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Rain! Rain! Rain! What was expected to drop torrents in Maryland but did not is doing so upon Pride II located at the end of Long Island at Montauk, NY. We are anchored in Fort Pond Bay behind the lee of Montauk protected from the southeast breeze and sea. It is not blowing especially hard, about 10-20 knots. But it sure is raining! Soon we will have to get underway despite the conditions if we are to make the start of the American Sail Training Association (ASTA) Race from Greenport, Long Island, to Port Judith near Newport, Rhode Island. The Race is scheduled to start at 1500 hours. Since the start line is only 10 nautical miles away, I am waiting till the middle of the day before getting underway. Meanwhile the crew is cleaning up down below while the engineer and the First Mate are getting more grease into Pride II's automatic feathering propellers. This process requires diving to attach a grease line to them that is attached to a grease gun that is manipulated from the rubber boat which is located as near the propellers as feasible. It's a job immune to the rain but is certainly nicer if the day is dry and clear.

I have been ashore since late May while John Beebe-Center commanded Pride II down to Jacksonville, FL, Charleston, SC, and Wilmington, NC. I relieved John last Friday. We got underway Saturday to head up to New England. So here we are hunkered down under the rain.

The day John and I rotated command turned into an unusual day. It had a pretty normal schedule. The Daysail set for 1400 to 1700 was special considering it would be with almost the entire crew that sailed with Armin Elsaeser during his first campaign aboard the original Pride back in the fall and winter of 1980/81. That campaign was also the first campaign under the guidance of the then newly formed, nonprofit company Pride of Baltimore, Inc. It was the first in a series of successful campaigns spanning the first half of the 1980s. I followed Armin as the next captain for Pride, Inc. So I knew all of Armin's crew to one degree or another. I was deeply impressed that after 24 years all were strongly motivated for the get-together. One of them came from as far as Plymouth, England!

But the day started with a few surprises. The first was being notified by John that the starboard engine exhaust leak repair was mostly successful, but not completely. After some discussion, it was decided the repair had to be attempted again. Then, just as I was starting out in my car to join the ship, John calls again to say the First Mate had discovered a crack in one of two bowsprit iron brackets that are attached to the bob-stays coming up from the stem. After determining that the crack was indeed significant and agreeing it needed to be fixed, I started on a quest for assistance and guidance from Pride II's network of technical friends.

After many phone calls and discussions between me and John and many friends of the ship, we reached a consensus (within an hour!) as to what the repair would be, how it would be done, who would do it, and when. I got the original call at 1100. Between driving to town from home and meeting with our friendly welder from Arrow Metal and coordinating with John the permissions needed to get access to the ship while it was docked in the Inner Harbor, repairs were underway by 1215!

By 1415 with repairs complete in both the engine room and on the bowsprit and with all of Armin's crew on deck, Pride II took off with both John and I aboard. It was a stressful beginning to a wonderful sail with northwesterly winds and a beautiful summer day. As the adage implies, when it rains, it pours. The day ended with a successful captain's rotation, a very happy group of older ex-tallship sailors, and the ship mechanically ready for sea.

Our transit up to Long Island started out hot and noisy with engines pushing us along in typical hot and muggy Chesapeake Bay summer weather. The route we took was through the C & D Canal as a short cut to the Atlantic using the Upper Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware Bay. Monday morning found us off Atlantic City with a light northwest wind and a smooth Atlantic. Sail was set and engines were turned off. By late afternoon with the wind out of the southeast, Pride II was sailing along at 10 knots toward Montauk Point. By breakfast on Tuesday, we were motoring around Montauk and heading towards Fort Pond Bay to anchor for a little rest and repair before the Race.

After anchoring, the crew spent the main part of the day cleaning the outside of the ship and attending to other maintenance. I called an end to the work day around 1500 and most of the crew went ashore till supper. At supper the rain started as a light mist and slowly increased over time.

I do not look forward to the start of this Race. With wind from the east upwards of 30 knots and a course to windward against the wind and sea, I know it will not be any fun. There is a possibility of moderation later today. I wonder if postponement will occur.

Cheers,

Captain Miles