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Pride of the Sea: Courage, Disaster, and a Fight for Survival
In the tradition of The Perfect Storm and In the Heart of the Sea comes this riveting account of the survivors of the Pride of Baltimore.
On a warm spring morning in May 1986, twelve crew members were crossing the Atlantic on perhaps the most historically accurate sailboat of its day, the Pride of Baltimore. The wind was brisk. The mood was relaxed as the crew snapped their souvenir photos. They were on the journey home, completely unaware of the desperate fight for survival that was to come. Within hours, in a small patch of the Bermuda Triangle, a sudden, fierce storm would roar across the ocean, its 70-knot winds overwhelming the ship. Within minutes, the schooner sank in 17,000 feet of water, leaving four people dead and eight locked in a terrifying battle against the sea. In this harrowing account, veteran journalist Tom Waldron takes readers inside the Pride of Baltimore, from her glory days to her disastrous final voyage, and into the lives of those who survived her sinking and those who never came home.
Built to historical standards, the 90-foot-long ship was considered the most beautiful topsail schooner in the world, and had been welcomed as a symbol of international goodwill in ports from Scandinavia to Spain and to London, where she received a royal welcome at Tower Bridge. But with that historical accuracy came a price. Design decisions made a decade earlier, such as having no watertight compartments below deck, helped seal the fate of the vessel and her crew. And many, including Captain Armin Elsaesser III, voiced concerns about whether a boat built for speed--not stability--was really safe enough to sail across the ocean. Through extensive research and interviews with the surivors, Waldron explores the disturbing questions surrounding the loss of the Pride. He recounts the fascinating history of the beautiful clipper, the stories of the men and women aboard, and the brutal days they spent adrift, suffering from exposure, dehydration, hunger, and mind-numbing fear.
From the carefree departure from the Virgin Islands through every last, terrifying minute of survival at sea to the bittersweet homecoming in Baltimore, Waldron brings life to a story of courage and heartbreak in taught prose and vivid detail. Above all, Pride of the Sea is a moving story of heroism in the face of an overwhelming disaster, of those willing to lay down their lives for others, and of the human will to survive against all odds.
On a warm spring morning in May 1986, twelve crew members were crossing the Atlantic on perhaps the most historically accurate sailboat of its day, the Pride of Baltimore. The wind was brisk. The mood was relaxed as the crew snapped their souvenir photos. They were on the journey home, completely unaware of the desperate fight for survival that was to come. Within hours, in a small patch of the Bermuda Triangle, a sudden, fierce storm would roar across the ocean, its 70-knot winds overwhelming the ship. Within minutes, the schooner sank in 17,000 feet of water, leaving four people dead and eight locked in a terrifying battle against the sea. In this harrowing account, veteran journalist Tom Waldron takes readers inside the Pride of Baltimore, from her glory days to her disastrous final voyage, and into the lives of those who survived her sinking and those who never came home.
Built to historical standards, the 90-foot-long ship was considered the most beautiful topsail schooner in the world, and had been welcomed as a symbol of international goodwill in ports from Scandinavia to Spain and to London, where she received a royal welcome at Tower Bridge. But with that historical accuracy came a price. Design decisions made a decade earlier, such as having no watertight compartments below deck, helped seal the fate of the vessel and her crew. And many, including Captain Armin Elsaesser III, voiced concerns about whether a boat built for speed--not stability--was really safe enough to sail across the ocean. Through extensive research and interviews with the surivors, Waldron explores the disturbing questions surrounding the loss of the Pride. He recounts the fascinating history of the beautiful clipper, the stories of the men and women aboard, and the brutal days they spent adrift, suffering from exposure, dehydration, hunger, and mind-numbing fear.
From the carefree departure from the Virgin Islands through every last, terrifying minute of survival at sea to the bittersweet homecoming in Baltimore, Waldron brings life to a story of courage and heartbreak in taught prose and vivid detail. Above all, Pride of the Sea is a moving story of heroism in the face of an overwhelming disaster, of those willing to lay down their lives for others, and of the human will to survive against all odds.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
320 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 11, 2024
This is a story about a clipper ship named the Pride of Baltimore, about the tragedy of her lose at sea and the people who died with her, about the survival of eight members of the crew and about people who search for the ultimate thrill.
This reviewer is a native of Baltimore who like most Baltimorean’s had a love and took pride in this beautiful clipper schooner. The schooner was built in Baltimore’s inner harbor and many a citizen walked by the construction and admired the craftsmanship going into the clipper ship named, The Pride of Baltimore.
On a Saturday or Sunday morning back in the day, it was so far back that specific details are gone, yet I remember it like yesterday; my father said, “Bill let’s go and see The Pride as she leaves port” I wonder now was she embarking on her tragic trip…I just don’t know! I was not sure what he was talking about at that time, yet he seemed to have thought this trip through, so I went along. He headed to East Baltimore, an area with abandoned buildings and wharfs, he drove through what appeared to be a vacant lot and at the end was a long forgotten old wharf. it was almost directly across from the famous McCormack’s Spice Company wharf whose sign is another iconic signature of Baltimore. I pondered; how did he know about this place, an isolated stretch of Baltimore wharf? After a ten- or fifteen-minute wait, she went by, like a cloud, her sails were full, a wonder to behold, she moved quickly and silently over the water. My father looked at me with a gleam in his eye and said, “isn’t she beautiful!” Back in the car and headed home he was still somewhat mesmerized, and he said, “I believe in a previous life I sailed on those clippers”.
His fascination with the sea was a part of him that surfaced now and again. He once wrote a paper on the naval ship, Constellation that is docked close by the berth of The Pride. He gathered the material for his article from stories in The Baltimore Sunpaper and police reports of calls to investigate mysterious lights and movements on the ship late at night. The stories regaled readers about ghostly sightings by police, tourists, and custodians of the old ship. He seemed struck about the sightings of a young cabin boy who haunts the ship; somehow, he identified with the child’s hard existence and attachment to the vessel.
This story also triggered other thoughts and took me back to a girl I once knew, her name was Nancy and my relationship with her was a friendship based on business, but she fascinated me. She was from old money and lived in the historic town of Annapolis. The intriguing thing about her was her zest for life, she constantly sought out adventure. One such adventure consisted of crewing on sloops racing on the Chesapeake Bay, Mostly on Spring and Summer weekends. I would call her early in the next week to live vicariously through her weekend adventures. Sometimes they won and sometimes they lost, yet winning or losing was not the point, the thrill of the race was the point, and it made all the hard work worthwhile for her. She even told me about the time that her mistakes in handling the sails cost a race……it just didn’t matter, her goal was always the thrill of being under sail on the Bay! I wish I was still in contact with her just so we could discuss this book.
Tom Waldron has written a page turner; his telling makes the reader believe that Tom was on the deck when the Clipper went down. This is a tribute to his writing style and his skill in thoroughly performing his research. He takes us from the idea of building an architecturally correct Baltimore Clipper to the aftermath of its sinking and the surviving crew’s eventual rescue. This reviewer found the sinking and the crew’s time spent on the raft riveting and very unsettling, to the point where you question your own ability to cope in such a tragedy.
Beyond the historical narrative, I became enamored by the people who made up this crew and the how they came to be on this stricken Clipper. I believe Waldron had the same fascination because he spends considerable time presenting a biographical sketch and the personalities of each crew member. This is where my thoughts went back to Nancy………they were just like her! For the most part, these people came from comfortable lifestyles. They abandoned at least temporarily the traditional life choices, home, college, marriage, children, and the expected climb up the corporate ladder. They substituted for the easy life a test of themselves with the hard work and the difficult existence of crewing a sailing ship on the ocean. This gave me a pause, and I find it hard to fully understand. Yet, a certain special kind of person does exactly that and I consider them amazing. It is pointed out many times by Waldron that they were survivors not heroes, and yet!? During the sinking and the ordeal on the life raft, each performed in a way that demonstrated strength of character, concern for others and a will to live; in my mind, this is the nature of valor. The whole idea of this dangerous clipper going around the world with young people who reject the traditional approaches to life touched me deeply, the explanation for my feelings may only be found with the help of a Sigmund Freud!
After the sinking and the riveting chapters on survival, Waldron brought us back to the life we all know and hate, politics, and investigations to find a scapegoat (one that bears the blame for others).
Waldron avoided being judgmental, he presented all the facts and left it to the reader to judge, yet, of course, the reader could guess his views based on how he presented the facts, and this reviewer does judge.
I don’t understand the value of having this clipper travelling the World to advertise the City of Baltimore. The accountant in me would have to see the value added versus the cost of the ventures. It was not envisioned when the builder crafted this replica, that his replica would sail the oceans of this world, it was envisioned to be a museum on the promenade of the inner harbor to attract visitors. It was an exhibit of historical construction techniques while depicting for all to see what clipper schooners looked like and how their speed helped the privateers of the War of 1812 frustrate the bigger British man of wars.
The ship had no sealed compartments, the Broad of directors never asked the Coast Guard to inspect and certify this ship. Millions of taxpayer dollars went into the construction and maintenance of this vessel and for what? I believe the politicians, the Board of Directors and even the builders got caught up in this project so much that they lost sight of the original purpose of the construction and sent a dangerous ship out into the oceans of the world with inexperienced young people performing very dangerous tasks. While a few of the crew were quite experienced there were others out for the first time on a dangerous ship.
To say I enjoyed this story would be an understatement, I could not put the book down and when I did put it down, my thoughts stayed with the story. Waldron did a great job, and I believe it was a labor of love for him.
If you live in a coastal community, if you love and fear the sea, if you are fascinated by boats, you will enjoy this story of the building, crewing, and sinking of the Pride of Baltimore.
This reviewer is a native of Baltimore who like most Baltimorean’s had a love and took pride in this beautiful clipper schooner. The schooner was built in Baltimore’s inner harbor and many a citizen walked by the construction and admired the craftsmanship going into the clipper ship named, The Pride of Baltimore.
On a Saturday or Sunday morning back in the day, it was so far back that specific details are gone, yet I remember it like yesterday; my father said, “Bill let’s go and see The Pride as she leaves port” I wonder now was she embarking on her tragic trip…I just don’t know! I was not sure what he was talking about at that time, yet he seemed to have thought this trip through, so I went along. He headed to East Baltimore, an area with abandoned buildings and wharfs, he drove through what appeared to be a vacant lot and at the end was a long forgotten old wharf. it was almost directly across from the famous McCormack’s Spice Company wharf whose sign is another iconic signature of Baltimore. I pondered; how did he know about this place, an isolated stretch of Baltimore wharf? After a ten- or fifteen-minute wait, she went by, like a cloud, her sails were full, a wonder to behold, she moved quickly and silently over the water. My father looked at me with a gleam in his eye and said, “isn’t she beautiful!” Back in the car and headed home he was still somewhat mesmerized, and he said, “I believe in a previous life I sailed on those clippers”.
His fascination with the sea was a part of him that surfaced now and again. He once wrote a paper on the naval ship, Constellation that is docked close by the berth of The Pride. He gathered the material for his article from stories in The Baltimore Sunpaper and police reports of calls to investigate mysterious lights and movements on the ship late at night. The stories regaled readers about ghostly sightings by police, tourists, and custodians of the old ship. He seemed struck about the sightings of a young cabin boy who haunts the ship; somehow, he identified with the child’s hard existence and attachment to the vessel.
This story also triggered other thoughts and took me back to a girl I once knew, her name was Nancy and my relationship with her was a friendship based on business, but she fascinated me. She was from old money and lived in the historic town of Annapolis. The intriguing thing about her was her zest for life, she constantly sought out adventure. One such adventure consisted of crewing on sloops racing on the Chesapeake Bay, Mostly on Spring and Summer weekends. I would call her early in the next week to live vicariously through her weekend adventures. Sometimes they won and sometimes they lost, yet winning or losing was not the point, the thrill of the race was the point, and it made all the hard work worthwhile for her. She even told me about the time that her mistakes in handling the sails cost a race……it just didn’t matter, her goal was always the thrill of being under sail on the Bay! I wish I was still in contact with her just so we could discuss this book.
Tom Waldron has written a page turner; his telling makes the reader believe that Tom was on the deck when the Clipper went down. This is a tribute to his writing style and his skill in thoroughly performing his research. He takes us from the idea of building an architecturally correct Baltimore Clipper to the aftermath of its sinking and the surviving crew’s eventual rescue. This reviewer found the sinking and the crew’s time spent on the raft riveting and very unsettling, to the point where you question your own ability to cope in such a tragedy.
Beyond the historical narrative, I became enamored by the people who made up this crew and the how they came to be on this stricken Clipper. I believe Waldron had the same fascination because he spends considerable time presenting a biographical sketch and the personalities of each crew member. This is where my thoughts went back to Nancy………they were just like her! For the most part, these people came from comfortable lifestyles. They abandoned at least temporarily the traditional life choices, home, college, marriage, children, and the expected climb up the corporate ladder. They substituted for the easy life a test of themselves with the hard work and the difficult existence of crewing a sailing ship on the ocean. This gave me a pause, and I find it hard to fully understand. Yet, a certain special kind of person does exactly that and I consider them amazing. It is pointed out many times by Waldron that they were survivors not heroes, and yet!? During the sinking and the ordeal on the life raft, each performed in a way that demonstrated strength of character, concern for others and a will to live; in my mind, this is the nature of valor. The whole idea of this dangerous clipper going around the world with young people who reject the traditional approaches to life touched me deeply, the explanation for my feelings may only be found with the help of a Sigmund Freud!
After the sinking and the riveting chapters on survival, Waldron brought us back to the life we all know and hate, politics, and investigations to find a scapegoat (one that bears the blame for others).
Waldron avoided being judgmental, he presented all the facts and left it to the reader to judge, yet, of course, the reader could guess his views based on how he presented the facts, and this reviewer does judge.
I don’t understand the value of having this clipper travelling the World to advertise the City of Baltimore. The accountant in me would have to see the value added versus the cost of the ventures. It was not envisioned when the builder crafted this replica, that his replica would sail the oceans of this world, it was envisioned to be a museum on the promenade of the inner harbor to attract visitors. It was an exhibit of historical construction techniques while depicting for all to see what clipper schooners looked like and how their speed helped the privateers of the War of 1812 frustrate the bigger British man of wars.
The ship had no sealed compartments, the Broad of directors never asked the Coast Guard to inspect and certify this ship. Millions of taxpayer dollars went into the construction and maintenance of this vessel and for what? I believe the politicians, the Board of Directors and even the builders got caught up in this project so much that they lost sight of the original purpose of the construction and sent a dangerous ship out into the oceans of the world with inexperienced young people performing very dangerous tasks. While a few of the crew were quite experienced there were others out for the first time on a dangerous ship.
To say I enjoyed this story would be an understatement, I could not put the book down and when I did put it down, my thoughts stayed with the story. Waldron did a great job, and I believe it was a labor of love for him.
If you live in a coastal community, if you love and fear the sea, if you are fascinated by boats, you will enjoy this story of the building, crewing, and sinking of the Pride of Baltimore.
April 14, 2017
"As with all catastrophes, there was no one thing that went wrong."
A heart-rending account of the magnificent re-creation of a Baltimore clipper ship, wherein the commitment to historical accuracy and authenticity outweighed modern safety standards and compromised the crew sailing her across the Atlantic. Anyone who loves stories of the sea and shipwreck accounts will devour this.
A heart-rending account of the magnificent re-creation of a Baltimore clipper ship, wherein the commitment to historical accuracy and authenticity outweighed modern safety standards and compromised the crew sailing her across the Atlantic. Anyone who loves stories of the sea and shipwreck accounts will devour this.
July 26, 2016
The title doesn't really give away what this is about, so I will be brief in it. The book is about the Pride of Baltimore, which was a Clipper ship that was used hundreds a years ago and one was constructed in the 70's in the city of Baltimore to attract attention and tourism. Then it talks about its story going forward.
The author did a good job of giving the history of how the ship was thought of and constructed without going off in multiple directions. He also did a good job of the people involved and giving their back story without saying more than what was needed. I don't want to give away spoilers, but the book is about the sinking of ship in 86' that resulted in deaths. Again I don't want to say how many or who. One thing is do not look at the pictures in the middle or you will learn what happened...
Good book though and glad I was able to read it.
The author did a good job of giving the history of how the ship was thought of and constructed without going off in multiple directions. He also did a good job of the people involved and giving their back story without saying more than what was needed. I don't want to give away spoilers, but the book is about the sinking of ship in 86' that resulted in deaths. Again I don't want to say how many or who. One thing is do not look at the pictures in the middle or you will learn what happened...
Good book though and glad I was able to read it.
June 19, 2008
I learned a great deal about sailing the old wooden ships of the 18th century, and how it's done nowadays. In short, it's very scary, cold and wet. If you like sailing or Baltimore, you might go for this book. It's pretty good, fairly well written, and moves along quickly. I got to know people well and cared about them. I did not get interested in sailing, but was not interested to begin with.
February 9, 2020
The sinking of the Pride of Baltimore is tragic, but problems with the ship’s design were predictive. This is a gripping story of survival, except for the last several chapters that track the repercussions of the sinking.
August 29, 2007
Gripping account of the final voyage of the Pride of Baltimore.
June 14, 2008
Frightening and true. When original and final use do not match up, the results can be devastating.
February 14, 2016
The best!! This is a true story and one that should be required reading for anyone who sails.
October 25, 2010
good read
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews