Sunday, November 14

Good morning, mates! It was a restless night! The wind was howling through the rigging all night. It blew so hard that the gangway (walkway from the ship to land) was blown up on the deck above my bunk. One piece of the gangway was missing so Captain Miles called me to go in the hippo with him to search for it. The hippo is a small rubber boat with a motor. We took a quick boat ride and actually found the missing board. It was floating against the shore across the harbor from Pride II. How do you think the Captain knew where to look for the board?

Today we will take a walk into the historic area of St. Michaels and find out what happened here around the time of the War of 1812.

Historic St. Michaels

St. Michaels was named after the Episcopal Parish (church) that was started here in 1677. In the 1700's when tobacco was such an important crop, St. Michaels was the home of merchants, captains, and sailors. The river where St. Michaels is located, and the Chesapeake Bay, connected the town to the rest of the world by way of water. St. Michaels was in a great location to sell tobacco to other countries. By the early 1800's, though, almost no tobacco was being exported. Remember that at this time St. Michaels was surrounded by water and forests. This made it a perfect location for shipbuilding. Plenty of wood was available and shipyards were near the water.

On June 18, 1812, the Congress of the United States declared war on Great Britain. Shipyards were busy. The men of St. Michaels began making gunboats and schooners for the American Navy. This is why St. Michaels became a target for the British Navy.

Have you ever played a practical joke on someone? Jacob Gibson was a practical joker back in 1813. He knew that St. Michaels was expecting an attack from the British. One night when he was on a boat near St. Michaels, he raised a red handkerchief like a British flag from the top of the mast of his ship. He had one of his men beat on an empty barrel like the marching beat of the British Navy. The American videttes (watchmen/guards) heard the beat and reported that the British were nearby. The whole town of St. Michaels was evacuated. The women, children, and animals were sent to a safe area. The American militia got ready for a battle. Can you imagine how angry the townspeople were when they found out it was just a prank? To make up for his prank, Jacob gave the town two cannons. The cannons in the picture are replicas (models, not the real ones) of the original cannons.

On August 9, 1813, a British deserter was brought to General Benson, the American leader. The deserter told General Benson that the British would attack St. Michaels by land and sea. General Benson prepared for the attack. A boom (barrier) made of logs and chain was stretched across the harbor to block it. General Benson was smart and sneaky. He ordered his men to hang lights on the tops of the tallest trees and on the highest masts of the boats in the harbor. All the other lights in the town were put out. The British gunners were confused. When they aimed their cannons at the lights, they shot above their real targets and missed. This is how St. Michaels earned the nickname, "the town that fooled the British."

You can read about the story of Barnaby Sharpe in the book, The Boy Who Saved the Town, by Brenda Seabrooke. This story says that it was actually a young boy who gave General Benson the idea about hanging the lights in the trees. Barnaby loved to climb trees. On the day the British were expected to attack, Barnaby went with his father to the militia meeting. Barnaby got bored and decided to climb a tall oak tree. When his father saw where he was, he told Barnaby to get down. "A cannonball might knock you out of the tree," he said. Barnaby answered that the British could not see him because he didn't have a lantern. The British would be aiming at the lights of the town instead. Do you think this might have really happened?

Three hundred redcoats (British soldiers) came on land only a few yards from the American fort. The American militia was ready. According to General Benson's report, two cannons were fired into the British marines. The British invaders returned to their ship, the Conflict.

Reports from the battle said there were no American injuries from the attack. The only damage was to a house that had a cannonball go through the roof. The cannonball rolled across the attic floor and down the stairs, but no one was hurt. The house is still standing in St. Michaels. I guess the roof was fixed because a family lives there today.

The British tried to capture St. Michaels again two weeks later. Again they were not successful. Hurray for America!

If you would like to find out about things going on in St. Michaels, visit their web site.

Let's go back to the ship for a spaghetti dinner.

Activities on Board

After dinner some of the crew gathered in the salon (dining area) to watch a movie on the VCR. This is a luxury for the crew when they are in port (tied to the land). There is electricity for the boat in port. When Pride II is sailing, it would use up too much battery power to show a video.

Have you heard about morning muster? The crew meets on the deck at 0800 hours (8 AM) every day to find out what the plans are for the day. The First Mate, TomTom, assigns chores to each crewmember. Today the First Mate tells us that we will set sail (leave St. Michaels) at 2200 hours (10 PM). Doesn't this seem like a strange time to start a trip? When you are on a ship, you must pay attention to the weather and the tides (how low and high the water is). The Captain has decided we need the deepest water of high tide to move Pride II. High tide will be at 2200 hours, so that is why we will leave so late.

We attempted to get underway (leave the dock) at 2230 hours. After about an hour, we were 20 feet from the dock. Pride II was hard aground (the bottom of the boat was stuck in the mud)! The Captain decided we would have to stay there for the night.

We were stuck aground the next day too. Did this mean the crew had a day off? Not at all! Everyone was given a job to do.

One job was called reefing out the seams. The old pitch (tar) that was between the wooden boards on the floor of the deck had to be pulled out. The oakum (fuzzy pieces of hemp or rope) had to be tamped down (pushed between the boards).

New pitch was heated and put between the boards on top of the oakum. This makes the deck waterproof. Everyone is always busy on a ship!

Finally, at about 2200 hours (10 PM) that night, I heard the engines start up. I ran up on deck to tell the town of St. Michaels good bye. The stars were so bright in the sky and the air felt so good on my face. I understood why sailors say, "There's no way like underway."

Welcoming an Important Visitor

The Mayor of Kawasaki City, Japan, was scheduled to visit Pride II in Chestertown the next day, November 18. Since we had this important date to keep, we could not take a leisurely sail to Chestertown. Instead, we motored all through the night and the next morning. The ride up the Chester River was beautiful. This is a narrow winding river with marshes and farms along the shore. I saw one white-tailed deer before it darted away into the sea grass. Hundreds of Canada geese were all along the river. We passed a school that was on the top of a hill overlooking the river. All of the children came outside and stood on the hill and waved. As we got closer they yelled to us, "Hello Pride!" I found out later, when the students came on board for a tour, that the school is Kent School. Their enthusiastic greeting made the whole crew smile. Thank you, Kent School!

As we neared Chestertown Marina, the two cannons on the port (left) side of the boat were fired. We circled back and fired the two cannons on the starboard (right) side of the boat. People on the land waved hello.

The crew had about one hour to get the boat ready for our special guest, the Mayor of Kawasaki City, Japan. Kawasaki City is a sister city to Baltimore. The Captain and crew of Pride II met the Mayor when Pride II visited Kawasaki on her tour of Asia just last year. The Mayor of Kawasaki and his wife came on board with an interpreter and many other guests. The Mayor brought gifts for all of the crew members.

The Captain told the gunner to fire one of Pride II's cannons as a salute to the Mayor. All of the visitors clapped and smiled after the cannon firing. They received gifts from Pride II and then toured the ship.

Final Day

On Friday morning, three different schools came to tour Pride II. Some of the groups met Jeremiah Jenkins, a sailor just back from the War of 1812. Well, he isn't really; but Jeremiah tells war stories and carries a duffel bag full of articles that sailors needed in 1812.

It has been a fantastic week aboard Pride II. I have learned many things and have had a wonderful time. I hope you have learned a few new things, too. Watch for the next log from Teacher Aboard Jeff Webb. He will tell you about Chestertown and the Sultana project. 'Til then - Fair winds and following seas!

Your Teacher Aboard,
Sharon Synowiec
Templeton Elementary School
Riverdale, MD

YOUR THOUGHTS

1. Living aboard Pride of Baltimore II makes you think about conserving power and protecting natural resources. Design a poster encouraging everyone to preserve natural resources.
2. When Pride II ran aground unexpectedly, there were plenty of chores to occupy the crew's time. Pretend you are stranded aground. What three items would you want to have with you? Explain why each would be important.
3. Piloting is sailing a boat from one place to another with the help of buoys and landmarks. Make a map from your house to school using landmarks to guide the way.
4. Pride II must navigate the shallow waters of Chesapeake Bay with great care. What factors have caused the water's depth to decrease since the 1700's?
5. Take a ball of modeling clay and put it in a large container of water. Record what happens. Shape the ball of clay into a boat. Place the "boat" in the water and record what happens. Design the best shape for a clay boat. Research buoyancy and explain how the clay floats.