Pride of Baltimore II, Baltimore's floating ambassador, visits the Great Lakes
Maryland’s floating ambassador, the tall ship Pride of Baltimore II, is spending her summer in the Great Lakes. The top sail schooner departed her home port of Baltimore on May 30 to participate in the Tall Ships Challenge, an annual event organized by Tall Ships America.
As part of the Challenge, Pride II will sail more than 6000 nautical miles and make eight official port stops across all five Great Lakes. Visitors at each port will have the opportunity to board the ship and meet her crew.
The public was invited to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor for a Farewell and Fairwinds sendoff, featuring musket and cannon salutes and on her bow deckhand Ben Heyer playing the bagpipes. The majestic ship was escorted by a Moran tug, a Baltimore fireboat, and Lady Maryland.
Her ports of call will include Brockville and Toronto, Ontario; Duluth, MN; Detroit and Boyne City, MI; Surgeon Bay, WI; Buffalo, NY; and Erie, PA. The ship and crew are expected to return to the Chesapeake in September. Guest crew are aboard for various legs of the passages between ports.
Those who can’t join the trip in person may follow along on Pride II’s Facebook page and on YouTube, where Johns Hopkins of the nonprofit organization Baltimore Heritage posts daily live updates. As of July 25, Pride was in Boyne City, MI.
The mission of the Pride of Baltimore organization is to promote historical maritime education, foster economic development and tourism, and represent the people of Maryland in ports throughout the world. Pride II sails around the US and overseas to share the rich maritime history of Baltimore and to promote Maryland’s economic development opportunities.
Learn more about the ship and guest crew opportunities at pride2.org.
