The Captain's Log is below.

Back to Captain Logs Index

I found PRIDE II rafted up to the U.S. Coast Guard cutter EAGLE, and doing a brisk trade in showing herself off to the many visitors who had come to see her. The logistics of laying outboard another ship were entirely smoothed for us by the hospitality and effort of the Eagle's Captain and crew. They even went so far as to allow our crew to use their laundry to give the ship's linens a thorough cleaning, which was very much appreciated.

On Sunday, July 17, with Jan and his wife Leslie safely aboard a cross-channel ferry bound for Ireland (and some well deserved time off), I took over the job as master. Our first order of business was to depart from EAGLE so as to allow her to put to sea on her return journey to the U.S. This departure leaves PRIDE II as the only American flag vessel in this fleet of more than 100 ships. Then it was back to the dock to await our entry into the Cherbourg Parade of Sail.

This turned out to be a little frustrating as, through luck of the draw, PRIDE II turned out to be "tail end Charlie" of the entire parade. Meaning that three hours after the first ship left the dock, it was finally our turn to go. We made the best use of the time, readying the ship and working on small maintenance projects during the wait.

Once to sea we were greeted by a near calm, so, with sail set and one engine turning, and in the company of dozens of other traditional rigged ships, we made for the English Channel and the Straights of Dover, en route to the town of Hartlepool, England.

This near calm lasted until the next morning when a lovely breeze began to fill in from the southwest. We were able to shut down the engines and steer a broad reach up the eastern side of the channel. If I may attempt an analogy, this is a little bit like riding a bicycle out on Interstate 95 during rush hour. So much traffic! I have sailed these waters before under similar circumstances, but our new piece of electronics, our Automated Information System (AIS), made me acutely aware of just how much company we had out there. And now for the fun part; we had to cut across to the western side.

Once you are clear of the Straights of Dover, you are, technically, in the North Sea, and in the North Sea there are many oil and gas platforms and long sandy shoals. If one's goal is the east coast of England, one is obliged to stay close to that country to avoid having to dodge the structures. So, just north of the Straights and as close to right angles as possible, we darted through the "traffic" and had a little adventure. We ran into a German U-boat. No kidding!! It was running on the surface and steering right towards us. The conventions of the sea held that we had the right of way in this case and I could not come any further off the wind without risking gibing, so we held our course and speed. The outcome was that we passed safely and got a really good look at this surprisingly small submarine.

Our booming good sail continued up past the Thames estuary where a frontal passage caused the wind to veer in to the northwest. We dropped anchor for ten hours just off the land south of Lowestoft, to let the weather settle out. After which, we resumed our trip past Yarmouth and motor sailed in what the British euphemistically refer to as "strong" winds (we call them "small craft warnings") across the Wash and the Humber River estuary. We were making good time when, after Scarborough and just 25 miles shy of Hartlepool, the wind came on the nose and we were slowed to almost no progress. I had hoped to make it up to Robin Hood Bay to enjoy a little shelter, but five miles from it we turned back for Scarborough and dropped anchor to wait for a change.

We waited one hour and fifteen minutes and the change was as though we were in another hemisphere. The wind dropped from 40 knots to 15 knots and the sea went from several meters to long, low, even swells. We took right off and were making excellent time when we observed a Royal Rescue Service helicopter flying in our area.

It turned out that they observed us as well and flew over towards us. As it happened, they were out doing drills and decided our presence would afford them an opportunity to practice approaches and evacuations from a tallship. The helicopter called and politely asked permission to "hover", which I thought would be quite a spectacle so I OKayed it. And what a spectacle! For about 15 minutes they hovered over our quarter deck with the rotors no more than a foot or two above our main mast - and us pushing through a 2 meter swell. Very exciting!

We made Hartlepool late in the day on July 20 and proceeded to the commercial port, as the north breezes were making the anchorage uncomfortably rolly. We went to a dock with a 17 foot tidal range. The organizers were extremely friendly and the services and goodwill provided to the ship more that offset the inconveniences experienced at that dock. The event in Hartlepool was part of an effort to spread the fleet out to smaller ports while en route to Newcastle, allowing local residents to experience the tallships as well.

We sailed from Hartlepool yesterday. It was a nice little sail with force 3 and 4 winds and a big swell running, courtesy of a low that passed over the top of the UK a day ago. We are secure to our "pontoon" on the Tyne River and soon will open to the public as the Newcastle Festival kicks off.

Until next time,
John Beebe-Center