If endless buffets, dressing up for the Captain’s Ball, or waiting to see what animal shape your beach towels have been folded into is your idea of ​​fun at sea, then Pride of Baltimore II’s Guest Crew Program probably isn’t for you.

But if you want to work with a crew, haul in lines, furl sails, keep watch in the middle of the night and help maintain a tall ship whose design dates back to the 18th century, then you’re in for a treat.^th Century, then you have found your people.

For more than 30 years, Pride of Baltimore II has offered an immersive experience, with volunteers paying about $150 per day for overnight excursions – some lasting more than a week or more at sea aboard the topsail schooner. Guests pay to work with the ship’s professional crew and participate in all facets of shipboard life, based on the guest’s ability and interest.

“It’s not a five-star hotel experience,” joked Patrick Smith, who has been with the Pride organization for more than a decade. “The best way to describe it is as a glamping experience. You share a cabin, have running water and meals, but it’s definitely not a luxury experience.”

The schooner was launched in Baltimore in 1988 and is based on the Baltimore Clippers, which became famous as privateer ships in the War of 1812. They were built as small, maneuverable and fast merchant ships. The Pride II, the second reproduction, was built as a tribute to a 1986 ship that was hit and sunk by a storm near Puerto Rico.

Pride II normally sails with a professional crew of 12, including captain, ship’s cook, two mates, deck chief, engineer and six deck hands. There are three passenger cabins, each with two guest crew berths, allowing up to six guest crew members to share accommodation. The guest crew cabins are double rooms with two cozy single berths and all guest crew members share one bathroom.

Crew members eat in the main salon and are served buffet-style meals from the galley. “You can have pork chops one night and stir-fry the next night, but you definitely won’t have a candy bar at midnight,” Smith said.

Because the deck on Pride II is open and the weather is unpredictable, guests are advised to pack for sun, rain and gusty winds and prepare for rough conditions that are likely to cause seasickness.

Charles Scott, an experienced sailor from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who has logged 25,000 nautical miles on numerous ocean crossings, wrote in Sailing Magazine about his experience as a guest crew member. Scott, who titled his trip report “Disaster aboard the Pride of Baltimore II,” signed up for an 800-mile crossing from Jacksonville, Florida, to Baltimore to fulfill a lifelong dream.

“I’m not sure what I expected when I signed up for a week as guest crew aboard the Pride of Baltimore II. But with the blustery rain and tar-covered fingers as I helped tighten the rigging, I certainly didn’t expect this,” Scott wrote of the experience that tested his sailing skills.

“We were holed up behind Cape Fear, North Carolina, making repairs after the jib boom had broken off in heavy seas the day before near Cape Lookout, 70 miles northeast. As I helped rig a makeshift support for the foremast, I thought of the countless sailors who must have done just that in that exact spot,” he wrote. Over the centuries, this anchorage had likely seen many crew members lick their wounds and repair broken equipment after battling the treacherous waters of Cape Hatteras.”

Scott’s encounter was unusual, Smith said, adding that the crew is prepared for possible scenarios. “One sail may be flat and have no wind, but another may have to wait out a storm.” And just recently, the sail had to postpone a trip in Plymouth, Massachusetts, because of Hurricane Debby. “Every sail is unique,” Smith said.

Although Charles Scott’s sailing trip did not live up to his expectations, he wrote that it would not be his last. “Shortly after we docked, the crew began to say their goodbyes and head home to their families (and some to the local pub). I sat on deck enjoying the evening’s quiet. I had fulfilled a lifelong dream and the active week on board gave me the confidence that I could continue the sailing life for many years to come. I look forward to joining again.” Pride II She is scheduled to visit the Great Lakes in 2025, and I am marking my calendar for the opportunity to relive the bygone days of sailing.”

Pride II has loyal followers who are frequent guest crew members, like Greg Bower, who drives three hours from Central Pennsylvania to sail on Pride II and has been a guest crew member a dozen times. “I remember the feeling I had the first time I sailed,” Bower said. “I didn’t know the crew and I didn’t know the ship. I walked on the ship wide-eyed and excited. The captains and crew are all amazing.” As a bonus, Bower said he’s made friends from all over whose paths would never have crossed otherwise. “Every time I step off the boat, I look forward to the next time.

Bower is one of many who sail frequently. “We have a core group of guest crew who have been sailing for 20 years,” Smith said. “They come back every year and catch up with their former guests. What we’ve found is that our guest crew start out as strangers, and they stay in touch and sail together. They’ve become lifelong friends, and that’s special.”

Related