the dissipating low hence sailed right into the center of the wind-less hole left by the passing low. She remained in that hole for almost the whole night. As such, after yesterday’s most mileage performance in the fleet, PRIDE produced the least mileage today at 82 miles sailed between 1400 hour positions. The longest distance sailed goes to XSAAR at 146 miles. But I do not think that is the story.

There is another strategy emerging between the members of the racing fleet. In the main the fleet is trying to go west along the rhumbline to the finish. To the north is some independent thinking coming from EUROPA. To the south is JOLIE BRISE. Those members of the rest of the fleet seem to be divided into two groups…those going west and those trying to get to the southwest. In the southwest are most of the modern sailing vessels represented by Class D with a couple of Class B members…specifically SPIRIT OF BERMUDA and PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II. Early on TECLA was seeming to drift south some as she sailed west, but between yesterday and today she chose to go north of west…she did well with the available wind and recovered her position of being 1st in Class as well 1st in Fleet. Now that a large contingent of the fleet has passed the midway mark in the race to Charleston the question remains as to what the members of the fleet will do with the coming weather.

Aboard PRIDE it looks like tomorrow will bring the start of at least two days of fresh southwest winds. Those in the fleet that are more to the south might spend less time tacking towards the finish than those that are more to the north when they meet the southwest winds. So stay tuned, especially considering the complications that will be brought on by the Gulf Stream Current flowing strongly northeastward right across the racing track.

Jan C. Miles, Captain aboard Pride of Baltimore II