Tall Ships

Navy Lt. Mark Tedrow has no problem reconciling an air show with a commemoration of the War of 1812, an era that precedes flight by almost a century. The Blue Angels pilot said he looks forward to flying over the Inner Harbor, Middle River and Fort McHenry - birthplace of the national anthem - during a bicentennial celebration in June. "It will be outstanding to perform multiple maneuvers over Fort McHenry," he said. "It will show just how far we have come. " Tedrow and his co-pilot flew into Martin State Airport in Middle River on Thursday to give a small preview of what the Navy's renowned flight team will do for the bicentennial maritime and air festival that kicks off June 13. "Stake out your places on the waterfront so you don't miss a thing," said Lt. Cmdr.

Barb and Greg Damon traveled to Maryland from Oregon to run a marathon and left with an unusual souvenir. The Damons were among the first people who went to Fort McHenry Monday to purchase commemorative coins created by the United States Mint to mark the bicentennial of the War of 1812. Barb Damon said she and her husband ran in the B&A Trail Marathon over the weekend as part of a quest to complete a marathon in every state. She said they also collect coins and couldn't pass up the chance to purchase a coin on the first day it was issued.

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.

When the Coast Guard's tall ship Eagle glided under the Key Bridge on Wednesday morning, it looked a lot better than it did when it arrived at the Inner Harbor four months ago. A fresh coat of white paint covered the upper hull. Six miles of ropes and rigging were tightrope-taut. And from the ship's bow jutted a regilded eagle, its talons gripping the Coast Guard crest. "She's done and she's looking good," said John Downes, a Baltimore native who supervised the team of Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard workers that carried out the $5 million refurbishing, from keel to mast tip. Escorted by a Maryland Natural Resources Police boat and two tugs, the 295-foot ship turned down the Chesapeake Bay on its way to the Atlantic and its home port at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.

Ever since Tina Cappetta Orcutt and her family moved to Maryland last summer, she says, her 9-year-old son Adam has been paying close attention to Maryland license plates, especially the commemorative tags that tout the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. "He'll go, there's another Fort McHenry fan!" whenever he spots one of the red-white-and-blue plates featuring the Star-spangled Banner and the fort, Cappetta Orcutt says. "I don't correct him. " Cappetta Orcutt recently became superintendent of Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, one of Baltimore's best-known attractions and the scene of the battle in 1814 that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that became the national anthem.

Barb and Greg Damon traveled to Maryland from Oregon to run a marathon and left with an unusual souvenir. The Damons were among the first people who went to Fort McHenry Monday to purchase commemorative coins created by the United States Mint to mark the bicentennial of the War of 1812. Barb Damon said she and her husband ran in the B&A Trail Marathon over the weekend as part of a quest to complete a marathon in every state. She said they also collect coins and couldn't pass up the chance to purchase a coin on the first day it was issued.

Tall ships -- The Annapolis Maritime Museum will present a Tall Ships Festival on June 24 at Annapolis City Dock. The Schooner Sultana and Delaware's tall ship Kalmar Nykel will be open for public boarding and inspection, along with maritime music and historic exhibits. The Kalmar Nykel, a reproduction of a 1625-era Dutch pinnace, was built in Wilmington, Del., in 1998, to commemorate those who crossed the Atlantic from 1637-1638 and settled in the Delaware Valley. The Kalmar Nykel will be open for tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Sultana will be open from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets to visit both ships are $10 per adult and $8 for children 3 to 11 years old. 410-268-7601, ext. 104.

It will look like the British invasion of 1814 all over again. But the armada of tall ships sailing into Baltimore this summer will be larger. And their cannons will remain silent in deference to the two-toed sloths napping in the National Aquarium. A million tourists and more than 10,000 small boats are expected to crowd Baltimore's waterfront June 21-29 to watch 27 tall ships from around the world take part in the largest sailing festival in the city's history. Ships from Indonesia, Denmark, Colombia, Germany, Ireland and 12 other countries will anchor in the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Canton and Locust Point for eight days as part of a tour of seven East Coast ports, organizers of the Operation Sail 2000 event will announce today.

Ask any local, and he or she will probably tell you that it's normal to see a bunch of boats floating at the Inner Harbor. But when the boats are so huge that they begin to compete with the skyline, then you know something's up. Starting Sunday, the waters of the downtown port will be teeming with a selection of the world's tallest sailing ships as the city gears up to celebrate Independence Day. The ships, ranging from the 170-foot Pride of Baltimore II...

On a clear, bright morning, the kind that would have been perfect for sailing, about 35 people gathered in the Inner Harbor today to remember four Pride of Baltimore crew members lost at sea six years ago.The captain, Armin E. Elsaesser III, along with crew members Barry Duckworth, Vincent Lazarro and Nina Schack, were lost when the ship went down in a violent squall near Puerto Rico on May 14, 1986. Eight other crew members managed to escape and drifted in a life boat for 4 1/2 days until they were rescued by a Norwegian freighter's crew.

Ever since Tina Cappetta Orcutt and her family moved to Maryland last summer, she says, her 9-year-old son Adam has been paying close attention to Maryland license plates, especially the commemorative tags that tout the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. "He'll go, there's another Fort McHenry fan!" whenever he spots one of the red-white-and-blue plates featuring the Star-spangled Banner and the fort, Cappetta Orcutt says. "I don't correct him. " Cappetta Orcutt recently became superintendent of Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, one of Baltimore's best-known attractions and the scene of the battle in 1814 that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that became the national anthem.

Navy Lt. Mark Tedrow has no problem reconciling an air show with a commemoration of the War of 1812, an era that precedes flight by almost a century. The Blue Angels pilot said he looks forward to flying over the Inner Harbor, Middle River and Fort McHenry - birthplace of the national anthem - during a bicentennial celebration in June. "It will be outstanding to perform multiple maneuvers over Fort McHenry," he said. "It will show just how far we have come. " Tedrow and his co-pilot flew into Martin State Airport in Middle River on Thursday to give a small preview of what the Navy's renowned flight team will do for the bicentennial maritime and air festival that kicks off June 13. "Stake out your places on the waterfront so you don't miss a thing," said Lt. Cmdr.

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.

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.

The Eagle never slips into port unnoticed. With video camera-toting parents, teary-eyed spouses and squealing children filling the Inner Harbor's brick walkway to greet the nearly 300-foot-long Coast Guard tall ship, Friday was no exception. "Oh my goodness, there it is," cried Sandy Palmer who flew from New Hampshire earlier in the day with her husband to surprise their daughter, an officer candidate aboard the ship. "This is a dream come true. When she said they were going to have liberty in Baltimore, you couldn't keep us away.

Jim Rouse's "festival market place" concept for the Inner Harbor, with retail pavilions and entertainment venues, brought with it the retail industry's pattern of re-branding and call for entertaining with ever new "attractions. " This put the harbor into competition not only with malls but also with amusement parks and beach venues — essentially defining it as a place of entertainment and amusement. Maybe it is time to challenge this paradigm. Should really great locations have to reinvent themselves constantly?

One of the unique joys of the 1976 bicentennial year was the visit of the tall ships to Baltimore. Over the summer, 11 of those graceful vessels sailed up the Chesapeake to moor at the Inner Harbor basin. Tens of thousands of Baltimoreans came to view them. Even at 4 a.m., night owls could be seen admiring those ocean-goers.Happily for those who missed the 1976 event, those moments and memories will soon be repeated. From May 29 to Sept. 9, close to 30 sailing ships from Spain, Brazil, the Netherlands, Uruguay, Portugal, Italy, Germany and England are scheduled to visit the Inner Harbor as part of Baltimore's Operation Sail '92. They range from tall ships to frigates and schooners.

WASHINGTON -- Through more than seven decades of Soviet oppression, freedom-loving Ukrainians never lost their will to achieve an independent Motherland. They finally achieved that goal in 1991 -- months after the fall of the Berlin Wall -- when Russian troops departed for points east. Now, nine years later, a Ukrainian tall ship appropriately named Bat'kivschchyna -- The Motherland, in English -- is about to leave its berth in the upper reaches of the Dneipper River. As crowds lining the Dniepper's banks cheer it on, the Bat'kivschchyna will emerge into the Black Sea, sail through the Bosporus, negotiate the myriad islands of the Aegean Sea, race through the Mediterranean and slip through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Atlantic.

September 1964: Inner Harbor master plan unveiled. April 1973: Dedication of the public wharf on the west shore, where visiting ships dock. April 1974: Construction begins on the Inner Harbor promenade. September 1974: Baltimore City Fair held on the West Shore at what is now Rash Field. June 1976: Maryland Science Center opens. July 1976: Seven tall ships and six military vessels from around the world sail into Baltimore's Inner Harbor to celebrate the nation's bicentennial, revealing the potential of the Inner Harbor as a tourist destination.