I’m not sure what I expected when I signed on as guest crew for a week aboard Pride of Baltimore II. But in the windy rain, my fingers sticky with tar as I helped tension the rig, I sure didn’t expect this.
We were holed up behind Cape Fear, North Carolina, making repairs after the jibboom had snapped off in heavy seas the day before near Cape Lookout 70 miles to the northeast. Helping to rig a temporary stay for the fore topmast, I thought of the countless sailors who must have done the exact thing in this very place. Over the centuries, this anchorage had likely seen many a crew licking their wounds and repairing broken gear after a tussle with the treacherous waters of Cape Hatteras.
And although sorry to see Pride II damaged, I can’t deny that I was enjoying the chance to help jury rig repairs—not a typical offering in this fabled ship’s sailing itinerary.
I’ve messed about in boats for a lifetime, but this was my first time aboard a tall ship. For a week I enjoyed (and endured) the life of a deckhand; climbed the foremast, manned the wheel, felt the
