Pride of Baltimore II
Today was the start of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. We went out with friends to watch the ships take off from Annapolis. The finish is in Portsmouth, Virginia about 120 nautical miles south. It was a glorious fall day with sunshine and mild temperatures and more important, a steady 10-15 knot wind!
We followed the ships and went ahead to wait for them for quite a while. It was fantastic.
The first ship I had to feature is the Pride of Baltimore II because she's a local. She is gorgeous under sail!
Rated Length: 72.36 • Sec/Mi: 77.57
Owner: Pride of Baltimore, Inc.
Previous Races: 1992, 1994-1997, 1999, 2001-2004, 2006-2010, 2012-2014
Pride of Baltimore II, “America’s Star-Spangled Ambassador,” is a reproduction of the 1812-era Baltimore Clippers that helped America defeat the British in the War of 1812. She is also a sailing memorial to her immediate predecessor, the original Pride of Baltimore. Since being commissioned in 1988, Pride of Baltimore II has sailed more than 200,000 miles and visited more than 200 ports in 40 countries.
Baltimore Clippers, because they were so fast and maneuverable, were the vessels of choice for privateers during the War of 1812. Privateers, commissioned by the wartime government, plied Britain’s home waters, the Atlantic and the Caribbean attacking British ships for profit. With a skilled crew, the Clippers could easily outsail the Royal Navy vessels escorting merchant convoys. Nearly a third of all of the commissions issued to privateers during the War of 1812 went to vessels operating out of Baltimore. Those Baltimore privateers captured more than a third of the total British prizes. Their successes, of course, galled the Royal Navy and spurred the British to attack Baltimore in 1814.
You can track the race here
www.baltimoremarinecenters.com/About-BMC/Schooner-Race-Tr...
Pride of Baltimore II
Today was the start of the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race. We went out with friends to watch the ships take off from Annapolis. The finish is in Portsmouth, Virginia about 120 nautical miles south. It was a glorious fall day with sunshine and mild temperatures and more important, a steady 10-15 knot wind!
We followed the ships and went ahead to wait for them for quite a while. It was fantastic.
The first ship I had to feature is the Pride of Baltimore II because she's a local. She is gorgeous under sail!
Rated Length: 72.36 • Sec/Mi: 77.57
Owner: Pride of Baltimore, Inc.
Previous Races: 1992, 1994-1997, 1999, 2001-2004, 2006-2010, 2012-2014
Pride of Baltimore II, “America’s Star-Spangled Ambassador,” is a reproduction of the 1812-era Baltimore Clippers that helped America defeat the British in the War of 1812. She is also a sailing memorial to her immediate predecessor, the original Pride of Baltimore. Since being commissioned in 1988, Pride of Baltimore II has sailed more than 200,000 miles and visited more than 200 ports in 40 countries.
Baltimore Clippers, because they were so fast and maneuverable, were the vessels of choice for privateers during the War of 1812. Privateers, commissioned by the wartime government, plied Britain’s home waters, the Atlantic and the Caribbean attacking British ships for profit. With a skilled crew, the Clippers could easily outsail the Royal Navy vessels escorting merchant convoys. Nearly a third of all of the commissions issued to privateers during the War of 1812 went to vessels operating out of Baltimore. Those Baltimore privateers captured more than a third of the total British prizes. Their successes, of course, galled the Royal Navy and spurred the British to attack Baltimore in 1814.
You can track the race here
www.baltimoremarinecenters.com/About-BMC/Schooner-Race-Tr...