Will Work for Sailing... Eventually

Photo by Erin Doak

Hello! We've been wanting to get this post up for a while but have been waiting until we had a good photo collection of what we have been doing. There is definately a certain amount of Pride (sorry for the bad pun) in the work the crew has been focusing on the last six weeks. Projects are extensive, such as recaulking the deck, repairing and refinishing blocks, patching up serving on standing rigging, painting topsides (often involving removing the many layers of underpaint), stripping and varnishing the rails, and giving the rig loads of love and care against new chafe. And that's just the tip of the iceburg, as projects change as the weather permits. To accomdate all of the work, we've set up rig shop on the grounds of a local boat builders society, who were kind enough to lend us some room among old concrete war bunkers. We've gotten to know a few of the members as much as the language barrier allows - great guys all around. Since our arrival, two of our crew have left us as their contracts came to term. First Mate Miles and Bo'sun Maria have filled the shoes of departing Andy and Kelly (till next time friends!). Life on the boat goes on, as always. The days are getting shorter and we are getting to work right around dawn. The weather is getting wetter and colder. Sometimes there seems to be nothing to do in St. Nazaire... But hey, I'm in France, surrounded by awesome shipmates, and learning a ton putting the Pride of Baltimore back together. Can't ask for much more. Oh, yeah, and Bhodi and I just went to Paris last weekend (photos to come). Woo hoo, y'all! Take care! ~~Erin (P.S. To explain the title photo, in Saint Nazaire we walk past the School of Wall Street English every time we head into town. And on the posters in the window are pictures of people jumping estatic into the air proclaiming that they know Wall Street English. So, we felt inspired one day while measuring the sails. I don't know if they'll go for it.)

Our rack, or some of it. As the fore channels were disassembled for repairs, we moved out and Josh, Dave, or Alan moved in. Made us clean up our stuff, at least.




"That's so unnatural..." Second mate Jamie saws away at the tip of the broken jibboom, in order to carry it to the rig shop and use it to shape soft eyes for the stays.



We looked up form work one day to see a tall ship sail into St. Naz. It was the Stavos... actually, I don't remember the name. The professional crew were nice but there is a reason we chose this shot to show you the vessel. They stayed a few days for repairs.



Josh protects his varnish.














Sophie, Bhodi, and Alan work together to ease the deadeye collar nut. (Not as easy as it sounds)
Photo by Erin Doak



The art of caulking.
Josh and Sophie reef the seams and new oakum is set...








Dave works the pitch to just the right temperature...
Photo by Andy McKee


Bhodi pours the pitch into the seams to seal the deck so we can sleep dry at night. (The players change occassionally)

Photo by Erin Doak








Speaking of changing players, here is a shot of our new Bosun, Maria.










The rig shop, aka the green room. Stay serving and chafe gear.










The rig shop, part 2, block repair and refinishing.








Pro wrestler Josh after he tackled the port topside with the large sanding grinder.








Its a dirty job. Erin tries unsuccessfully to blend into the hull.









Bhodi, Alan, and Dave working on the topside and channel.









First mate Miles.















Dave under the port channel, his home for two weeks of work.








And as we work, the engineer conducts his mysterious business... Here's Rubin workin on the trash pump.

Photo by Dave Castle

A jaunt to Nantes

So, we had heard a lot about it from the few crew members who had gone, so, we had to go check it out ourselves. This last Saturday, Bhodi and I took the train up the river Loire for a nine hour visit to the local "city." And we weren't alone. There was a total of five Pride II sailors in Nantes this weekend. It was a refreshing change of atmosphere and I found myself twisting around everytime I heard a native English speaker, which was often - English, Australian and American. The first hurdle to get to Nantes was to purchase tickets at the station. No easy task when the machine takes only coins and the teller line moves slow as molasses. But, we managed after a time and were joined a short while later by crew mate, Josh. (This is for you Josh's aunt!) An hour later we stepped of the train in Nantes and proceeded to stalk Captain Beebe-Center for a short time before departing ways.

The day was passed walking through the shopping district's many stores, bars, and restaurants, and spending some time taking in the beautiful Cathedral of Nantes, shown in the shots below. At first, it seemed like the interior was closed, but my curosity allowed us to discover that it was indeed open. With the organ playing and the light streaming through the stained glass, it was a beautiful place to be.































So, that was our jaunt to Nantes. Upcoming posts - continued maintenance on Pride and a trip to Paris! Avoir, mes amis!
~~ Erin

St. Nazaire, France

At the time of writing this update, the crew of Pride II have been in St. Nazaire for three and a half weeks. In that period, the focus has turned from recovery to rebuilding. Management is still entertaining bids for spar and mast production and the crew have settled in for the long haul, with a routine of five days on and two days off, a luxury in the world of tall ship sailing. A few people have hung around the boat on weekends, while others have gone to nearby Nantes and not-so-near Paris, for a little French sightseeing. I have discovered that St. Nazaire has a lot more to offer than seen at first glance, and have enjoyed walking along the beaches, through the shopping district and botanical gardens. Bhodi and I even stopped in to have a beer and listen to the music at a Celtic Festival last weekend, held in the old German submarine base. And now, here is our impression of St. Nazaire.
~~Erin

Below are some Photos of some of the sights here in St. Nazaire

Pride of Baltimore II at her St. Nazaire Yard in St. Nazaire, FR.

Taken from atop an old German Submarine Base, one of the tallest buildings in the city.

Another aerial shot of Pride, lying along side...

In full "Yard Mode".

One of the Locks we have to cross to get anywhere in St. Naz from the boat.

The big concrete building is part of the old Sub Base, inside is a relic U-Boat.

The Local Fishing fleet.

Here's some of the local places near the boat.

The Pizzaria on the far left is really nice.

Le Skipper is the place where we had our nice "Crew dinner out", right after we got here.

Very nice place... Try the Crém Brulè.

The language barrier isn't too daunting

when it comes to a thirsty sailor looking for a sailor bar.

"La Passerelle" is a great place just a walk from the boat...

With Good Beer, Darts, and a friendly bartender.

I really like checking out some of the cars that we see over here.

Many of the cars over here, would never do in the states.

Perhaps they use too little fuel.

Here's one of the standard street scenes in St. Naz.

All of the buildings in the city have been built since WWII, because we bombed all the old ones when the Germans were here.

We left England trying to get to Santander, Spain.

We wound up here in St. Nazaire, FR

How were we to know that the road to Santander was here all along.

You Can't see it here, but this house has a lovely view of the ocean.

Across the street is a really nice boardwalk

where we found our Captain on a nice Sunday afternoon.

Finally. Erin hates posing for photos for me,

so I usually have to catch her candidly.