Cruise Into History Aug. 21: View Ships, Aid Trombley House, Pine Ridge
Eric Jylha to Narrate Saginaw River Voyage for Historical Project Backers
August 10, 2008
By: Dave Rogers
Pride of Baltimore II, owned by the State of Maryland, was commissioned in 1988 as a sailing memorial to her immediate predecessor, the original Pride of Baltimore.
Cruisers on the Princess Wenonah river voyage Thursday Aug. 21 will see, and hear about, three special vessels along the route.
Cruise narrator Eric Jylha says about the cruise:
"One plus is the fact that Earth Voyager, Pride of Baltimore II and Highlander Sea will all be along the seawall the night of the cruise."
Earth Voyager is a 60-foot trimaran circling the Great Lakes on a "Healthy Lakes -- Healthy Lives Tour" to promote the benefits of restoring the Great Lakes Ecosystem.
Pride of Baltimore II and Highlander Sea are tall ships slated here on a mini-visit keeping alive the memory of several successful Tall Ships events held here in past years, according to Shirley Roberts, executive director of the Bay Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Cruisers will be in a great vantage point to see and photograph some of the most fabulous ships on the Great Lakes at the same time.
Highlander Sea is a 154 foot gaff-rigged topsail schooner, designed by W. Starling Burgess and built in 1924 in Essex, Massachusetts. Originally christened Pilot, she served 47 years as a Boston Harbor pilot ship. She was acquired by Acheson Ventures LLC in 2002 as a flagship for the Port Huron harbor.
Highlander Sea offers opportunities for character development, teamwork, and community citizenship for the people of Port Huron, in particular its youth, through leadership and training. She sails the Great Lakes, and Eastern Seaboard, and is available for public tours, educational programs and special events.
Pride of Baltimore II, owned by the State of Maryland, was commissioned in 1988 as a sailing memorial to her immediate predecessor, the original Pride of Baltimore, tragically sunk in a squall off Puerto Rico in 1986, taking her captain and three crew members down with her. Both ships were built in Baltimore's Inner Harbor as reproductions of 1812-era topsail schooners, the type of vessels, called Baltimore Clippers, that helped America win the War of 1812 and finally secure its freedom.
Cruise Through History is sponsored by the Bay County Historical Society and the 7th Michigan Cavalry Civil War Round Table to raise funds for Trombley House and to restore the Grand Army of the Republic monument to Civil War veterans at Pine Ridge Cemetery.
The cruise will include classic picnic and the famed Wenonah Hotel Punch, a fabulous concoction from Bay City's memorable past, prepared by the incomparable Bill and Elaine Fournier of the Bay City Boat Lines.
Historical highlights along the river will be presented by Mr. Jylha, development director of the Bay County Historical Museum and a longtime broadcaster and public figure in the area.
Mr. Jylha, also a well known tour guide, will be hosting a Chicago to California 11-day train excursion in September for more than 150 persons.
Tickets for the Saginaw River cruise on Aug. 21 are $25 and reservations may be made by calling the Museum at 893-5733.
Boarding will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Bay City Boat Lines dock at the foot of Ninth Street.
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