Epitaph for a Beautiful Ship

By Evan Wilson

Subjects: maritime casualty, historic ships, tall ships, replica promotional ship, naval architecture, Pride of Baltimore, War of 1812, Baltimore clipper, Colonial sailing ships, loss of life

Description: In this book readers explore the historic threads which came together in 1986 as Baltimore’s popular ambassador replica topsail schooner Pride of Baltimore was overcome by a sudden wind and sank quickly with the loss of her captain and three young crew members. Readers accompany Pride incident by incident, log entry by log entry, port-of-call by port-of-call, to learn how she ventured one cruise too far from her design mission. Hear maritime investigators report an earlier incident in the Baltic that came to notice only after Pride sank and should have raised a red flag for everyone in Baltimore. Read the only interviews in reportage of the Pride story with Dr. Tetsuya “Ted” Fujita, the meteorologist to first describe a microburst (before he died in 1998) and in which he debunks the microburst theory of the casualty. Finally, evaluate lessons learned during the investigation and how sailing school vessels and other tall ships now operate in greater safety because as well as in spite of it. Epitaph has received praise in the historic ships world: "When she was launched in 1977, the replica Baltimore clipper Pride of Baltimore sailed into the hearts of sailors everywhere, only to sink nine years later. This long-overdue book looks at the sinking of 'The Pride,' as she was so fondly called, in the most detailed study to date — a study that every shipbuilder should consider required reading." — PATRICK HORNBERGER, author of Forgotten Beacons: Lost Lighthouses of the Chesapeake Bay. "Evan Wilson has written what we think to be the classic account of the loss of Pride of Baltimore. He has studied the actuality of what happened and suggested the thoughts of the professionals in the field." — PETER STANFORD, founder and first president of South Street Seaport; co-founder and past president of the National Maritime Historical Society. "An enormous amount of research. I found the Pride story simply fascinating: so many mistakes, so much incompetence on so many levels. Amazing and appalling!" — The Honorable JOHN NORTH II, senior captain, Chesapeake Bay log canoe fleet; founder and past president, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. "I have dealt with the physics and dynamics of ship accidents but had a great interest in the human factors. This book sheds new and fascinating light on those aspects of this story." — ROGER LONG, Roger Long Naval Architecture, Portland, Maine. "Pride was as close to the real thing as a sailing craft can be — too close. Quite independently, Evan Wilson has reached conclusions that I have believed all along: skillful management and constant watchfulness cannot be contravened." — MELBOURNE SMITH, promoter, builder, and first captain of Pride of Baltimore; designer and builder of Spirit of Massachusetts, Californian, and USS Niagara. "Evan Wilson has followed the journey and captured the romance, the adventure, the challenge, of sailing this 'thoroughbred of schooners' with brilliant accuracy." — ALLEN RAWL, shipwright/builder, Kalmar Nyckel and Susan Constant; ship’s carpenter, Californian and Pride of Baltimore.