Monday October 25, 1999

After breakfast, I headed to Our Lady Star of the Sea School to visit Mrs. Waters' fourth grade class. The school is located across the water from the Lore Oyster House. From the school you could see Pride II docked at Solomons Yacht Club. Three of the students in the class live on the island. Some of the reasons they like living there was having their school right on the water and being able to visit the lighthouse at Calvert Marine Museum, which is only three short blocks away. When asked what they didn't like about living on the island, they said the crowds, a bar that opened down the street, the sea smells, and the sea gulls that take your food when you eat on the playground.

One student's father is a waterman. Mrs. Waters said her father was a waterman, too. Another student said his father is a Natural Resource Policeman. One of his jobs is to check that fisherman pull in a legal catch. During the summer, everyone in the class said they go fishing and crabbing.

One of the students caught a 21" Rockfish. He said he used squid as bait. Other students use eel. You can only keep a Rockfish that is 18" or larger. When the students go crabbing, they use chicken necks on a string or crab pots to catch those tasty Maryland Blue Crabs. I was glad that Mrs. Waters gave me the opportunity to get to know her students.

If you would like to read a story about a boy who lives in a small town like Solomons Island, try Waterman's Boy by Susan Sharpe.

When I arrived back at the ship, the crew was conducting School Tours for fourth grade classes from St. Leonard's Elementary School. They were having a good time.

At 1:00 PM, we left Solomons Island for our trip to Alexandria. To get there, we had to leave the Patuxent River, go out into the Bay, and then head up the Potomac River. Can you plot our itinerary (route) on Pride II's on-line map? As we left Solomons, we gave them a grand farewell by firing off the cannons.

At 7:00 PM, we dropped anchor for the night about 15 miles from Chesapeake Bay up the Potomac River. We were across from Ragged Point. When a ship is anchored at night, a watch is needed around the clock. Why do you think this is necessary? Our tools of navigation at this point were a flashing white light every 6 seconds, and an orange light on a pier.

Tuesday October 26,1999

My watch was from 4:00 AM to 5:00 AM. It was very bright because there was a full moon two days earlier and there where no clouds. Near dawn, the crew raised the 600 lb. anchor, and we began our trip north up the Potomac River toward Alexandria.

Three sails were up and we were traveling at 13 knots, which is approximately 15 mile per hour. On our way up stream, we passed crabbers pulling in their crab pots, and tugboats hauling piles of silt which they dredged from the river to keep the channel open.

As we passed Rosier Creek on the Virginia side, little did we know that this was the Middle Danger Zone where the military practices firing live ammunition! The Range Control boat asked Captain Parrott to leave the channel immediately. Next we passed under the Harry W. Nice Bridge which spans U.S. highway 301. The bridge's clearance above the water is 480 feet. It really looked like we were going to touch the underside of the bridge, but we managed to get by without a problem.

At 6:30 PM, we dropped anchor in front of Mount Vernon to spend the night with the spirit of our founding father and his family. Why do you think George Washington choose this spot to build his home? That evening I had watch from 9:24 to 10:36 P.M.

Wednesday October 27, 1999

Bright and early this morning, the crew pulled up anchor, and we are on our way to Alexandria, Virginia. This is my final destination. There are two lighthouses between Mount Vernon, where we anchored for the night, and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge just outside Alexandria.

The first lighthouse is at the mouth of Piscataway Creek. It stands at the foot of Fort Washington.

The second is a cottage lighthouse at Jones Point. It is located beside the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. You can see the bridge in the background. What do you think life would be like living in a lighthouse in the early 1800's?

Captain Parrott had made a reservation for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to open for Pride II at 11:15 AM. He was told that he could not have the bridge opened between the hours of 6:00 AM and 10:30 AM due to the fact that this is rush hour time for Washington D.C. Opening the bridge would tie up traffic on route I-95 for hours, and many people would be late for work. We were right on time for our appointment at 11:15 AM.

Washington D.C. and the port of Alexandria, Virginia, must have thought they were under attack, because our four cannons and two swivel guns were fired to proclaim the arrival of Pride of Baltimore II. She docked behind the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria.

Thursday, October 28, 1999

Today I spent most of the day doing ship's maintenance. We needed to tar the rigging. This involves putting tar on the ropes and cables to preserve them from the harsh elements of the sea so they do not deteriorate.

This past week has been a fantastic experience! I now have enough sea stories to tell my class, my children, and my grandchildren for years to come. I'm glad I could share my adventure with you.

Your seafaring Teacher Aboard
Ann Strine
Ashburton Elementary School
Bethesda, MD

YOUR THOUGHTS

1. You always wanted to be a crew member on a sailing ship to Europe. Write a letter of persuasion to Captain Dan Parrott telling him of your outstanding qualifications and the reasons he should hire you for the job of deckhand for Pride II's voyage to Northern Europe next year. Send it to him at: Education, Pride of Baltimore Inc., 401 E. Pratt St., Suite 222, Baltimore, MD 21202
2. After reading about Mrs. Waters' fourth grade class on Solomons Island, would you prefer to live there or at your own home? Why or why not?
3. The people on Solomons Island are no longer engaged in the oyster business. The Japanese are doing oyster farming. Read and find out more about this industry. Do you think the people of Solomons Island could restore their oyster business through oyster farming?
4. If you have some solutions for restoring the oyster business to Solomons Island, write a letter to our governor with your ideas. Here's his address: Parris N. Glendening, Governor of Maryland, State House, Annapolis, MD, 21401.
5. How can you help save Chesapeake Bay? If your school is near a stream or river, it will eventually empty into the Bay. Our fourth grades at Ashburton Elementary School are part of a "Stream Team" which monitors the water quality of Cabin John Creek. We send our results to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). To find out what you can do to help the environment, check out EPA's Explorer's Club for kids.

Return to Part 1 of the November 1, 1999 Log