JTBoh
I sell signage and signage accessories.
So was on a weather site this AM - saw an old news article about the Lady Maryland, and it inspired me to write a little bit of history down. At the time, didn't realize it was an old news article.... but it all worked out.
Hidden History:
I used to work for Living Classrooms Foundation - they ran the Seaport Taxis in baltimore harbor, and I was first mate for them.
Back in 2004, we had one of our boats capsize during a microburst thunderstorm, with 85 MPH winds, with 5 souls lost... there's articles on that.
What isn't known is the personal experiences of myself - I was on our only other boat on the harbor that day - everyone else was tied up. Captain John Wheeler Glenn (RIP) was at the helm, and because he was a bit of a yahoo, he decided to make the run to Fells Point from Harborplace, "ahead" of the storm. We had received no messages from Base (see below note) that a storm was approaching, nor of the severity - The NWS only issued a warning after it had passed.
Our vessel was the "Eagle" - a 54" pontoon, with 13' of beam. It was wide, long, and a floating box. On MY vessel, roughly 3.5 times the size of the capsized Lady D, the rain started, then the wind. I watched as we started to keel over to starboard, and once we got to about a 15 degree angle (which, by the way, is very significant on a boat), I instructed passengers to "IMMEDIATELY MOVE HERE", as ballast. The gust lasted maybe 15 seconds - 10 of which had passengers preventing our boat from flipping over as well. If the port side pontoon had lifted from the water, I think that we would have been underwater.
We continued on, and dropped our load at fells point. By this time, radio calls had been made trying to raise the Lady D, with no success. Information began to trickle in on Channel 16 regarding the launch of a landing craft from Fort McHenry, and a boat capsized in the harbor. We picked up our Fleet Captain and went out, in 3' seas in Baltimore Harbor (which simply does not happen) and performed rescue operations - which, by that time, entailed me standing on the front deck with a boat hook, life jacket, and a rope ladder. We didn't pull anyone from the harbor that day - just life jackets for a count. First time in my life that I drank coffee - the adrenaline crash was rough, 2 hours later.
My timeline, and those of my Captain and Fleet Captain, were used in the official Coast Guard report on when events occurred.
Hope that everyone on Lady Maryland is OK - I knew a few. All are experienced in the handling of a pungee schooner - and if they got off, you know it was bad.
NOTE: Base had access to weather radar, and was supposed to relay information to Fleet that impending severe weather was approaching. Despite being the highest paid and most experienced mate (450 days of sea time), and head trainer for new mates, I was later fired for "bringing up the failure" to the office personnel in a way that was "disrespectful". Working with old sailors, you learn a few ways to be disrespectful that are outside of normal lubber experience lol.
Hidden History:
I used to work for Living Classrooms Foundation - they ran the Seaport Taxis in baltimore harbor, and I was first mate for them.
Back in 2004, we had one of our boats capsize during a microburst thunderstorm, with 85 MPH winds, with 5 souls lost... there's articles on that.
What isn't known is the personal experiences of myself - I was on our only other boat on the harbor that day - everyone else was tied up. Captain John Wheeler Glenn (RIP) was at the helm, and because he was a bit of a yahoo, he decided to make the run to Fells Point from Harborplace, "ahead" of the storm. We had received no messages from Base (see below note) that a storm was approaching, nor of the severity - The NWS only issued a warning after it had passed.
Our vessel was the "Eagle" - a 54" pontoon, with 13' of beam. It was wide, long, and a floating box. On MY vessel, roughly 3.5 times the size of the capsized Lady D, the rain started, then the wind. I watched as we started to keel over to starboard, and once we got to about a 15 degree angle (which, by the way, is very significant on a boat), I instructed passengers to "IMMEDIATELY MOVE HERE", as ballast. The gust lasted maybe 15 seconds - 10 of which had passengers preventing our boat from flipping over as well. If the port side pontoon had lifted from the water, I think that we would have been underwater.
We continued on, and dropped our load at fells point. By this time, radio calls had been made trying to raise the Lady D, with no success. Information began to trickle in on Channel 16 regarding the launch of a landing craft from Fort McHenry, and a boat capsized in the harbor. We picked up our Fleet Captain and went out, in 3' seas in Baltimore Harbor (which simply does not happen) and performed rescue operations - which, by that time, entailed me standing on the front deck with a boat hook, life jacket, and a rope ladder. We didn't pull anyone from the harbor that day - just life jackets for a count. First time in my life that I drank coffee - the adrenaline crash was rough, 2 hours later.
My timeline, and those of my Captain and Fleet Captain, were used in the official Coast Guard report on when events occurred.
Hope that everyone on Lady Maryland is OK - I knew a few. All are experienced in the handling of a pungee schooner - and if they got off, you know it was bad.
NOTE: Base had access to weather radar, and was supposed to relay information to Fleet that impending severe weather was approaching. Despite being the highest paid and most experienced mate (450 days of sea time), and head trainer for new mates, I was later fired for "bringing up the failure" to the office personnel in a way that was "disrespectful". Working with old sailors, you learn a few ways to be disrespectful that are outside of normal lubber experience lol.
