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August 1997
Ahoy all! Well now, welcome to the Canadian Maritmes and the beautiful GaspŽ Peninsula!! Too bad we can't see anything. Yep, it's fog and, boy, is it thick! Since 1600 yesterday, we have been running along in zero visibility in airs light to calm with a very low swell, if any at all. We slide along as if in some eerie cave, always with this tension among the mates and to a lesser degree with crew (some of them have never been in fog like this). Nothing is more pressing than moving along in the fog. The radar is your only source of hope as you watch the movement of other ships slide by -- all in slow motion. The fog gives a muffled tone to all sounds. The effect is magnified at night as the running lights, red to port and green to starboard, reflect off the fog and create a glow of color that makes you feel like you're entering some sort of funky amusement park ride. The bow watch stands all alone on the bow looking and listening intently for any signs of life just ahead that could endanger PRIDE II. Needless to say, we CRWAL along the north shore of the GaspŽ Peninsula. As of this morning, we are officially out of the St. Lawrence river, yet we are still checked into their traffic control system and will be so until 1300 today. The forecast is for things to clear up and, if we get wind, it should come around to the Northern quadrant. Lets hope so! That's just the breeze we want to head down the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Straits of Canso. At about noon today we will reach our northern-most latitude before we head SSE around the nose of GaspŽ Peninsula. Then it's SSE towards the Straits of Canso. We may or may not head to south of Prince Edward Island.
Bye for now,
Ahoy all! Wow!! We are just flying out of the St. Lawrence River. We have gone 228 nautical miles (nm) in the last 24 hours - although the electronic log says we have gone only 161 nm. We have averaged better than 9.5 knots as we head down river. The current pushing us along has helped us conserve fuel and has also helped us make good time. At this point we are out of the narrow confines of the upper river and are transiting a wider area. It's good thing, too, as we have found ourselves in the backside of a low trough that is moving NE off New England and the Canadian maritime provinces. This is giving us a low overcast, heavy mist, and fog that reduces visibility to less than .25 nm for short periods of time. Otherwise the visibility is not bad. However there is only a light breeze and we container to progress well. We broke into sea watches after getting underway from Montreal yesterday. The crew didn't waste any time getting right into their bunks and catching up on sleep. As we are only motoring, the watch has it easy -- except for the mates and the captain! During the day it is relatively easy to pilot down the river. But at night everything becomes much harder. Places in the river make PRIDE II travel at a rate over the bottom that is sometimes 12.5 knots, even though the engines are only pushing us at 6 knots (the current can be 6 knots in places). So with ships passing by in the narrow channels, there is no room for error. It usually takes two people, the mate on watch and the captain, to pilot PRIDE II down the river. That is what we did last night. We passed Quebec City at 0210 and enjoyed the view of North America's "most romantic city." What a place! If you've never been to Quebec City - GO! But just remember, no KIDS!! It's a lovers town -- old world ambiance, cafes, beautiful evenings, and sunsets over the river from the city's high banks. Last night the cook made the biggest calzones I have ever seen. One was spinach and cheese, the other pepperoni and Italian sausage. They were awesome! The forecast is for a high to build over the area in the next few days. Let's hope so!
A-HOE!
Ahoy folks, It has been a few days since you have heard from us. But fear not! -- we are alive and well and underway again after our last GREAT LAKES TOUR stop at Montreal, Canada. We arrived at 1200 on Wednesday, August 27, after another perfect day of transiting the St. Lawrence Seaway. All four days from Toronto to Montreal were just perfect weatherwise. We had the westerly quadrant winds to take us across Lake Ontario and then nice sunny yet cool days to transit the locks. Joining us in Toronto was a youthful Canadian volunteer who has crewed on the US vessel, H.M.S. ROSE. Magda has enjoyed PRIDE II and her crew very much. She is so willing to learn and get more experience that she decided to continue with us to Philadelphia. Also along for the voyage from Toronto was my Dad, Bob Glover, II. Remarkably this is the first time in my whole 22 years of sailing that my Dad has made a voyage with me. It was exciting for him to watch his son do his job. He got to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor as only a dad can. He enjoyed himself immensely. Thanks for coming, Dad!! Our brief visit to Montreal was fast paced, what with food and fuel deliveries, ship's agent on and off, two day sails for GORE-TEX, crew time off, chatting with the office, and laundry-laundry-laundry. We finally pulled away from the dock at 1000 this am. We are now underway for the next 16 days as we transit to the East Coast and up to Philadelphia, PA. It is very quiet and calming to be underway and away from the dock. There is truly something simple and calming about being off on our own and underway. If we make good time down the St. Lawrence River and across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we will try and visit the coast of Maine. Maine is like a strong "schooner magnet." One can hardly pass by with out stopping in for a few days to enjoy the company of some 25 other traditional vessels along the coast. Presently we motor along the St., Lawrence in calm weather with a forecast of a high pressure building over us for the next three days. It's a perfect weather pattern for this Labor Day weekend aboard PRIDE II. Think of us as you have your cookouts - we will be thinking of you having them!!
A-HOE!
Ahoy folks, PRIDE II had a peaceful but productive stop in the third oldest city in Canada. Kingston, Ontario, has a long history of ships and shipbuilding. It was occupied by both French and British during the 18th and 19th centuries. We made our lines fast to the "Maritime Museum of the Great Lakes" at 1300 and got a warm welcome from the local folks. The Maritime Museum was a most gracious host and we thank them for being so hospitable at the last minute. We departed at 0700 this morning and are now bound downriver for Montreal. Today's passage through the 1000 Islands will very picturesque. I have come to like the St. Lawrence Seaway much better than the transit through the Panama Canal. We will not enter our first lock until late this afternoon. So the mates get good piloting and conning experience, the crew is engaged in ship's maintenance, and I retreat below deck to paperwork and ship's business occasionally interrupted by the mates as I am called above to observe the passing of a ship. I am always on deck at any time we come to a difficult part of the river or when we pass a ship, since that is the highest risk of danger to PRIDE II and her crew. We will anchor this evening sometime in a little cove where it is quiet, safe, and probably FULL of bugs and mosquitoes!!!!!
Bye for now.
Ahoy folks, We are one day out of Toronto, Canada, and just now entering the extreme NE corner of Lake Ontario into what is known as the 1000 Islands. We are headed for the old Canadian seaport of Kingston, Ontario, for the evening. Our port stay in Toronto was a whirlwind to say the least. PRIDE II hosted two events a day plus an open house on the day we arrived. The Maryland Department of Tourism ended its "Maryland on the Road '97" marketing tour on a very high note using PRIDE II as the venue for a luncheon dockside event. Gore-Tex hosted two day sails - both a success after a bit of worry over the rain and thunder squalls passing through. Our last event was an evening sail with the Canadian subsidiary of Tate Access Floors. It was again a delight to host Tate CEO and PRIDE II Board member, Dan Baker, aboard PRIDE II. Each crew member had a day off and enjoyed all that the cosmopolitan city of Toronto had to offer. Me - I just rode the ship's bike for exercise and attended to business. Another American Tall Ship was in Toronto during our brief visit, the BOUNTY of MGM Studio's movie fame. The ship was previously owned by Ted Turner and is now the property of a non-profit organization from Fall River, Mass. They are doing a Great Lakes Tour. We departed Toronto with perfect timing. The rain and frontal activity moved through and we left yesterday with a nice NW breeze. We set all 4 lowers, plus the tops'l and main gaff tops'l, and sailed off on a starboard tack, followed be a gibe to port two hours later. We held this tack in a steady WNW breeze of 10- 14 knots until 2300 hours. We where abeam Rochester, NY, when we gibed over and laid a NE course for Kingston, Ontario. The moon rose at 2230 hours, the sky finally cleared off, and the crew had a wonderful quiet sail through the night under a full press of canvas. There's simply nothing finer. I even got to sleep some as there was not much commercial shipping traffic to dodge. We should arrive in Kingston this afternoon. Now that we are among the Islands, the wind has lighten up so that we are only making 3-4 knots over the bottom. The wind has also backed to the WSW which will help us avoid tacking up into Kingston Harbor. We will stay over night, then transit the first 80 miles of the St. Lawrence on Monday.
Bye for now.
Ahoy folks!! We departed Rochester this morning with a flat calm sea, deep blue skies, and crowds of people standing on the shore line awaiting the movement of the most exciting thing to come to Rochester in years (well, at least it seemed that way) -- our departure under full sail!!!! As we departed Rochester, we fired off two cannons salutes, raised sail, and motored out of the harbor on one slow running engine to give all ashore lots of time to take pictures and enjoy the view of a tall ship departing their waterfront. The question of the weekend was, "So when are you leaving???" Heck, we just got here (I would say to myself), and all anybody wanted to know was when we were leaving!?? Now all of us aboard understood WHY they were asking the question -- they wanted to be around to see us with our sails UP. In fact during the open houses, folks wanted to know why the sails weren't up while we were tied up to the dock! Even with all the press advance work, most folks missed our arrival. So when we told them the truth, which was, "Some time Tuesday morning," they would look at us with a sense of puzzlement as if we were pulling their leg. They wanted an EXACT time! Most folks just don't seem to realize that as a sailboat and are controlled by mother nature. Aye the fun of being a Goodwill Ambassador. One must handle these situations with the utmost respect and patiently tell each one, (as if you just heard the question for the first time) that, "Yes, we will leave on Tuesday morning sometime between 8 am and 10 am - depending on the weather!" Fortunately the weather was fine and we put on the show they all seemed to be waiting for. It's mid-afternoon now, the sky has scattered clouds, it's warm but not hot, and we motor along with sails up looking for the wind that is forcasted to come out of the east. Later today I suppose. The off watch is napping. At the change of the watch we may have a swim call. Our new deckhand, Jennifer LaCorte, from Maryland joined us yesterday. Yeaaah for new crew, along with sorrow for the departure of old hands who have become family. It is always sad to have family leave. Jennifer LaCorte is full of enthusiasm and wonder as she starts her voyage aboard PRIDE II. Next up Toronto. Hope they're ready to RRRRRRUMMBLEE!!!!
A-HOY,
Ahoy Folks, Since my last message we have arrived in Rochester, NY. We got underway from our anchorage west of the Welland Canal about 1700 hours, last Wednesday, August 13. We set all five lowers and the top'sl. and headed off in a NE course to the Canadian side of Lake Ontario. With only 90 miles to go to Rochester, we had to "create" mileage, or make PRIDE II go slow (not an easy thing to do as the crew loves to make her go at max speed whenever we're sailing). We had light NW to W winds until about 2100 when the NW finally filled in to 15-20 knots. PRIDE II charged off across the flat sea and was quickly up to 9.9 to 10.5 knots. We took in the tops'l and jibtop'sl to slow her down as that speed would get us to Rochester too early. However, my years at sea led me to believe that the wind would not hold at this strength all night as they were forecasting. So I let the vessel continue off to the ENE at 8 knots. By 0400 the breeze started to die out to an average of 4-10 knots. As we sailed through the night we had clear skies with the Milky Way above us and shore lights visible on both sides of the Lake. On the 12-4 watch the crew twice saw the Northern Lights - a rare sight in deed!! We arrived off Rochester about 1100 and sailed in the light breeze off the beachhead firing a few cannons and sailing along with the yacht club's fleet of 420 boats who had a hard time catching PRIDE II in the light breeze! A few young sailors were puzzled that when the breeze got above 8 knots PRIDE II would pull away from them!! The wind direction and strength was just perfect to sail into the harbor (actually a river entrance) with sails up and cannons blasting. As we arrived, we got a military salute from USCG Station Rochester and a cannon salute from the Rochester Yacht Club. About 300 folks welcomed PRIDE II at her wharf dock site. To be of good will, we opened the ship for an hour upon arrival amid cheers from the folks on the dock. At 1415 we had an official Welcome Ceremony from city officials. On Friday we hosted a sailing reception for Chase Manhattan Bank of Rochester, presently run by a former PRIDE II Board member, Mr. Kevin Byrns. As a way to support our visit, Chase Manhattan sponsored the airing of the PRIDE II video documentary on the local PBS station here in Rochester. This is the first time that I know of that our video has been aired on a local television station PRIOR to the vessel's arrival. It was very well received and very successful. During our subsequent open houses, many Rochester citizens came up to the crew and said they saw the video and had to come down and see the ship. The questions they asked where great! A welcome change. People here really are in awe of Tall Ships. During the whole weekend, there has been an average of 25-35 folks standing on the dock looking at the ship from as early as 0700 to 2200 in the evening. Folks of Rochester really have enjoyed the ship. The Mayor of Rochester came down in his spare time on Saturday (a Mayor - spare time?) to see the ship because he was unavailable for the official arrival on Thursday. During open houses on Saturday and Sunday, we hosted 4,950 folks on board PRIDE II. On Monday we have a daytime open house and an evening reception for the Rochester Yacht Club. We are scheduled to depart first thing Tuesday morning for the 95 mile journey back to the west for our port call on Toronto, Canada. It will be a busy stop in Toronto as we host the MD. Dept. of Tourism and Goretex Manufacturing Company. Lastly we have a final crew change here in Rochester. Pam Couglin departs on Monday. It has been a great pleasure to have Pam aboard and she is welcome back anytime. She is being relieved by Jennifer LaCorte, a native Marylander who has taken a leave from U of MD. Shock Trauma Unit to go sailing (a glutton for punishment I guess).
Bye for now,
It is a quiet morning aboard PRIDE II as we lay at anchor off the town of St. Catherine's, Canada. I have had only three hours of sleep in the last 24, yet am wide awake and feel compelled to write this message. A heavy milky mist with a layer of sea smoke surrounds the schooner's deep black hull. As we look ashore, only 0.4 tenths of a mile away, we can see the tops of green trees and homes. I'm sure that those ashore can only see the masts of our schooner sticking above the mist like a rising phoenix. This was certainly the case 15 minutes ago when a Canadian Coast Guard rescue craft approached PRIDE II at breakneck speed with blue lights flashing and the deep sound of its powerful diesel engine throbbing. The high-powered rescue craft slowed to a walk, came alongside, while three Coasties looked us over. Finally one of them came out of the cabin house and, with the eye and manner of a seasoned mariner who knew the answer to the question he had to ask, said, "We've had a report that your vessel was listing over and aground. Are you folks OK?" He asked this with a tone of embarrassment in his voice. It was by clear by then that he had been compelled by regulations to respond to a phone call from a concerned (but uneducated) non-sailor who was not familiar with the design of America's 1812 privateers. We assured our Coast Guard friend that we were just fine, having anchored early this morning to await the passage of a cold front, and that we would be on our way latter today. The Coastie smiled and returned to the comfort of his cabin house. They were soon roaring back to their homebase. Needless to say PRIDE's crew had a good laugh over that one. PRIDE II departed Erie yesterday morning, Thursday, August 12, and sailed off into a light easterly wind of 4-9 knots. We set sail under sunny skies, shutdown the engines, and then commenced a near perfect day of sailing. With all plain sail set, we began tacking our way toward the east. Granted we wanted to go in the direction the wind was blowing from, nevertheless we sailed on. The air was warm but not hot, the breeze perfect, and we all enjoyed this fine day of sailing. We sailed until 1800 when the breeze began dying and this captain became impatient and wanted to take advantage of the not-so-good forecast by taking in sail and motoring the last 20 miles to the entrance of the Welland Canal. We entered the canal at 2130 hours and began the all-night process of locking down to Lake Ontario. It is always awesome to pass through any lock system, and the experience is magnified even more when you have to do it at night. Everything seems bigger yet smaller, louder yet quieter, longer yet shorter, more difficult yet easier. For a captain, it is one LONG night as you must be constantly diligence about conning and maneuvering the ship in and between all 8 locks. At one point the wind got to us as we approached a new lock. The ship wanted to go sideways in the lock, a most dangerous situation. Since we were at the top of a filled lock that had little sidewalls, the potential damage to PRIDE II's jibboom and bowsprit is not something one cares to thing about. So to avoid damage, I purposely put PRIDE II's stern up against the side of the lock thereby causing a pivot or focal point from which to redirect the motion of the ship. It was a hard decision, but with a schooner it was the lesser of two evils. Now get this straight, folks -- NO damage was done as this was all done slowly and on purpose. So, no visions of crashing and burning! OK? We exited the canal at 0400 in torrential rain. Not much wind, just heavy rain with lightening and no thunder. We traveled 6.5 miles due west of the canal and anchored up under the lee of shore to avoid the south and southwest winds. We will get underway late today and sail eastward in the forecasted westerlies for our first ever visit to Rochester, NY. I hope Rochester is REALLY ready for us!!
(As the native Americans in this part of the world say) AA-HOE!!
Ahoy, Presently we are underway having just left Put-in-Bay, Ohio, where we made a 24 hr. stop on our journey towards Erie, PA. Since we're a bit ahead of schedule, I thought it would be good for crew morale to stop and take a day off. Since it was the weekend, Put-in-Bay is a lively place and good for R and R. History is on our side here as Put-in-Bay is where Commodore Perry gathered his fleet and departed for the defense of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. However not many of the "weekend crowd" knows this, just the locals who get very excited when PRIDE II or the United States Brig NIAGARA (a replica of Perry's flagship homeported in Erie) pay a port visit. Put-in-Bay, is on the south shore of Lake Erie about an hour and a half east of Cleveland. It is a destination spot for summer visitors, so the weekend was pretty crazy ashore (sort of like a mini Ocean City). The crew enjoyed the shore time but were all back aboard by 2100, glad to be on ship where we're removed from the noise and action. We got underway this morning after breakfast, sailing off the hook in the light southwesterly breeze. As we cleared the harbor, we set more sail and bounded off at 8 knots. Once clear of the small islands we set a waypoint for Erie on the ship's GPS system, trimmed PRIDE II's sails for a beam reach, and settled in for the next 22 hours of sailing which should bring us to Erie on a course of 080 magnetic. In Erie we have a daysail scheduled for Monday afternoon for Tate Access Floors. We depart Tuesday morning for the Welland Canal which will take us into Lake Ontario for our ride to Rochester, NY. Our port call in Rochester will be a first for PRIDE II. So far the city of Rochester seams excited to host this Goodwill Ambassador from Maryland. Bye for now. Captain Bob
Somber Greetings, A quiet, peaceful dawn greeted PRIDE II this day. We have been motorsailing on one engine since late yesterday afternoon as a large area of high pressure has moved over the Great Lakes region bringing us beautiful skies and great sea conditions. It is warm but not hot. We continue on our track line to the bottom of Lake Huron as the deep green eastern coastline of Michigan creeps by like a caterpillar on a hot summer day. The coast is spotted with homes, industry, and forest. On the lake, pleasure and fishing craft come out curiously to inspect us, and the ever present Great Lakes cargo vessels crawl on to their next port of call, keeping the raw materials of industry moving through the region. Despite the beauty and tranquillity around us, it is a somber day aboard PRIDE II. The ship's "Old Glory" flag of 1812 is flying at half mast. On our departure from Milwaukee, we learned that one of our PRIDE II family members passed away suddenly - Mr. Robert Campbell, Board Member and staunch supporter of PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II. Mr. Campbell joined us about two years ago. He quickly understood the magic of PRIDE II's mission and, like so many of our Board Members, volunteered countless hours of his personal time to her mission. In remembrance of Mr. Campbell, the crew and I stood together on deck at 1100 EDT this morning, at the same hour that a memorial service in honor of Bob began in Baltimore. I spoke of what has become our tradition on board the schooner when she losses one of her family. I talked about Mr. Campbell's support and his relentless efforts on PRIDE II's behalf. I spoke of our history of shipboard memorial gatherings for others whom we have remembered as PRIDE II journeys on her mission of goodwill. After my talk, we had a moment of silence. Then the ship's gunner, John Hope, standing by the port aft cannon, fired a shot towards the east - towards the rising sun. For the firing, our Second Mate, Jason Quilter, had donated an iron cannon ball he had in his personal possession dating from the late 1800's. So we fired the historic ball from the cannon in honor of Bob Campbell. All of us, twelve pairs of eyes, stood and watched quietly on deck. But no one saw the cannon ball hit the water. We heard it fire, but no one saw it land. This made me quite uncomfortable -until I remembered an experience Captain Miles had last year during a memorial service for Mr. Bruce Quackenbush Sr. while crossing the Atlantic. Captain Jan had told us then, and I repeated it now for the crew, that the object they had fired from the cannon was never seen to have landed in the water. So this happened again - a memorial shot fired in memory of one who loved PRIDE II, a shot aimed toward the rising sun, never landed on the earth as we know it.
Godspeed Mr. Campbell
Ahoy, We are just now passing through the Straits of Mackinac. As we sail west, we transit from Lake Michigan into Lake Huron. Yesterday morning , we sailed in a nice WNW breeze, but as lunch time approached it backed to the SW and died out. By 1300 we started one of the Caterpillar engines and pushed ahead on one burner. PRIDE II moves through the water very efficiently on one engine and makes no swell to push against. We took in the fours'l, tops'l, jibtops'l, and continued to the NE. The sky was mostly sunny and we had a nice relaxing day. However, I can't get used to the fact that even though I can't see land, we have house flies on board! We're not supposed to have flies this far out at sea, are we? We motored through the night as the wind was right on our stern and never got more than 10 knots. At 0730 we reset the fours'l, tops'l and jibtops'l, and shutdown the Caterpillar on a building SWly morning breeze. We sailed all morning until we got into South Passage were the land has influenced the SW'ly breeze. Now we have no wind and are pushing again. Hopefully when we get out of South Passage this afternoon we will get some more wind. One bit of shipboard interest -- our new cook, Theresa Tiedman who joined us in Chicago, created Mexican night last night with Fajitas and rice, plus homemade cherry cheese cake for dessert. It was one if her first dinners under way and we loved it!
Bye for now,
After our delayed departure due to the northwesterly winds we had yesterday, we have now been underway since 0350 this am. We motored for the first few hours, then at sunrise set the four lowers and the tops'l in the nice morning breeze from the west-northwest. We shutdown the main engines and have sailed at a nice 7.5 to sometimes reaching 9.2 knots. But the forecast calls for the wind going south-westerly with overcast skies and scattered rain showers. So we will see what mother nature brings us. For now we enjoy the nice steady breeze as we sail off to the northeast and shake off all the dirt from being dockside. At breakfast this morning more that one crew member commented on how nice it was to be underway again. Our visit to Milwaukee seemed like a success for all involved. The Wisconsin Lake Schooner project had good crowds and a good fundraising event. We wish them the best of luck. We have the next 5 days to get to Erie, PA where we will host one reception on Monday evening, August 11. Then it's underway the next day for the Welland Canal and Lake Ontario, eastbound for Rochester, NY.
Bye for now.
Today is the scheduled departure day from Milwaukee. However the wind has been blowing out of the North with some gusts to 25 knots for just over 30 hours. This kind of wind builds up a short steep sea here in the lakes. As Lake Michigan has a north-south axis, the sea just runs down the Lake and builds quickly. The forecast is for it to lay down tonight and then come southwesterly. So we will reevaluate tonight and try to get underway this evening. In the mean time the crew are doing maintenance, last minute personal issues, and preparing the ship for her next voyage -- to Rochester, New York. I am getting reacquainted with the ship again and getting settled in and relieving my partner, Captain. Miles. He is off for some well deserved time off. I will be aboard until Philadelphia. PA, in September. Yesterday we went sailing three times. Two sails for the Education Dept. of the Wisconsin Lake Schooner Project. They had the opportunity to try out some of their programming on board a real sailing vessel -- thus giving them food for thought about what they might do with their own vessel. The last sail for the day was for Tate Access Flooring, one of our most frequent and loyal users.
See ya tomorrow. Hopefully we will be underway by then.
The sail to Milwaukee from Chicago turned into a blissful one. Although the air was light most of the time at Force 2 and 3, PRIDE's light-air sailing ability on smooth seas made it possible to sail all the way. In fact she sailed so efficiently in the light conditions we had to heave-to for six hours to kill some time before PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II sailed into Milwaukee with her usual flair -- cannons blasting and sails billowing down as she pulled up beside her new dock at the Wisconsin Lake Schooner Project. The Project is an effort to build a faithful reproduction of a three-masted Great Lakes cargo schooner. So far they have laid the keel laid and placed most of the frames. The Schooner Projects has charted PRIDE for several events designed to boost public awareness of their project and raise some money. It is another testament to PRIDE's fame that the Wisconsin sponsors see it as a valuable opportunity to use PRIDE and her mission as an example of the many possibilities for their new vessel. Dockside, PRIDE is positioned carefully so she is exactly alongside the new construction which is near the edge of the dock. You can almost image the new Lake Schooner rising from its keel as the framing members dissolve into PRIDE's lofty rig just beyond and towering up over it. The view is like a set of "before and after" pictures. Our first charter was a daysail with people who had bought "passage" from the Schooner Project. These folks were aboard to get an idea of what it might be like to be out sailing on their new boat. They enjoyed being asked to participate as the crew handled sail. Friday evening was a $100 black-tie dinner party fund raiser. PRIDE was available for dockside tours by guests, who asked many questions about how things were done aboard PRIDE. Saturday was a maintenance day until the Maryland Port Association party that evening. Sunday was a long open-house day with a $5 admission charged by the Lake Schooner Project to see the new construction and PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II. We hosted nearly 3,000 visitors over the 7 hours we were open. During all of these goings-on, we made time for an in-person conference between Mark Belton, Pride, Inc.'s Executive Director, Captain Robert Glover, who is relieving me today, and myself. We had an opportunity to talk about everything under the sun concerning the ship, the mission, the company and the next campaign to Asia beginning this fall. When PRIDE is underway, one of the two captains (obviously) is aboard. The other is ashore working with the office staff. Having Mark fly out to do the advance work for PRIDE's arrival in Milwaukee, where both captains were going to be during the captain's rotation, enabled all three of us to meet face to face and talk together. The Asia Campaign will be a very big "first" for the Pride Mission. There is a lot of excitement and tension associated with this effort. Having the opportunity of having all three of us face to face at the middle of this Great Lakes Campaign on the eve of the Asian Campaign was very beneficial to our collective moral, and a welcome opportunity. Now it is Monday and time for me to go home. It is a bit of a wrench to say so-long to the crew. They have been remarkable in a very special way. While PRIDE's crews have always been remarkable, each group is different and special in their own way. But I am happy to get back to my "other life" that I lead ashore -- which has been on hold during the two months I've been aboard. I will be back in the early fall after a rest ashore. By then I should have had the opportunity to become comfortable, maybe even bored, with the relative freedom but highly distracting aspects of shore-life. I'm already looking forward to coming back aboard PRIDE to live the 24 hour a day life of the Captain responsible for Maryland's Sailing Goodwill Ambassador and of the lives that are aboard her.
So long for now - see you in September,
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