Report: The Whitbread Cruise
Chesapeake Bay
by Capt. Brian Hope
May 3rd, 1998

he trip which inaugurated our eighth cruising season was also the longest day cruise in our history. The last line was tossed from the bollards at precisely 0700 (Captain Esbensen is a stickler for promptness) and we finally tied up again at the Seagirt Marine Terminal at 1715 ~ over ten hours underway! But not only was this cruise long, it was one of the best we've done in terms of passenger satisfaction. There were absolutely no complaints from our 704 passengers, most of whom simply raved about the experience.

This, of course, was our Whitbread Cruise, not designed to present "Living History" to the passengers, but merely to transport them to a strategic position for the observation of the start of Leg Eight of the Whitbread Round the World Race. Not only was the trip a great success from the point of view of passenger satisfaction, but from a financial aspect as well. This was the first cruise in our history to gross in excess of $100,000, a truly remarkable achievement.

Major credit for the success, indeed, for the very existence of the trip, goes to Jack Buchheister, our Procurement Officer and Ship's Store Director. Jack is a sailboat owner and racer and, as such, was perhaps more aware than any of our Board Members as to the potential for the Project to reap benefits from the coming of the Whitbread to the Chesapeake Bay. At a Board meeting many months ago he broached the idea of a Whitbread Cruise. He was met with some skepticism, but overall approval of the concept. Since we generally follow the practice of, "You think of an idea, you carry it out" management, Jack was given the task of putting the event together. Over the next several months, with very little help, he organized the publicity, helped sell the tickets, stocked the Ship's Store with special Whitbread items and generally arranged most of the details. Very quickly it became apparent that Jack had been entirely correct about the enthusiasm of the public for this race. It was tremendous. This was the first Whitbread to come to America and to have a stop in Chesapeake Bay, one of the nation's greatest sailing centers, was perfect. With only a couple of paid ads, tickets sold like the proverbial hotcakes and were gone within two months.

Chesapeake Bay Magazine proved to be a wonderful advertising vehicle, with a large proportion of our ticket sales coming through the two ads we ran there. In the end, we probably could have sold twice as many tickets if we'd had a big enough ship. (God help us. This one is more than big enough!)

In order to maximize ticket sales, we were forced to restrict the number of crew members permitted to make the trip. This was the first time we'd ever had to do this and it was painful for Chief Mate Rick Bauman, who handles crewing, to have to notify some thirtyfive members who signed up for the trip ; that they couldn't go because the crew was limited to seventy. At sailing time the final count was 826 persons aboard, only five under the maximum permitted by the Coast Guard.

In order to make certain that our passengers didn't go hungry we served a continental breakfast, then a full breakfast, an all-you-could-eat buffet-n-luncheon, followed by wine and cheese, hot dogs, ice cream and other goodies after we got underway for Baltimore in mid-afternoon. One passenger was heard to complain (?) "All we do is eat!"

But it was a very long day. The reason for the very early departure had to do with the Coast Guard's cast iron rule that the channel under the Bay Bridges was to be closed to all traffic for the race and that we must pass under the bridge no later than 0930 or be denied the right of transit. We certainly couldn't afford to have that happen, so we sailed early enough to make certain our ETA at the bridge would be OK. We even asked the engineers for 70 RPM, five more than usual and we actually were making 12 knots with the favorable current on the way down the Baltimore Channels. The ship had not steamed that fast since our appearance in the documentary, "The Forgotten Heroes" for the BBC. During that filming they asked us to "Make a big bow wave!" The engineers (briefly) gave us 80 RPM. We almost got nose bleeds from the excessive speed!

Anyway, we passed under the Bay Bridges with plenty of time to spare and anchored exactly one mile south of the bridges, on the eastern edge of the exclusion zone, the race course established by the Coast Guard. Once the race began we had an excellent view as the big, fast Whitbread boats glided along at about six or seven knots in the light southeasterly breeze. Jack Buchheister was our race commentator and his knowledge of sailboat racing and his study of the Whitbread boats enabled him to do a great job describing the tactics as the boats sailed past us. The starboard side was the viewing side and the ship actually attained about a one degree list as the sixty-odd tons of people were all together on that side of the ship.

This trip was not a typical "Living History Voyage," so no flybys were ordered, but at one point we counted a dozen helicopters and half a dozen light planes in the air over the race course and a Concorde flew low over the race, having received (we later learned) permission to do a flyby in honor of the British Boat, Silk Cut. Later, one of our very cost conscious Board Members grilled the Chairman (who arranges our WW II aircraft flybys), "How the Hell much did you pay for that Concorde?"

The crowd was large, but we allowed them to sit atop the hatch covers and many brought lawn chairs to avail themselves of the opportunity to relax. Speaking of relaxing, at one point our twenty-four canvas bunks in the troop berthing area were entirely filled with sleeping passengers, a sight never before seen on one of our voyages!

The crowd was not only large, but very generous as well. They participated significantly in the last phase of our Fuel Fund Raffle and another raffle of Oriole baseball tickets. Brownie the Riveter made a two hour appearance in the afternoon and adopted out seventeen rivets for the Rivet-2000 Program. The Ship's Store set an all time record, with sales just shy of $10,000. The store was simply mobbed for most of the trip and the sales force were among the hardest workers of the voyage.

Our band, The Last Chance Jazz Band, was wonderful. They played their hearts out for hours, far longer than any other band has ever performed for us, and with only eight people put out a great sound, thanks in part to Ted Dietz' super sound system.

The Ad Lib Productions team was with us for the second time, doing their Sentimental Journey" stage show, which was very well received by our passengers and for the first time we had with us a barbershop quartet. They called themselves Calliope, and they sang all over the ship. Their leader, Dan Dekowski later told us that their favorite spot was the wheelhouse, where the acoustics were perfect. While it is doubtful that Liberty Ship wheelhouses were designed with acoustics in mind, it was gratifying to hear that compliment from a fine group of singers. Calliope will be back.

The weather cooperated as well. The heavy rains of the day before were gone. The cool, mostly overcast morning turned bright and sunny in the afternoon, with the temperatures in the low 70's. It was perfect JOHN BROWN cruising weather. Following the race most of our passengers were working hard on their suntans as they relaxed on the trip back to Baltimore.

The engine room, as ever, was a popular spot to visit, with long lines of passengers waiting in the passageway to get down to see our magnificent triple- expansion steam engine. One of our crew members was heard to ask, "What are you folks doing here? I thought you were sailboat enthusiasts! The answer came back from one of those in line, "Heck with the sailboats, I want to see that engine!"

Even without the usual Living History accouterments, the trip was a visual feast. Lots of ships were around, as well as a huge crowd of spectator boats of all kinds. Very rarely does one see so many boats on the Bay and never, ever, are they behaving so perfectly as they were for the race! Perhaps the Coast Guard's threat of a $25,000 fine to race course interlopers provided sufficient incentive. Whatever the reason, they stayed out of the race course and once the Whitbread boats sailed past, the flotilla followed them down the Bay, providing an unmatched spectacle of yachting for the passengers of the BROWN.

The overall impression that prevailed among our crew members was that this was one of the friendliest, most appreciative crowds ever. Of course, one reason for this is that our crew never fails to be polite, to answer every question and to transmit their unbounded enthusiasm for the ship to everyone with whom they speak. Let's hear it for our crew. They are the greatest!

As the passengers disembarked, the one individual who apparently had a bit too much to drink was helped down the gangway by a crew member. As he staggered onto the pier he turned around and raised his arms to form a V and did the same with the fingers of both hands. He saluted the crew with a big smile, shouting, "Victory...at...Shea!"