Waving good-bye from shore

It seemed like only a few weeks ago that I was frantically packing up my office to go on the road. It was with nervous anticipation that I looked forward to the first stop of the series in Toronto. How would the interns be? Would they all get along? How will we make it through SIX ports without getting burnt out?  Luckily, I needn’t have worried. Brian, Patti and I bonded in the minivan for the five hour drive (and two hour wait at the US-Canada border) to the first port of Toronto. As Brian and I fought like siblings over the radio, Patti napped in the back of the van and I knew then that this summer was going to be OK.   Here is an example of what the minivan dynamics were like:

What I learned this summer…

August 27th 2010

By Samara 

This summer has gone by incredibly quickly. It is almost hard to believe that two months have passed and my internship is just days away from completion. When I stop to reflect on my time with ASTA and the tall ships this summer, it is almost overwhelming to think about the number of new people, places, and experiences I have encountered during my travels in the Great Lakes. Some things have gone well, and others not so much – so before I transition from ASTA intern to Lynx crew member on Sunday it seems appropriate to take a moment to reflect. 

In the last two months I more than doubled my sailing experience, and vastly improved not only my technical skills but also a few that helped me when I wasn’t hauling lines and doing boat checks… 

I had to drop my cookie to shoot the cannon!

Lynx and Pride approach the start Race Two

Sacrifices were made on the race committe boat Monday evening as the skipper of our 41′ ketch on the pin end of the line scrambled to keep up with the starting sequence. The cookie was still edible and the start went off with out a hitch. In fact, it was an awesome start with Lynx and Pride of Baltimore 2 both over the line within a minute of the starting cannon being fired.  Lynx blasted the race committe boat and we were once again close enough to hear the water slapping the hull of “America’s Privateer”.

Lynx blasts by the start boat Race Two

Unfortunately, Lynx couldn’t race for long and soon retired from the race and headed back down to Toledo, Ohio for a weekend festival, leaving Pride of Baltimore 2, Pathfinder and Denis Sullivan on their own. Earlier that day, Roald Amundsen and Europa had started the race together and slowly made their way north to Drummond Island. Both of them also retired early due to weekend commitments. Regardless, Pride of Baltimore 2 and Pathfinder both persevered and finished the race, with Pride of Baltimore crossing the finish line 13 hours ahead of Pathfinder. Final standings are still to be determined, however. These vessels are all handicapped to accomodate thier different rig types so who wins on the water could very well be different once thier Time Correction Factor is figured into the mix.

Pathfinder at start of Race 2

And that is exactly what happened on Sunday night after the winners for the first race from Cleveland to Pelee Passage were announced. Everyone knows that Pride of Baltimore is a fast ship. Baltimore Clippers were built for speed, at first built for moving highly perishable cargo and then later built as privateers during the American War of Independence and War of 1812, fast enough to evade the British naval vessels. With their raked masts and sharp hull, Lynx and the Pride of Baltimore just look sleek and fast (another reason why it is so exiciting to have both Lynx and Pride in the races this year, serious competition!). However, while everyone was looking at the Clippers, no one was watching the “briglette”.

The dark horse of Race One was St. Lawrence 2 out of Kingston, Ontario.  With a sparred length of 72′ she is brigantine similar to the Toronto-based brigantines, Pathfinder and Playfair (hence the “briglette”). Like Pathfinder and Playfair, St. Lawrence 2 is a youth sail training program with the captain usually the only adult on board.  Our very own Libby Drew is a crew member on board when she’s not interning with the ASTA race team.

St. Lawrence 2 and Denis Sullivan at the Race 1 start out of Cleveland

When the final results were all tallied and the handicaps factored in, St. Lawrence 2 ended up the winner of race one, beating out Pride of Baltimore 2 and Appledore V.

Here are the final results for the Race One, Cleveland to Pelee Passage

Class A
First Place-Europa (NETH)
Second Place-Roald Amundsen (GER)
Special Recognition for Dedication to the Race-Roald Amundsen

Class B, C, D
First Place-St. Lawrence 2 (CAN)
Second Place-Pride of Baltimore 2 (US)
Third Place-Appledore V (US)

Hauling lines on Pride of Baltimore 2

Tall Ship Fever!

17 July 2010- Samara

About halfway through evening watch the wind started to pick up. After a few days of traveling on nothing more than a light breeze (so light, in fact, that we were able to go swimming because the ship was not moving at all!) I was excited to put up some canvas. We set the square sails and went back below deck to finish our nightly watch duties. We were traveling north to round the “thumb” of Michigan and as our latitude increased so did the wind that filled our sails. We acted quickly to set more sails and by the end of my watch we were sailing faster than 8 knots!

When we picked up speed we also found ourselves heeled over and many of the guest crew aboard emerged from their cabins to come see what was happening on deck. There is not much else like the rush of speeding through the water on a tall ship and being the last night before we reached Bay City no one wanted to miss a thing. But when the next watch came up on deck to relieve us my exhilaration gave way to exhaustion and within moments climbing into my bunk Europa’s gentle rocking put me to sleep.

Posts from the Denis Sullivan No. 3: Of Ship’s Cats & Non-Sinkings

July 16, 2010 – 2:30pm — Natalie Joynton

Late last Monday, seventeen high school students hugged (or at least semi-embraced) their parents one last time on the dock in Cleveland before climbing aboard to sail with the Sullivan on our next leg of the journey, Bay City, Michigan. Fit for a crew of 32, the Sullivan was at full capacity—all bunks occupied—as we motored up the blue Detroit River, day and night, through St. Claire Lake and River, and finally, set sail in Lake Huron. 

Click here to keep reading about Natalie’s journey on the Denis Sullivan

I LOVE BAY CITY, MICHIGAN!

By Libby

I had heard that Bay City was a wonderful city to have the TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE® in. But I had no idea just how welcoming and hospitable the people and organizers of the festival would be. Basically the way to a sailor’s heart (while in port) is through: showers, laundry and lots of free food and beverages, which is exactly what we got upon our arrival. Personally I was the happiest about showers after getting intimate with Denis Sullivan’s anchor chain on the second night of the voyage, but I know that everyone in the fleet enjoyed the welcome BBQ last night.

A warm welcome in Bay City

Early morning enthusiasts

Here are some shots of the fleet along the waterfront in Bay City. It is a beautiful summer day and it seems as though the entire town has turned out to welcome the ships. Stay tuned for an update from Libby…

Appledore IV and V on their first sails of the day

 

Mitch on the Bounty

A report from an embedded intern on Europa

13 July 2010 – By Samara

We might have won the race. At least after twelve hours of sail handling – tacking, wearing, and setting and striking almost all of Europa’s sails – it feels like we should have.

Yesterday morning we bid farewell to Cleveland and headed out into the harbor for the first race of the Great Lakes United TALL SHIPS CHALLENGE^® 2010. Along with more than ten other tall ships we set sail and maneuvered around to starting line in preparation to begin the race. This was my first experience in a tall ship race, let alone a sailing race of any kind, and needless to say I was somewhat taken aback to see all of the ships spread out over the harbor in what looked to be anything but the beginning of an organized race! But my surprise quickly dispelled when I realized that, unlike the small boat racing I had seen on television, tall ships need more space and time to navigate – of course we couldn’t tack and wear right at the starting line. When it was time to begin the race we came around between the race boats and followed Roald Amundsen across the starting point towards Pelee Passage under full sail.

Flying everything but their underwear

Pride, Lynx and Appledore 5

Monday morning dawned grey and drizzly. As the Edgewater Yacht Club volunteers headed to their boats, there was hope that the sun would stop playing around and make an appearance. Once out on the lake, the start boat dropped anchor at 10:15am and prepped the boat for the race start. We weren’t the only ones out on the water. St. Lawrence 2 was having a blast playing around and enjoying the wind that had picked up. They were zipping around with all their sails up and looked like they were having a great time out on the water.  For the next hour, we watched the ships slowly make their way out to the start line from the Port of Cleveland. Many of the ships decided to have a little warm up and soon enough, Europa, Lynx, Pride of Baltimore 2, Pathfinder and Appledore V had thrown up their sails and were enjoying the wind and the sun, which had finally decided to come out.

A “Green Village” is Growing at Tall Ship Celebration

April 22, 2010-News Announcement from Bay City

[Bay City, Michigan] What started as a way to talk about the importance of water conservation has become a hands-on primer on sustainable communities. Indeed, it is a “community” of area businesses and organizations that are growing into the Great Lakes United Green Village at Tall Ship Celebration. Located just south of the admission gate under Vets Bridge in Veterans Memorial Park, the Green Village will feature interactive experiences and information about the little things individuals can do that will make a big difference to the Great Lakes. There is no additional fee for the Green Village experience. All that is required is a passion for the Great Lakes and a thirst for information.