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Chesapeake Bay - Cambridge to Washington, DC

Greetings all. It is a great pleasure to have joined Pride II as her co-captain and as a part of her management team. In recognition of the concept that life follows a circular pattern, let me mention that one of my first sailing experiences aboard a tallship was as a volunteer deckhand aboard the original Pride 22 years ago. It's great to be back!

On October 23, after a 24 hours overlap with my co-captain, Jan Miles, I took command of Pride II in Cambridge, MD. Jan then headed back to Baltimore for some well deserved time off.

The mission of Pride II in Cambridge proved to be a mix of daysails and Open Houses. The stay was quite enjoyable for the crew due primarily to the warm reception from the people of Cambridge and the general interest they showed towards Pride II's programs. Another social plus for the crew was the arrival of Sultana, a square topsail schooner from Chestertown, MD, with her crew of worthies. There was lots of visiting and gamming and a good time was had by all.

Our next port was to be Alexandria, VA, and then on to Washington, DC - all in one long weekend. We were joined by 3 guest crew for the run to the south and set off in light air under power. As we pushed towards the mouth of the Choptank, the wind shifted into the east and we began getting sail on as all indicators (rain clouds moving up from the southeast and a falling barometer) seemed to suggest wind was in the offing. And so it was. We were able to shut down the engines just before lunch and sailed a stately broad reach down towards the mouth of the Potomac where we dropped anchor under the lee of St. George Island in the St. Mary's River well after dark. Whereupon it commenced to rain as the front rolled through, leaving some two inches of precip in that part of the world.

The rest of the trip to the Capital was a motor boat ride and generally uneventful (save for an exciting transit through the Dahlgren Live Fire Range, which was in action at the time) with a thoroughly enjoyable evening anchored off Mt. Vernon on the last night of our passage.

Alexandria was a fine visit and the crew enjoyed being hosted to a Halloween party by old shipmates. The port was technically interesting to me because, unlike all previous visits by Pride II, this time at dead low water we were not afloat. A significant amount of silting had taken place which many locals attribute to the flooding caused by hurricane Isabel. At any event we were able to wiggle Pride II out of the muck and proceed on schedule to Washington.

Chesapeake Bay - the Northern View

I am revisiting these notes after more than a week's time. Since then, Pride II has voyaged from Washington, DC, on to Annapolis for an overnight and an evening sail with members of the Charleston, SC, Historical Society, from there to Chestertown, MD, to help Sultana celebrate her Downrigging at the end of her sailing season, and, finally, here sits Pride II at Havre De Grace, MD, preparing for students to visit the vessel and participate in her educational program over the next few days. We have been able to enjoy a few good sails in our transits. However, sometimes the schedule can get tight and, when the wind wasn't with us, we did "burn some dinosaurs," as the saying goes.

The celebration in Chestertown had as a highlight a sail in company with Pride II, Lady Maryland, Elsworth, and Sultana. As the sail progressed, the wind built into a fresh breeze out of the north and the "fleet" opted to sail in an area of the river known attractively as the Devils Reach which would allow vessels to sail in both directions. This worked out well and allowed multiple broadsides to be exchanged while sailing in close quarters in a small body of water. It also provided another opportunity to observe "0.0" on the fathometer. We didn't vary from that reading for the bulk of that afternoon. But we never lost boat speed or felt a touch - just a certain reluctance in the vessel to turn when required. Keeps you focused...

Closing for now, more after Havre De Grace,

Captain Beebe-Center