Wednesday afternoon helicopters began buzzing the marina, not just the usual traffic enroute to the adjacent heliport; this time it sounded like they'd parked directly overhead. Then somebody fired the first cannon and I felt compelled to go outside and have a look.
Turns out all the commotion was caused by the return of Pride of Baltimore II (pictured above), a modern representation of the 1812-era type of vessel known as a Baltimore clipper.
Pride of Baltimore II is a top-sail schooner with a length-on-deck of 96.5 feet, a beam of 26 feet and a draft of 12 feet. Her rig reaches 112 feet into the sky and she's built the way ships were meant to be built ... of wood. (Ever seen a fiberglass forest?)
Did I mention she has cannons? They're even louder than the ones at Ft. McHenry: Calypso positively r-a-t-t-l-e-d with each concussion and reminded me of the pirate ship Jose Gaspar invading Tampa when I was a kid.
(above: invasion by the pirate ship Jose Gaspar: February 18, 1932)
Did I mention she has cannons? They're even louder than the ones at Ft. McHenry: Calypso positively r-a-t-t-l-e-d with each concussion and reminded me of the pirate ship Jose Gaspar invading Tampa when I was a kid.
(above: invasion by the pirate ship Jose Gaspar: February 18, 1932) Pride of Baltimore II is currently moored at Constellation Pier in the Inner Harbor through October 15, and will participate in the Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race on October 16-17.
Owned by the citizens of the state of Maryland, Pride of Baltimore II is operated by Pride, Inc., a non-profit corporation. You can read more about her here.
Wikipedia has a brief piece about the tragic sinking of the original Pride of Baltimore and the loss of her captain and three crew, on May 14 1986.
Owned by the citizens of the state of Maryland, Pride of Baltimore II is operated by Pride, Inc., a non-profit corporation. You can read more about her here.
Wikipedia has a brief piece about the tragic sinking of the original Pride of Baltimore and the loss of her captain and three crew, on May 14 1986.
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sunset photo: October 9, 2008
sunset photo: October 9, 2008
