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We are dockside in Jacksonville waiting for replacement batteries and fuel. Hopefully these two items will not delay our departure beyond this evening. If I knew everything was on schedule for delivery, I would not feel so antsy about our departure. However, since the battery delivery schedule is not confirmed and the fuel delivery is not arranged due to a previous arrangement that went bad, I am experiencing classic captain's frustration. There is nothing I can do to change the waiting game that we're living through right now.

To pick up where I last left off, we eventually sailed some on the way to Charleston. At first it was under shortened canvas as the wind was still up. But as it died out, we went from four lowers and a reefed foretopsail, then a full foretopsail. Then the crew added the maintopsail and the jibtopsail. After some 30 hours of sailing and some 70 miles of actual distance covered (rather than the sailing miles which would be about double the actual miles), Pride II made a picturesque sunset arrival into Charleston harbor late Friday, May 9. As picture perfect Pride II may have been and as nice as the sailing was over the previous 30 hours, such a late arrival in the day meant the crew was putting sail away till 11 p.m. But that did not stop them from going out to the bars afterward.

Our stay in Charleston was a short one and geared toward fostering a relationship with the supporters of a new schooner under construction named Spirit Of South Carolina. She is a Charleston Pilot Schooner designed by Peter Boudreau, the builder of Pride of Baltimore II. Her lines are on record at either the Smithsonian or Mystic Seaport, I cannot recall which, and modified for USCG certification. She looks like she will be a handsome vessel. But it will be about 18 months before we are able to know for sure.

Meanwhile Pride II took a boatload of Charelstonians on a morning daysail and was open to the public for visitation in the afternoon. Many of those that sailed with us and those that visited for a look at Pride II were well aware of their new schooner under construction not a block away. Yet still the fund-raising for the construction has been difficult. A year ago there was no construction going on and there was only a keel lying on the ground due to insufficient funds to proceed. Since then, two-thirds of the frames have been put up but the project is in another hiatus as organizers look for more construction funds. It is interesting to me that so many could be interested in Pride II and her visit yet funding for a local schooner is so problematic. But this example of enthusiasm meeting a lack of funds is not unique, sad to say.

Departure from Charleston was delayed till the end of the day due to a failure of the ship's electrical storage battery system. This is to be expected over time but has always come inconveniently when the ship is away from home. But we were able to locate two-thirds of the batteries we needed and went ahead with an exchange to replace the failing batteries. We hope to make the last exchange and create a whole new bank in Jacksonville. But at least we were underway by the end of the day.

The wind was from the west and thus favorable to sail off the dock and make sail as we sailed toward the entrance jetties of Charleston Harbor. The westerly winds were from a cold front that had finally arrived and cooled everything off. But it also packed some force and after we had the mainsail up and were sailing down the coast, we experienced some 30 knot gusts which made the apparent wind up around 35 knots. I ordered a single reef in the mainsail. During that process, I noted the leach bolt-rope was separated from the sail. So I ordered a complete douse of the mainsail and had Clint Thompson, the Bosun, commence repairs in the remaining daylight.

Even though the mainsail was now down, we continued at speed with the jib, staysail, and foresail. The helm had a little bit of leeward tendencies but it did not pose a control problem and I liked the speed we were making so left the odd combination up for the night. Once darkness arrived and sail repair could not be continued until morning light, the repair efforts were discontinued for the day. The weather report promised continued favorable winds and we were sailing at a rate that would put us ahead of schedule.

Morning found us with reduced wind so the foretopsail was set. Sail repair commenced after breakfast and by 1600 hours we had the main set along with the maintopsail, the jibtopsail, and the topgallant. The wind in the afternoon had gone light and ahead out of the south, so we were beating to windward again. Still, with smooth seas and light winds, Pride II advanced at a steady pace. Enough so that by 2000 hours we were close to the St. John's River entrance, the path to Jacksonville. I decided to heave-to for a while. We remained hove-to till 0800 Wednesday when we commenced sailing again.

As we got underway, we were joined by one of the other tall ships slated to rendezvous at Sail Jacksonville, the waterfront festival set for the coming weekend. Voyager, out of Amelia Island, FL, was slowly advancing on us while we were hove-to, but once we got underway we outpaced her handsomely. Not surprising considering her size is about half of Pride II's.

The run up the St. John's River was geared to achieving maximum publicity for the upcoming event and the Sail Jacksonville organizers. As a result, we were making our way up the river on a fully ebbing current. This is a most undesirable as well as untraditional situation and is more common than I wish. All due to the need to have the ships where the news media will be willing to catch them to excite the rush hour public with our arrival for the coming festival. So, against a 2-4 knot current and with all sails up (fortunately the wind was favorable), we motored all the way up the river to overcome the ebbing current and to make our final destination on schedule.

We were also boarded at the entrance of the river by a number of Jacksonvillians dressed in pirate dress. There is a significant pirate history associated with Jacksonville and they wanted both Voyager and Pride II to reenact the period. But with a foul current and a tight time schedule, it was not feasible. However, I am told we made a pretty picture and impressed many with our arrival cannons even though I felt it was not a very traditional or sailor stunt overall, i.e. motoring up river against the current with all sail set. But so go the tricks of the trade of finding financial support for a traditional sailing vessel. By the way, these same kind of tricks are used for the modern racing vessels such as the Volvo 'Round the World Race. After all but killing themselves racing to be in the first in port, there are "showing off" events at every port for the amassed crowds. The purpose of these exercises is to raise funds - either by enticing someone to purchase from the promoter or to give funds to "the cause."

The rest of the week and weekend was spent addressing the needs and plans of the Sail Jacksonville organizers. There was a reception aboard with the Jacksonville Convention and Visitors Bureau. There was a parade of sail on opening day as well as Open House hours for the general public to come visit and look around. (Pride II hosted on average 450 persons an hour for all the hours she was open to the public through the long weekend of Friday through Sunday).

There was also a wonderful fireworks show complete with choreographed music on a beautiful clear night.

The final event was a mock pirate gun battle depicting a historical event in Jacksonville. In addition to all this, we held an evening reception aboard for the Maryland Port Administration . Coordinating all these activities with crew time off took a bit of thought. Every time we moved the boat, we needed all hands in order to show the ship off well, then change from sailing to Open House or Reception mode in the shortest amount of time. Also, I have found it important to try and keep each day from being overly long. We eventually gave each watch a 24-hour period off that started at 3:30 p.m. That way no day was really long. But with underway activities planned, there was no way to give everyone two consecutive days off.

Our hosts were most accommodating to the ship and myself. They provided us with a mini-van, which was most useful for the off-watch crowd during the stay. It also helped me escape for an evening and the cook to shop for perishables this morning, the last opportunity before departure. Our hosts also provided a hotel room for me as the captain of the ship. I can tell you this alone is worth the price of doing some untraditional and unsailorly things. Especially when the humidity and the temperature is high.

Well, the batteries are here and being installed. Soon we will get underway and head off toward Key West, FL. The weather looks a bit lively outside with a southeast-east-northeast wind pattern that started this morning. The strength of the wind has been 10-15 knots with a promise of steadying out at 15 knots. This will mean there ought to be some sea swell when we finally get to the Atlantic, and it ought to mean a fairly smart sail down the coast with the sails trimmed in close in order to stay off the lee shore of Florida.

Cheers
Captain Miles