Experiencing history first-hand as a guest crew on Pride of Baltimore II.
During Covid, my budding skills as a novice sailor took a backseat to keeping maritime history alive as a storyteller on the skipjack Wilma Lee at the Annapolis Maritime Museum and on the Schooner Woodwind for History Monday. Hey, it was officially sailing to me even if I was holding a microphone rather than a spring line.
This summer, I found myself longing for the stiff shoulders and bruised knees I prattled about with childlike pride when I first learned to sail after moving to Annapolis 10 years ago. Could I still tie a bowline? Could I still sleep on deck and wake up with the sun? Could I sweat a line and pull anchor with those twice my size and half my age? At 68, I wanted to know. I wanted a challenge.
The right opportunity
The right opportunity came when I read about six openings for guest crew on the Pride of Baltimore II to sail from Baltimore to Cambridge in the days leading up to Labor Day. The Pride II is a replacement schooner fashioned in memory of the original Pride, commissioned in 1977, and the first tall ship built in 150 years. Tragically, the original Pride sank when hit by a microburst squall north of Puerto Rico in 1986. Within minutes, her captain and three crew members perished. On deck, Pride II looks very much like Pride except that she is steered by a wheel rather than a tiller.
This was a part of history I wanted to experience firsthand. The application is as you’d imagine—some history of sailing experience and reason for wanting to participate—and there’s a fee based on the length of sail. Since I’m over 65, a simple consent form was required of my physician. While the application process isn’t arduous, it’s recommended to complete it in advance so that preparations can be made for the professional crew and guidelines.
We boarded Wednesday, on the evening of August 28 for the two-day sail. I took the Bay Runner shuttle from Cambridge and Uber to the warehouse district in the Canton neighborhood of Baltimore, the home of Pride II. My Uber driver was aghast that I was planning to wander around a vacant warehouse looking for a place to board, but with the ship’s double masts peering over the rooftop of the building, I assured him that I was in the right place.
Aboard Pride II
Five of us joined the professional crew of 11, including Captain Jeffrey Crosby and Chief Mate Shevawn Innes. There was a real estate agent from Baltimore who had never sailed a day in his life; a father-son combo who fished on the Nanticoke; and a retired cardiothoracic surgeon from Johns Hopkins who had been sailing since his teens. My cabin mate was a no-show which gave me a bit more space and privacy as the only female guest crew. Bunks had replaced hammocks. Linens were provided.
The first evening I slept on deck with a handheld, battery-operated fan in my hand pointed to my face and relaxation music streaming in my ear pods. A light rain in the deep of the night cooled the sweat caked on my skin. Breakfast was at 7:30 a.m. We mustered at 8 a.m. Second Mate Jeremy walked through an extensive safety briefing, with essential assignments for man-over-board procedures and how to proceed if ordered to abandon ship. A copy of the station bill describing specific duties of each crewmember in the event of an emergency was posted in the heads.
With such a short sail, guest crew were expected to do only a few chores. On longer sails this would include cleaning heads, sinks, and showers; sweeping companionways; pumping out grey-water tanks; and mopping the cabin floors. I kept busy washing dishes, polishing brass, recoiling lines, swatting flies, and assisting with engine checks. Yes, my turn at the wheel kept us on course despite my being the shortest on our team of four women requiring I stand on my toes to see the bow.
Under sail, we were encouraged to do what was feasible physically, remain alert, and always repeat orders back loudly to announce they’d been heard. Often “all hands” meant every single person was needed to sweat a line and hoist a sail; in total, the Pride II has 9000 square feet of sails. With a steady wind from the west, we had a full day of sailing south with five sails raised prior to turning into the Choptank River.
We anchored off Oxford as a summer thunderstorm built quickly. Despite the pending rain all agreed that a visit to the Scottish Highland Creamery was necessary (it’s Oxford, right?). A small boat with three diehards shuttled to shore and returned with double Belgian chocolate, mascarpone with fig, lemon sorbet, and a few other delights.
After raising a 700-pound anchor wedged in the mud, we motored east up the Choptank to Cambridge the following morning where we were greeted by the skipjack Nathan of Dorchester full of excited onlookers, photographers, and locals. Deck tours and two-hour sails were held over the holiday weekend giving visitors a glimpse of what’s required to sail a tall ship.
Since her commissioning in 1988, Pride II has sailed more than 275,000 nautical miles and visited more than 200 ports in 40 countries in North, South, and Central America, Europe, and Asia. Each season the vessel visits dozens of ports of call and welcomes aboard more than 100,000 people.
If the love of sailing keeps you searching for the next horizon or you simply want to challenge yourself to experience a part of history few on land will know, grab your gear and come aboard Pride II for an overnight sailing adventure as a guest crew. It’s a voyage that’s impossible to regret and one you can experience on a variety of sails. Find applications at pride2.org.
by Gwen Mayes
Curious what it's like to be up the Pride's mast? Watch a 28-second video here.
