Editor's Note: Katie is currently sailing aboard St. Lawrence II across Lake Superior. We'll be catching up with her on Thursday at the Festival of Sail Two Harbors event.
Looking back on my experiences with the Pride of Baltimore II, I wonder: where do I even begin? In the two weeks I’ve been here, I’ve experienced so many things and learned so much that trying to encapsulate it all in one blog post seems nearly impossible. Instead, I’ll try to split up the many memories I have into the various parts of the day that I spent on board with such incredible people.
Mornings were filled with 3am A watch conversations about what foods fall into the categories of a sandwich, a salad, a loaf, and an omelet, as well as boat checks in the stuffy engine room and the dim red lights that would light up belowdecks with an enticing glow. Mornings tasted like Morning Star vegetarian sausage patties and black coffee downed in an already-doomed attempt to be completely awake. They felt like the scratchy wool blankets I curled up in after the 12-4 watch and sounded like the soft conversation of my crewmates at breakfast that would just barely wake me up.
Afternoons on Pride were generally either sweaty or slightly rainy affairs with the dark blue of Lake Huron stretching out from either side for as far as we could see while guest crew enjoyed the views. Afternoons were more myriad— we could haul lines, do maintenance if at port, sleep, go on a coffee run, or even go swimming like we did right outside a beautiful Canadian island when we dropped anchor, built a rope swing, and threw ourselves into Lake Huron. Afternoons meant burgers or sandwiches or whatever other delicious food our cook came up with, content creation, rough waters, deck tours, oiling the mast in a bosun’s chair, inside jokes galore, and climbing out on the head rig to furl the staysail. It was in the afternoons where I learned how to tie a bowline, climb eighty feet into the air and not feel fear, and that children don’t understand jokes or private property (courtesy of Remy).
Evenings consisted of crosswords in my bunk, making warm tea for my crewmates, watching Oh Brother Where Art Thou? or Waterworld, laughing with the crew around the dinner table while underway or going out with them on excursions while at port. In the evenings I met the crew of the Nao Trinidad (¡hola!), got thrown into a river in Alpena by the first mate (Fern, if you’re reading this, I LOVE YOU), and sat with my (super cool) crewmates Lucy and William in a taxidermy-filled restaurant. Evenings I hauled lines by moonlight and saw stars brighter than I’d ever seen, stars so bright it took my breath away. Evenings I laughed with crewmates on the galley sole and ate leftovers in the wee hours of the day. Evenings had stunning skies and the gentle rocking of the ship that lulled me to sleep.
I’ll move onto the St. Lawrence II tonight, but I’ll never forget the Pride crew and the family I’ve had here. Thank you for filling my heart with so much love.
For videos and more photos of Katie and the Race Team's adventures, follow us on Instagram @tallshipsamerica. You can follow Pride of Baltimore @prideofbaltimore and St. Lawrence II @tallshipsl2