I will be asking our board to prioritize finding additional ways to make Pride of Baltimore II an agent of change. This will not be doled out to a committee. It will be addressed thoughtfully by the full board of directors with all of our committees working in concert toward that common goal. We will look to ensure more opportunities for diversity in hiring of crew, staff, vendors, and consultants. We will seek more funding for programs that facilitate access for minority communities so that they, too, feel welcomed in the harbors we visit and aboard the ship itself. And we will work tirelessly to raise more money to educate communities about job opportunities in sailing and port communities. I have also asked the board to direct our staff to focus more of our grant writing to fund programs that will support underserved communities’ access to our education programs for free. The board, staff, and shipboard crew will undertake continual
diversity, inclusion, and bias training to ensure that we improve the culture of our organization now and going forward. We will then take our action plan to the entire tall ship community and serve as an agent of change there, too. There is a lot of listening, planning, and action to be done over the next few months for Pride to return in 2021, stronger not just for our home city and state, but as a thought and cultural leader for systemic change. Silence is not an option, and listening without action is unacceptable. If we are truly committed, we need each and every one of you as friends of Pride to support the board, staff, and crew. We want your time, stories, input, and of course donations to help put these plans into action. I welcome your input. Fairer winds, Jayson T. Williams Chair of the Board of Directors, Pride of Baltimore. Inc.
Baltimore clippers gained fame during the War of 1812 as fast, maneuverable vessels, ideal for use as privateers. The topsail schooner Pride of Baltimore II is a historically evocative reproduction of one of the most famous of these privateers, Chasseur. Pride II and Pride of Baltimore before her have sailed both local waters and the world’s oceans promoting maritime history and education, fostering economic development and tourism, and representing the people of Maryland in ports throughout the world. Since her commissioning in 1988, Pride II has sailed more than 275,000 nautical miles and visited more than 200 ports in 40 countries. (To learn more about Pride of Baltimore II, visit www.pride2.org.)
Riveting News from USLHS/USCGC Lilac!
—Mary Hasbritt
photos courtesy lilac preservation project
USCGC Lilac in 1969
T
he first new rivets in more than 80 years have been driven on the US Lighthouse Tender Lilac. The ship usually opens for the summer on Memorial Day weekend with birthday cake for all visitors to celebrate the anniversary of her launch on 26 May 1933. Some months ago, our youngest volunteer (who turned seven years old herself on May 8th) suggested that, for Lilac’s birthday, people could have cake while the ship should get oil. The suggestion was heard loud and clear! Although the ship is closed to the public due to the pandemic, essential volunteer crew shared cake and the old girl received oil—but also a gift of rivets in honor of her 87th year. Operations Director Luke Gayford had been fabricating and preparing a new knee for the bulkhead in what was originally the crew head on the starboard side of the fo’c’sle. Only twelve rivets were driven, but the work symbolized the progress being made towards future operation of the vessel. Gayford, a skilled welder, has brought with him decades
(above) Six of 12 rivets are in place. The knee on the other side of this bulkhead had been held in place by bolts until they were replaced by rivets. (middle photo) Volunteer Joe Casey cooks his first rivet, while Angus McCamy looks on. of experience in ship restoration gained with the Sydney [Australia] Heritage Fleet, and he is training a core crew of volunteers to fix critical issues that will bring the ship closer to operating condition. Last fall, the engineering crew under the direction of Jon Zepp, a steam engineer with years of experience as a crewmember with the Liberty ship SS John W. Brown, got the starboard engine cranked over, so both of the triple expansion engines are nearly ready. A fundraising campaign is underway to bring this oldest surviving lighthouse tender back to life as a passenger vessel. For more details on Lilac’s progress and ways to help, visit the Lilac Preservation Project’s website at www.lilacpreservationproject.org or contact Museum Director Mary Habstritt at mary@ lilacpreservationproject.org; Ph. 917 709-5291.
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