.....In
1975, in an effort to revive the Inner Harbor, the City of
Baltimore was seeking a symbol to reinvigorate the image of
the new Pormenade.
Then Housing Commissioner Bob Embry had an idea, "Let's
build a ship in the Inner Harbor to draw folks downtown."
With
the renewal of the Inner Harbor, the construction of the Pride
of Baltimore began. This ship was to represent the
maritime heritage of the City by being "an authentic
example of an historic Baltimore Clipper..." The
ship was a fully operational clipper, made by hand, in
essence, a true replica.
After
nine years of sailing and 150,000 miles, the Pride of
Baltimore met her untimely and tragic demise. On May
14, 1986, the Pride was sunk by a violent squall (what
the US Coast Guard later called a microburst squall). 80
mile per hour winds arose so quickly that there was little
time to radio for help. Eight crew members climbed into
a tiny rubber life raft and floated aimlessly for over four
days, 250 miles north of Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, the
captain and three crew members never emerged from the sunken
vessel. The survivors were rescued in the early hours of
May 19, by the Norwegian tanker TORO.
In
Rash Field, just below Federal Hill Park, a permanent memorial
to the Pride of Baltimore is erected. A raked mast of a
Baltimore Clipper towers in the air along with the names of
the seamen who perished.
With
the commissioning of the Pride of Baltimore II in 1988,
the city and her people moved beyond this tragedy and
constructed a new Baltimore Clipper to continue as a beacon
for the prosperity and strength of the Inner Harbor and the
City of Baltimore.
