pride of baltimore inc.
Pride of Baltimore II
to 2008, and now is both owned and operated by Pride of Baltimore, Inc., a nonprofit entity funded through grants, donations, corporate support, and income from festival appearances and other sources. Over the years, Pride II has been able to generate less than half of its budget in operating revenues, such as appearance fees, souvenir sales, and day sails—requiring the organization to raise a significant amount of money each year. The organization is exploring legislation to allocate state funding for Pride II during this year’s General Assembly session. Although the ship received $1.5 million from the state spread over the past three fiscal years, it does not have a “firm commitment” for fiscal 2019 and beyond, according to Rick Scott, the organization’s executive director. The original Pride of Baltimore was built in 1977 as a re-creation of the famous Baltimore clippers of the early 19th century and to serve as a goodwill ambassador
Stad Amsterdam and Star of India, together in San Diego, February 2018.
Stad Amsterdam
stad amsterdam
for the city and state. She sailed for nearly a decade before being lost at sea in 1986. Pride of Baltimore II was launched in 1988 and has logged more than 250,000 miles and visited more than 200 ports in 40 countries. Pride II also serves in an educational role for Marylanders. Visitors to Pride II learn about the pivotal role Maryland privateers played in the War of 1812. The ship and crew also run dockside programs for fourth graders that feature lessons in simple machines, navigation, and the life of a sailor. Outreach programs take these lessons from the ship into classrooms across the state. (2700 Lighthouse Point East, Suite 330, Baltimore, MD 21224; Ph. 410 539-1151; email: pride2@pride2. org; www.pride2.org) ... The Dutch clipper ship Stad Amsterdam is touring the West Coast of the United States this spring, and recently shared the dock with the 1863 Star of India in San Diego, giving visitors the rare sight of two 200-feet-plus square riggers side by side. Stad Amsterdam was launched in 2000 at the Damen Shipyard in the Netherlands. A full-rigged ship, she is a modern luxury cruise ship in a vessel designed along the lines of 19th-century Dutch frigate. She has a steel hull, the latest technological navigational equipment, modern amenities,
and a fully functional sailing rig. On 8 February, Stad Amsterdam pulled into San Diego and was welcomed by the Maritime Museum of San Diego crew. According to Ray Ashley, president/CEO of the museum, “Stad Amsterdam has a great likeness to the 1863 iron-hulled Star of India, 212 feet overall, the world’s oldest active sailing vessel. To witness the two vessels side by side on San Diego’s waterfront is quite a treat.” Launched as Euterpe from the Ramsey Shipyard in the Isle of Man 154 years ago, Star of India made San Diego her home port in 1927, and since then the
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money to rebuild the vessel. (You can see photos and learn more about the efforts to save Vanguard through the group’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/vanguarddunkirklittleship/) ... After marking 40 years of sailing the Chesapeake and around the world representing the city of Baltimore and state of Maryland, the administrators of the topsail schooner Pride of Baltimore II are urgently seeking new funding from government, the business sector, and the public to keep the ship operating. Pride II is undergoing maintenance early in the year as part of a 30-year refit of the vessel. Without significant new funding, it is unlikely that the ship will be able to maintain an active sailing schedule in 2018. Pride II was owned by the state of Maryland from 1988
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