The Captain's Logs are below.

Read the Crew's Views from John, KC, and Caroline as they reflect on their experiences in Asia.

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We are all recovering from a tiring climb up the St. Lawrence River followed by two very productive 12-hour days of painting the ship in preparation of her first formal stop in the Great Lakes. This afternoon we will tie up and get the ship settled. Then the crew will split into watches for the rest of the three days Pride of Baltimore II is in Wyandotte, Michigan. Everyone has earned the time off.

We have been in a steady state of motion or preparation for this arrival since leaving Lunenburg, Nova Scotia on Monday, June 28. Since then Pride of Baltimore II has climbed up a long river and two Great Lakes to an elevation of 573 feet above sea level. She has traveled 1,500 nautical miles in 16 days. More than half of those miles was through waters too narrow to sail. Pride II has also negotiated 18 locks that raised her between 3 and 40 feet depending on the terrain. When we weren't in locks, we were powering against down river currents of 1 to 3 knots. We took time to tie up twice (for a total of three days) to avoid doing battle with gale force winds. The crew put the idle time to good use doing maintenance. Through much of the motoring up river, the wind was frequently against us at strengths of 15-30 knots which slowed our progress significantly. But we were still able to get ahead of schedule enough to pull into Erie, Pennsylvania. We took advantage of an invitation of the Erie Maritime Museum to do our maintenance work there. The Museum is the home of the Brig Niagara. So, although we were worried about getting the necessary work done in time for our arrival at Wyandotte, thanks to the perseverance of the crew and a bit of luck with weather we are now ready to look our usual sharp selves at arrival.

Gulf of St. Lawrence

We have had a bit of good sailing on the trip. On the day we left Lunenburg, we had a fresh and foggy southwest breeze and Pride II surged east by north towards Cape Canso on the eastern end of Nova Scotia.

Along the way, we saw the replica English frigate HMS Rose< emerge from the fog and power past us against the southwesterly as we slid by.

On Tuesday June 29, the day after departure, we passed through the Straits of Canso and the lock there. This lock raised us about three feet to match the level of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A three foot lift is not a significant rise. In fact, this lock can sometimes lower a vessel, depending on the tide of the Atlantic. The Canso Straits are what make Cape Bretton Island an island. The currents that used to surge through the straits could reach more than 12 knots as the Atlantic lunar tide receded and the Gulf waters tried to catch up by racing around Cape Bretton Island. The Canadian Government put in a land bridge between Nova Scotia and Cape Bretton Island to stop the current and make the straits viable for smaller vessels to use when traveling between the Gulf and the Atlantic. The lock is what such vessels, including Pride II, use.

Wednesday June 30 found us nearing the Gaspe Peninsula after crossed most of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We were moving very well with a fresh westerly wind of some strength so we were reefed down as well. All of a sudden there was no wind. The six foot sea that had been causing Pride II to lurch moderately was joined by another six foot sea coming up from the east. Between the two and with no wind to fill the sails, Pride II was being tossed about like a cork upon a tempest. The sails were slating violently and had to be taken down.

Without the sails, Pride II rolled and bounced like a four-wheel drive vehicle going too fast down a rough road. I marveled at the degree of discomfort aboard and the heavy chaff in the rig by all this movement caused by these confused seas. I started the engines and pushed at moderate speed looking for the least rpm for economy and the best speed through this mess. We found 5 knots worked well and the ship became relative comfortable compared to before. I could not help but think about those that sailed before mechanical power. I did not envy them.

Sept Isle Getaway

Thursday, July 1, found us north of the Gaspe Peninsula and into the mouth of the St. Lawrence River with smooth seas and a light wind from the southwest. Pride II sails nicely with all sail set. But by that evening as she neared the Quebec provincial city of Sept Isle (Seven Island in English), a gale warning came over the radio. The forecast was first easterly (favorable) at up to 35 knots, then southwest to west at 35 knots (unfavorable). My problem was determining what to do with the favorable and where to hide for the unfavorable. I finally decided to anchor down at Sept Isle and wait for the gale to pass by.

So Friday, July 2, found us at anchor in some nearly deserted islands, except for some summer cabins, with the crew getting to maintenance.

A small party also embarked on an excursion in Hippo, our trusty rubber runabout, to take photographs of the ship in this rare unspoiled setting (see Crews' Views for more details). The day also found me in an argument with the lower St. Lawrence River Pilots about the need for Pride II to take a pilot.

Pride II has been up and down this river without a pilot six times. I have been captain on four of those times. I have also captained similar vessels up and down this river without a pilot another six times. I assumed there would be no change to that precedence on this trip. But after numerous phone calls (what a convenience the cell phone can be!) between me, the pilots, and Pride II's office, it was determined we had to take a pilot. It seems there had been an accident recently when a big ship had to make a panic maneuver to avoid a large yacht in the river. So now the Pilots Association was saying that it must enforce the rules strictly. It was certainly not my choice, and it cost a lot of money, but…. In order to avoid an international incident, Pride II's office advised me to leave well enough alone and welcome the pilot aboard.

St. Lawrence River _ Quebec

On Saturday, July 3, we got underway from Sept Isle and motored for the next three days. We picked up the first of our four pilots for the run up to Montreal on Sunday, July 4. (The pilots change out every 11 hours.)

The pilots themselves turned out to be very charming and relaxed. I guess I would be, too, if I only had a small vessel to guide up the river when most of the time I had to guide vessels that barely fit in the river crewed by folks that spoke neither French or English.

Along the way, the crew spotted a few of the well loved white Beluga whales that congregate in the lower part of the St. Lawrence River.

We saw Quebec City after dawn on Monday, July 5. The sky was overcast, so it was not as dramatic as I have seen it before. But further up the river when the day was sunny and clear, we witnessed an old tradition. There is a gentleman who lives high on a cliff overlooking the St. Lawrence who salutes each ship as it passes by with the national flag of the ship and its anthem. He has a large flagpole with yardarms and a gaff on which he runs up the flag. He also has a huge sound system that blasts out the anthem across the half mile river. We returned his salute with our canon and dipped our colors. I imagine today with so many ships flagged in countries of convenience, many officers and crew are from countries different than that of the ship. I wonder what they think of the salute when maybe their ship is from Panama and they are from the Philippines?

The long motor against the river current from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Montreal raises Pride II from 20 feet in the Gulf to 70 feet at Montreal. From there, most of the change in elevation occurs in the locks.

St. Lawrence Seaway

We arrived at the first St. Lawrence Seaway lock in Montreal on Tuesday, July 6. Our last pilot got off there and we proceeded on our own. The St. Lawrence Seaway Authority has shown consideration to Pride II over the years by letting her go through at the rate they charge small yachts in recognition of her tallship status and as a courtesy to the state of Maryland, her owner. After the shock of the unexpected pilotage fee, this courtesy was especially appreciated for this trip.

In preparing to enter a lock, we get two lines ready - one forward and one aft. Once in the lock, the doors close and Pride II is in a big bathtub of concrete some 45 feet deep. Ten minutes later, she is at the top. There is a lot of turbulence in these locks as the water rushes in, so the crew must struggle to keep the lines tight so the ship does not bounce around loosely and crash into the concrete sides of the lock. What sounds like a pretty quick process can slow way down if we must wait for a big ship to pass though a lock. The cargo vessels fit into the lock so snuggly they can't enter it easily due to the resistance of all the water in the lock chamber. While it only take ten minutes to raise or lower the water level in the lock regardless of type of vessel, it can take more than ten minutes to get the larger ships in or out of a lock. We were lucky this trip in that we had to wait only two hours for traffic ahead of us during our 24 hour run through the seven locks of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

We arrived at Ogdensburg, New York Wednesday, July 7, at about 0730 and docked about 0800. This unscheduled stop was to get more fuel, pick up fresh food, and clear US Customs. I had called Pride II's office Monday and asked that they find out if we could get all this done there. The Coast Pilot handbook suggested it could be done but several phone calls were be necessary to get the details. My partner, Captain Parrott, was in the office and discovered the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority would be happy to help the state ship of Maryland. So things went very smoothly, and four hours later, at 1300 hours, Pride II was again underway pushing her way against the river current and the prevailing southwest breeze of some 20 knots.

Thousand Islands & the Welland Canal

I was pleased to be able to pass through the last of the upper St. Lawrence River during daylight. It is the area known as The Thousand Islands. If you have never seen them, they are a sight to behold. It is like a fantasyland where the water level never changes so houses can be built right to the water's edge. Several of the houses have boat docks that serve as the front stoop of the house. The area has been popular for many decades. It was particularly popular in the summer time with the New York wealthy set around the turn of the century as they escaped the heat of the big city. So the area has many large, ornate old mansions along with many imaginative contemporary designs.

We found our way into Lake Ontario soon after dark and had an uneventful motor/sail across to the Welland Canal. This canal system raises vessels from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. It is an elevation change of 326 feet - from 243 feet in Lake Ontario to 569 feet in Lake Erie. The series of eight locks takes 21 miles and lifts vessels over the Niagara Escarpment. This canal system is only a couple of miles west of the Niagara River with its world famous falls.

We arrived at the Welland Canal system at 0030 hours on Friday, July 9, and proceeded to have one of the shortest transits I have ever experienced - about 6 hours for the eight locks. As were exiting the canal system and approaching Lake Erie, both the US and the Canadian weather services warned of another gale bringing southwest winds of 35 knots to Lake Erie for the day.

I did not want to tangle with this and sought permission of the Seaway Authority to tie up and wait out the blow. They granted permission, so we stayed at Port Colburn for 24 hours. With so many locks negotiated in such a short time, the crew were unable to get much rest along the way. Though it was a further delay to our progress, it was a good rest opportunity for the crew.

Erie Maritime Museum

Saturday, July 10, gave us fair winds and we headed off right after breakfast for Erie, PA, and our date with maintenance, courtesy of the Erie Maritime Museum and our friends aboard the Brig Niagara. We arrived just before supper after a mixed motor/sail across Lake Erie. The good news was that the weather was predicted to stay dry and cool. Perfect for doing oodles of painting and varnishing.

The Erie Maritime Museum focuses on Oliver Hazard Perry's Navel Battle on Lake Erie against the British during the War of 1812. The museum facility occupies a 100 year old abandoned electrical power station located on Erie's harbor front.

Recent renovation of the waterfront has included digging out a special berth for the replica Brig Niagara and space for a visiting vessel. Pride II is the first salt-water, traditional sailing vessel to pay a visit since the new harbor was completed. What a wonderfully conceived marine museum it is, too! I have never seen such a nicely organized and well-displayed explanation of the 1812 War as displayed in Erie. Because the Brig Niagara is sailed quite often, the waterside facilities and shops for working on the ship are well equipped and very convenient to vessels docked at the museum.

Pride II's crew wasted no time getting to the black topsides and bulwarks with sanding tools to sand down the flaking paint. By the end of two, 12 hour days in the beautiful weather, all of the ship's outside black was painted along with the forward end of the inside bulwarks, as well as some varnish on the aft cabin top.

Yesterday we took off into a calm Lake Erie with variable winds and motored more than two-thirds the distance to Wyandotte. Along the way, the crew rescued a struggling seagull that had fallen afoul of some fishing tackle that snagged his beak and one of his feet (see Crews' Views for more details of this daring rescue). Interestingly, he chose to land on Pride II. This may be due to being out in the middle of the lake more than five miles from land. The crew took care of him and he went on his way.

With a fine summer day of south to southwest wind today, we are now well prepared to sail into our first official port of the 1999 Great Lakes Campaign. The crew is getting more sail ready, now that the stalling is over as we turn to head on in.

Cheers,
Captain Miles