Baltimore Ii

The reproduction tall ship Pride of Baltimore II returned Friday to Baltimore's Inner Harbor after sailing the Chesapeake Bay, the East Coast and the Great Lakes for five months. The ship, which was built to look like a "1812-era topsail schooner privateer," will sail two more times — from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday — before ending its 2011season. Tickets are $45 for adults and $30 for children 12 and under. Free dockside tours of the deck will also be given between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. On Sunday, park rangers from Fort McHenry will be present on the ship and dressed in period uniforms to learn about the ship's operations from the crew.

Wow, what a week it was in Havre de Grace! The city was pillaged by the British for the second time in 200 years. Decoys, ducks and all things fowl from the water made their 32nd annual three-day visit. And the voters not only chose all incumbents (we know Fred Cullum technically wasn't one, but he's been around so much he qualifies) for mayor and city council, but also told the city government to go ahead and spend $1.29 million to buy a waterfront parcel. The election results tell us that the majority of those who voted in Havre de Grace are satisfied with the way things are, including the more than 2 to 1 vote to affirm the city council's decision to buy the land next to the Concord Point Lighthouse.

"When we say 'turtle,' you say 'power,'" Jamie Trost called out to a group of eighth-graders. And when the students from St. Jane Frances School in Pasadena hollered "power," they pulled hard on the ropes, hoisting the sails of the Pride of Baltimore II. It was the first part of a lesson, teaching the teens you can't give strong, coordinated tugs without a good grunt, and also how privateers during the War of 1812 got their sleek ships moving...

The City of Annapolis will host its second City Fair downtown on Saturday and Sunday. Many of the attractions will have a nautical bent, including the Pride of Baltimore II , which will dock at City Dock at about noon on Saturday. There also will be boats on display in the water and on land from the Marine Corps, the National Sailing Hall of Fame, Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating and the Annapolis Rowing Club. Annapolis Community Boating will offer the chance to use a kayak or canoe, while the Annapolis Sail and Power Squadron will teach knot-tying and the Hospice Cup will have a station for kids to make burgees, which are small flags flown on sailboats.

The Pride of Baltimore II has logged 35,000 miles -- equivalent to a trip around the world -- since it was commissioned two years ago.The Pride's second anniversary was celebrated yesterday in Genoa, Italy, where the goodwill ship took part in the 1992 Columbus Tall Ships Grand Regatta.After leaving Genoa today, the Pride is scheduled to visit Nice, France, and Barcelona and Valencia, Spain. It is to arrive in Malaga, Spain, on Thanksgiving Day.

Mark Belton, a county commissioner for Queen Anne's County, has been named executive director of Pride of Baltimore Inc., the organization that oversees the operation of the clipper ship Pride of Baltimore II.Belton, a resident of Stevensville, has been a county commissioner for two years. He was director of external operations for the Naval Academy Athletic Association from 1991 to 1996.Belton graduated from the Naval Academy in 1983, then was on active duty as a naval officer until 1990, serving on a number of vessels.

Sidney S. Miller, who was a Pride of Baltimore II captain on a voyage through Europe, died Sunday at his Sarasota, Fla., home after gall bladder surgery. He was 72 and had lived on South Hanover Street. He sailed with the Pride from 1989 to 1991, logging 10,000 miles and calling at more than 20 foreign ports. He took the city's schooner through the Caribbean and made a circuit of the Mediterranean as far as Odessa in the former Soviet Union. He also called at English and Dutch ports. "He was a competent mariner and was enthusiastic for Baltimore and Baltimore marine history," said Jan C. Miles, captain of the Pride.

The Pride of Baltimore II, the city-based clipper ship and Maryland goodwill ambassador, is being repaired by two companies in St.-Nazaire, France, and is set to return to the state in early spring, in time for the Volvo Ocean Race. The Pride II was severely damaged Sept. 5 when a rigging failure during a squall caused the ship's wooden bowsprit, foremast and mainmast to collapse while the ship was racing in the Bay of Biscay off the coast of France. Linda Christenson, executive director of Pride of Baltimore Inc., the nonprofit that manages the ship's fundraising and finances, said several European companies made bids to repair the ship.

The Pride of Baltimore II was lifted out of the water yesterday at a Curtis Bay boatyard for routine maintenance and a close inspection of damage from its 21-month European odyssey -- including an incident in an English port where the goodwill ship ran aground in July.Linda Jordan, executive director of the Pride, said the inspection is an annual requirement for passenger certification by the U.S. Coast Guard and that the "haul out" at the Smith & Sons boatyard provides an opportunity to look at the ship's bottom.

LONDON -- Rush hour on the Thames River. Pleasure boats and tourist vessels jockey for position in the murky water like commuters on the Beltway. Hordes of tourists line the riverbanks by the Tower of London. And there, just around the bend, comes the tallest, leanest ship of them all: the Pride of Baltimore II, sails unfurled and cannons booming."On this ship you sail into town, show what you've got, and then, take it all down and go boast about it," said the Pride II's captain, Jan Miles of Fells Point.

"When we say 'turtle,' you say 'power,'" Jamie Trost called out to a group of eighth-graders. And when the students from St. Jane Frances School in Pasadena hollered "power," they pulled hard on the ropes, hoisting the sails of the Pride of Baltimore II. It was the first part of a lesson, teaching the teens you can't give strong, coordinated tugs without a good grunt, and also how privateers during the War of 1812 got their sleek ships moving...

The man who runs many of Baltimore's marinas, a former captain in the Israeli navy, prefers the sky to the sea. The only boat he owns is a gondola, which he keeps tied up at his marina in Canton. "I love aviation; that's my passion," said Dan Naor, 47, chief operating officer of Baltimore Marine Centers, as he stood next to a cherry-red helicopter on a recent weekday. He flies it - not as often as he'd like - from Pier 7 in Canton, the base of another business he runs, Baltimore Helicopter Services.

ABOARD THE COAST GUARD CUTTER SLEDGE — The party's over. Just after dawn Tuesday, the naval vessels, with hulls as gray as the morning, slipped from their berths and headed for open water. Later, as the sun broke through, the stars of Sailabration — the tall ships — gathered up their good-time vibe, unfurled their sails and followed the same path. Maryland's Star-Spangled commemoration of the War of 1812 ended Tuesday morning after a week filled with fireworks, screaming jets and hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Inner Harbor, Fells Point and Fort McHenry.

The Pride of Baltimore Memorial, which had been marred by 26 years' worth of exposure to the elements and recent vandalism, has undergone substantial repairs just in time for the city's commemoration of the bicentennial of the War of 1812. TheBaltimore Development Corp.has teamed with a local contractor to bring about the fixes, most of them to the granite portions of a site honoring the four crew members who died aboard the Pride of Baltimore, an ambassador for the city that sank during a May 1986 storm in the Bermuda Triangle.

If you're used to watching an Orioles game in the quiet of a family room, then watching one at Camden Yards can be unsettling - fellow fans yelling in your ears, maybe dropping a profanity here and there. If you rarely walk on city sidewalks full of people, it can be a strange experience, especially if there are panhandlers or mentally ill wanderers in your path. If you're almost always with people who look like you, then being in a diverse crowd can be weird, even frightening. It was always thus, but never more so than in the last few decades in the United States.

With cannon booms, a drum roll and the Navy at the ready, the state unveiled its plans Thursday to celebrate the bicentennial of the War of 1812, a series of events designed to showcase Maryland's role in the conflict. The Pride of Baltimore II, numerous Navy vessels, the Coast Guard's Eagle and at least 10 other tall ships, many from foreign shores, will berth at the Inner Harbor in June to launch the commemoration. Organizers expect about 1 million people to attend the weeklong event.

ST. MARY'S CITY -- After visiting more than 40 cities in 19 countries over nearly 20 months, the Pride of Baltimore II returned to Maryland waters yesterday, and its crew members expressed thanks for arriving safely."

TALKIN' TURKEY: Thanks to merchants here in town, members of the Pride of Baltimore II will be having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow -- all the way in Malaga, Spain!Aside from turkey and all the trimmings, Pride members will be dining on Maryland crab cakes from Phillips Harborplace and cannolis from Vaccaro's bakery, washing the food down with wine from Boordy Vineyards.IN THE STRANGE-but-true category comes this: "Turkey Bowl 1990" today at the Kings Point Fairlanes in Randallstown!

The reproduction tall ship Pride of Baltimore II returned Friday to Baltimore's Inner Harbor after sailing the Chesapeake Bay, the East Coast and the Great Lakes for five months. The ship, which was built to look like a "1812-era topsail schooner privateer," will sail two more times — from 2 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday — before ending its 2011season. Tickets are $45 for adults and $30 for children 12 and under. Free dockside tours of the deck will also be given between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. On Sunday, park rangers from Fort McHenry will be present on the ship and dressed in period uniforms to learn about the ship's operations from the crew.

Random "Jay Walk"ers interviewed by Jay Leno doubtless have forgotten the War of 1812, if indeed they learned about it at all, but Marylanders know all about it, don't we? Let's see, there's the (original) British Invasion, Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key and "The Star-Spangled Banner," Defenders Day, the White House in flames … Alas, that's about as far as most can go, even here near the geographic center of all the action, which extended from Canada to New Orleans. But just as the bicentennial of the conflict approaches, filmmaker Lawrence Hott comes along with his two-hour documentary production of "The War of 1812," to be aired nationwide on PBS Monday, Oct. 10. Even luckier, Baltimore is one of a few select markets where a personalized preview will be offered.