This season, Pride of Baltimore II traveled 9306 nautical miles, making nearly two dozen port visits across eight states and two Canadian provinces, and welcoming more than 53,000 visitors aboard. Along the way, 22 guest crew experiences offered the public the chance to sail and live aboard Maryland’s iconic tall ship.
On-water goodwill ambassdor Pride of Baltimore II's busy year.
Highlights from the season included celebrating Maryland Day Weekend in Annapolis, hosting a SpinSheet Social, celebrating Orioles Opening Day in Baltimore, and participating in the Tall Ships Challenge: Great Lakes. During that tour, Pride II sailed on all five Great Lakes including to America’s most inland port, Duluth, MN.
Back home in Baltimore, Pride II hosted the second annual Sailabration: Sailing Traditions in Ink Festival in Fells Point, welcoming more than 1500 people for a free, family-friendly celebration of Baltimore’s sailors, artists, and maritime traditions.
Upon returning from the Lakes, we also hosted the inaugural Homecoming and Historic Swimmers Welcome in partnership with internationally acclaimed long-distance swimmer and Swimmable Cities Sports Ambassador Katie Pumphrey, with special guests Senate President Bill Ferguson, Johns W. Hopkins, executive director of Baltimore Heritage, and City Councilman Mark Parker.
We also had the privilege to host two incredible community organizations aboard for special sails in the Baltimore Harbor: Association of Guatemalans Without Borders and Watershed Defenders. With Spanish-language materials and a professional interpreter, guests explored Pride’s history and Baltimore’s maritime heritage in a fully accessible way. For many, it was their first time aboard a tall ship, and the joy on deck was contagious. These experiences reflect the spirit of Maryland’s upcoming America 250th anniversary: inclusive, engaging, and honoring the contributions of all Marylanders.
Following a line honors finish in the Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race, Pride II continued to Cambridge, MD, for the first annual Sailing the Choptank Through Ebony Eyes, a free celebration of Maryland’s maritime and African American heritage. This special MD250 event honored Vincent O. Leggett, Admiral of the Chesapeake, and brought together the Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation, Pride of Baltimore II, and local partners for a day of exhibits, music, food, and community connection along the Choptank River.
The season concluded at the Sultana Downrigging Weekend Festival in Chestertown, one of the East Coast’s premier tall ship gatherings. Following the close of the Sultana Downrigging Festival, Pride of Baltimore II returned home to Baltimore to begin her own downrigging and winter maintenance season.
Each fall, the crew carefully takes down and stores everything from sails and spars to safety gear and the ship’s beloved small boat, Chasseur. A protective winter cover is installed over the deck, creating a sheltered workspace for the months ahead. Throughout the winter, the crew restores and maintains every element that keeps Pride II sailing strong: refinishing rigging blocks, replacing worn lines, sanding spars, and applying fresh coats of paint and varnish.
This year’s work also includes an exciting shoreside project: repairing and refurbishing the Pride of Baltimore Memorial, in preparation for its reinstatement and rededication at Rash Field in 2026.
All of this effort ensures that Pride II will be ready to set sail again in early April and poised to represent Maryland during the America250 commemorations up and down the East Coast. We can’t wait to share more about the big plans we’re charting for 2026—stay tuned as the journey continues! Learn more at pride2.org.
By Patrick Smith
