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A symbol of the rich history and beauty of Chesapeake Bay region, the Pride of Baltimore and the '''Pride of Baltimore II''' were and are reproductions of 19th Century Baltimore Clippers named for the legendary Baltimore built topsail schooner ''Chasseur'' sailed by the privateer Thomas Boyle. She was known as the "Pride of Baltimore" and fought valiantly to help a young America make her mark during the War Of 1812 . One of the most famous of the American privateers, Captain Thomas Boyle sailed his Baltimore Clipper, Chasseur, out of Fells Point, where she had been launched from Thomas Kemp's shipyard in 1812. On his first voyage as master of Chasseur in 1814, Boyle unexpectedly sailed east, directly to the British Isles, where he unmercifully harassed the British merchant fleet. In a characteristically audacious act, he sent a notice to the King by way of a captured merchant vessel that he had released for the purpose. The notice, he commanded, was to be posted on the door of Lloyd's of London, the famous shipping underwriters. In it he declared that the entire British Isles were under naval blockade by Chasseur alone! This affront sent the shipping community into panic and caused the Admiralty to call vessels home from the American war to guard merchant ships which had to sail in convoys. In all, Chasseur captured or sank 17 vessels before returning home. On Chasseur's triumphal return to Baltimore on March 25, 1815, the Niles Weekly Register dubbed the ship, her captain, and crew the "pride of Baltimore" for their daring exploits. Commissioned in 1977 , the ''Pride of Baltimore'' helped revitalize both Baltimore and America's connection with her rich historic sailing roots. The ''Pride of Baltimore II'' has taken on her predecessor's mantle, commissioned in 1988 , she is a sailing memorial to the original Pride and has travelled the world as a Goodwill Ambassador from Baltimore and the State of Maryland . PRIDE OF BALTIMORE Early in 1975 , the City of Baltimore set upon a plan to revitalize the Downtown and Inner Harbor areas with an ambitious project at the center of which was the pride and symbol of Baltimore's long and storied history with seafaring. Thus, the Pride of Baltimore was conceived, "an authentic example of an historic Baltimore Clipper" stated an official notice by the city in the Baltimore Sun , requesting proposals for the design of which would include "Construction materials, methods, tools, and procedures are to be typical of the period." Designed by Thomas Gilmer, master shipwright Melbourne Smith oversaw the construction of the vessel next to the Maryland Science Center in the heart of downtown Baltimore. Thousands of Baltimore locals and curious visitors would come to witness the craftsmen working with tools and techniques not unfamiliar to a Baltimore two centuries prior. Then congresswoman Barbara Mikulski would perform the Launching ceremonies on February 27 , 1977 just 10 short months after the start of construction. The ''Pride of Baltimore'' was commissioned with great fanfare on behalf of the citizens of Baltimore and Maryland by the Mayor William Donald Schaefer two months later on May 1 , 1977 . No museum vessel tied up to a dock was she, travelling over 150,000 miles during her nine years of service. A true ambassador for Baltimore and Maryland, the Pride would visit ports along the Eastern Seaboard from Newfoundland to the Florida Keys , the Great Lakes , the Caribbean and the West Coast from Mexico to British Columbia . She visited European ports across the Atlantic in the North Sea , the Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean . Tragically, the Pride was struck with what the US Coast Guard would later describe as a microburst Squall some 250 miles north of Puerto Rico on May 14 , 1986 . The vessel was hit with 80 mile hour winds, capsizing and sinking her. Her Captain and 3 crew were lost, and the remaining 8 crewmembers floated helplessly for four days and seven hours with little food or water until they were rescued by the Norwegian tanker ''Toro''. The crewmembers lost were Captain Armin Elsaesser, 42; Vincent Lazarro, 27, Engineer; Barry Duckworth, 29, Carpenter; and Nina Schack, 23, Seaman. They are remembered to this day with a memorial to the original Pride and her crew on Rash Field in the Inner Harbor. PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II The ''Pride of Baltimore II'' is an American sailing ship owned by the citizens of the state of Maryland , and operated by Pride, inc., a private, non-profit organization. She was launched in 1988 after the loss of the first Pride of Baltimore, and continues the role of Maryland's Flagship and Goodwill Ambassador, promoting business and tourism in Maryland. While not a replica of any specific vessel, Pride II represents a type of vessel known as a Baltimore Clipper. These schooners were developed and used as privateers during the War of 1812. Pride II is a Topsail Schooner , with two large gaff sails (one on a boom and one loose-footed), a main gaff topsail, several headsails, and a square topsail and flying topgallant on the foremast. She also flies studding sails (stun's'ls), rare on modern traditional sailing vessels. These additional sails are set along the edge of the square topsail and the mainsail, supported by additional spars known as stun's'l booms. REFERENCES
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