Welcome Pride of Baltimore 2
June  2001

The clipper was king in the mid 1800s. Sleek sailing ships were the pride of the New England coast. Portsmouth, NH and Baltimore, MD were among the finest clipper building ports in the world.  But the Portsmouth clippers are all gone -- Typhoon, Nightingale , Witch of the Wave, Wild Duck.

 

Built in 1988, the Pride of Baltimore 2 is a floating ambassador for its namesake city. This visit is part of an ongoing series of events sponsored by the Piscataqua Maritime Commission (PMC). 

We caught up with the Baltimore and joined the welcoming parade as the tall ship approached the Memorial Bridge across from the Navy Yard. Notice how the sky changed color and the sun and clouds shifted from minute to minute. Along this very same stretch of land the clippers were built on both sides of the Piscataqua.  Slipping under the Sarah Long Bridge, we took a new vantage point as the Baltimore fired a welcoming salute right into our little fishing boat.

The clippers were the high-tech wonders of their age. Their speed allowed the rapid transport of cargo. That same speed made them candidates for use as slave ships in an era where the West India trade was lucrative. The first Pride of Baltimore sank in 1986 in a storm off Puerto Rico.

VISIT THE BALTIMORE FOR TOURS