Pride of Baltimore

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Pride of Baltimore

The Pride of Baltimore ( English for pride of Baltimore ; also Pride for short ) was an American topsail schooner , a largely authentic replica of a historic Baltimore clipper from around 1812. She drove from 1977 until her sinking in 1986 on behalf of the city of Baltimore. Since its completion in 1988, the new Baltimore clipper replica Pride of Baltimore II has been sailing as its successor .

Pride of Baltimore

Construction and characteristics of the Baltimore clipper

In 1975, the city of Baltimore, Maryland , decided to have a sailable Baltimore clipper reconstructed as an attraction for its inner harbor . With no Baltimore clippers and little information about the ship's plans or dimensions, the details of the blueprint were explored from written sources, maritime art (e.g. paintings) and, in particular, reports from the British Navy about the ships they captured.

From April 1976 to 1977 the Pride of Baltimore was built in the city harbor of Baltimore, visible to all interested parties. According to the specifications of the city, materials and methods should be used according to the time of the Baltimore clippers, but ultimately wood was also used that is not native to Maryland, but promised greater durability (especially tropical hardwood). After about half the construction time, the decision was made to use the ship, which had previously only been planned for smaller routes, for long-haul and ocean journeys. Then an electric generator and batteries for electric lighting, an auxiliary motor, a shortwave radio and navigation aids were installed; only later was the brick kiln replaced by a modern, diesel-powered kiln. Otherwise, the greatest possible importance was attached to authenticity in the construction and equipment. On February 27, 1977 the Pride of Baltimore was launched , on May 1 of that year it was put into service.

Many of the characteristics of the Pride of Baltimore typical of Baltimore clippers were rare or unusual on other large traditional sailing ships: the schooner sail was sailed without a tree and overlapped the mainmast ; especially turning maneuvers were very labor intensive. Two of the foresails were reefed using a tie-on strip of canvas ( bonnet ) , a method that has not been used since the 19th century. The leeward sails on the topsail and a similar construction on the mainsail made it possible to "extend" additional sail area. The topsail above the mainsail was raised from the deck with a jack ( jackyard ) which extended the main mast. The main mast was stiffened to the front with two forestays, which were to be loosened and tightened alternately - similar to backstays that the ship also had. And finally, the Pride of Baltimore was steered with a seven foot (2.1 meter) long tiller instead of a steering wheel. The first crew of the ship, who had experience on other traditional sailing ships, then had to acquire the knowledge that was especially necessary for Baltimore clippers and which had been a matter of course for their crews at the beginning of the 19th century.

Travel and doom

The Pride of Baltimore was used as the ambassador of Baltimore along the US coasts. In 1983 she sailed through the Panama Canal to the west coast of the USA. 1985 to 1986 the schooner visited Europe. The return took place via Madeira and the Antilles to the Virgin Islands . On May 11th he left St. John for Baltimore. On the morning of May 14, 1986, the Pride of Baltimore ran about 250 nautical miles (463 kilometers) north of Puerto Rico after reducing the sail area under the mainsail and jib in wind force 7-8 (approx. 50-74 km / h) .

Around 11:30 a.m. the ship was hit by a white squall at the approximate position 23 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  N , 67 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  W Coordinates: 23 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  N , 67 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  W , which, according to the First Officer's statements, reached 70 knots (approx. 130 km / h) and more. Despite throwing off the main sail, the Pride of Baltimore was increasingly pushed to port ("left") onto the surface of the water. A crew member tried to loosen the jib as well, but the sheet was already under water. The ship filled up in no time through the only open hatch, the aft hatch; According to Parrott (2003), water could also have entered through a smaller port on the port side. Only the smut was below deck at this point. However, he managed to get on deck against the incoming water. The Pride of Baltimore capsized and sank within a minute of the onset of the White Bucks .

The schooner was equipped with two inflatable life rafts for six people each, which were automatically released when they came into contact with the water. One of the rafts got caught in the ship's rig and tore open . The other inflated automatically at first, but then lost air again due to a malfunction of the valves. In the stormy sea, where visibility was barely 15 meters, three people (including the captain and the flight engineer) did not reach the raft. The storm lasted around 15 to 30 minutes before subsiding to wind force 7–8. While the smut re-inflated the raft with lung power, the rest of the crew held on to it. However, Barry Duckworth, the ship's carpenter, died before the raft was poorly inflated. The remaining eight survivors were finally able to board the raft after about four hours.

The survivors kept themselves alive for four days and seven hours with 0.059 liters of water and half a sponge cake per day. During this time they tried in vain to draw attention to six passing ships (the first of which in less than two nautical miles) and an aircraft with distress signals and later by waving yellow oilskins and flashlight signals . Because of the rapidity with which the Pride of Baltimore sank, an emergency call could no longer be made; besides, the Pride of Baltimore had not had regular radio communications. She was therefore not missing and no search was initiated. Finally, at 2:00 a.m. on May 19, the guard on the Norwegian tanker Toro spotted the flashlight SOS signals and rescued the survivors from their raft.

The accident was later investigated by both the US Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Today, on the one hand, the fateful low freeboard typical of Baltimore clippers is viewed as problematic; on the other hand, the open hatch, which was also not placed in the middle of the ship but shifted slightly to port, is considered to be the cause of the sinking. In addition, the stability properties of the ship (its ability to withstand capsizing) were generally criticized. Parrott (2003) also pointed out that the accident probably ended relatively lightly because almost all of the crew were on deck. Because the hatches of the ship were, as is usual for Baltimore clippers as cargo ships, so locked that they could not be opened from the inside; if the Pride of Baltimore had been hit by a white squall that night, with two-thirds of the crew sleeping below deck, the death toll would most likely have been even higher.

Pride of Baltimore II on OpSail 2000
Also on the OpSail 2000

Pride of Baltimore II

1988 was slightly larger Pride of Baltimore II launched in which, according to its website belongs to the "citizens of Maryland" and by the company Pride, Inc. is operated. Unlike its predecessor, it attaches less importance to authenticity and more to function and safety, for example through an increased freeboard, watertight bulkheads, external ballast and simplified sail guidance (e.g. dispensing with the jack, the special reefing method of the foresail); however, her hull and rigging are again a replica of the Baltimore clippers

Comparison of the ship data of both ships

The ship dimensions of the Pride of Baltimore and the Pride of Baltimore II are:

Pride of Baltimore Pride of Baltimore II
hull Wood Wood
Watertight bulkheads 0 5
Hatches Cargo hatches cannot be opened from the inside;
partly not along the center of the ship		 US Coast Guard regulations hatches;
largely along the center of the ship
Length over all 137 feet (41.8 meters)
( sparred length )		 52.42 meters
Length on deck 89 feet, 9 inches (27.4 meters)
Hull length 29.42 meters
width 23 feet (7.0 meters) 7.93 meters
Draft 9 feet 9 inches (3.0 meters) 3.76 meters
Sail area 9,523 square feet (884.7 square meters) 970 square meters; According to other sources,
9,707.8 square feet (901.9 square meters)
sail 2 gaff sail, 3 headsail , 1 Fischermann-Stagsegel ,
1 Marssegel , 1 topgallants , 3 studdingsails , 1 Toppsegel 		as well
tonnage 67 gross register tonnes (GRT)
displacement 121 t 187 t
Machine ("motor") Caterpillar 85 hp diesel 2 × 140 hp Caterpillar

literature

  • Greg Pease: Sailing With Pride. CA Baumgartner Publishing, 1990, ISBN 0-9626299-0-1
  • Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, International Marine Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0-07-139092-8 (Presentation of the history and reflections on the sinking of the Pride of Baltimore )
  • Tom Waldron: Pride of the Sea: Courage, Disaster, and a Fight for Survival . Citadel Press, 2004, ISBN 0-8065-2492-8 , google books

Web links

Commons : Pride of Baltimore  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Photos of the Pride of Baltimore :

Pride of Baltimore II :

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, 2003, pp. 186-187
  2. ^ Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, 2003, p. 187
  3. ^ Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, 2003, pp. 187-188
  4. ^ Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, 2003, pp. 190-192
  5. ^ Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, 2003, pp. 192-194
  6. ^ Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, 2003, pp. 194-195
  7. ^ Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, 2003, p. 195
  8. ^ Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, 2003, p. 196; 200-201; 213-216
  9. ^ Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, 2003, p. 196; 225-227. Similarly, the website of the Pride of Baltimore in English; Retrieved May 7, 2007
  10. ^ Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, 2003, p. 177
  11. ↑ Pride of Baltimore II on tallship-fan.de; Retrieved May 10, 2007
  12. ^ A b c Daniel Parrott: Tall Ships Down - the last voyages of the Pamir, Albatross, Marques, Pride of Baltimore and the Maria Asumpta . McGraw Hill, 2003, p. 225