Title
Annapolis UpRigging: Maritime and Heritage Festival - Fee Waiver - For the purpose of waiving certain City fees for the docking of the Adventurer tall ships the Pride of Baltimore II and Lynx at the Annapolis City Dock; and expressing the support of the City Council for the First Annual Special Event “Annapolis UpRigging: Maritime and Heritage Festival”.
Body
CITY COUNCIL OF THE
City of Annapolis
Resolution 27-22
Introduced by: Mayor Buckley, Alderman Arnett
Co-sponsored by:
A RESOLUTION concerning
Annapolis UpRigging: Maritime and Heritage Festival - Fee Waiver
FOR the purpose of waiving certain City fees for the docking of the Adventurer tall ships the Pride of Baltimore II and Lynx at the Annapolis City Dock; and expressing the support of the City Council for the First Annual Special Event “Annapolis UpRigging: Maritime and Heritage Festival”.
WHEREAS, both the Privateer Lynx and Pride of Baltimore II are narrow-bodied ships with racked masts, which appear to be slanted backward, and were built for speed and agility; both were designed to evade and pursue British ships and blockade American ports; and
WHEREAS, the 114-ton Lynx, launched in 2001 in Rockport, Maine, is an interpretation of the original, built in 1812 by Thomas Kemp in Fell’s Point, Maryland - the same place where the ship that inspired Pride of Baltimore II was launched; and
WHEREAS, Privateers built during wartime were used to prey on enemy ships and their cargo and that required special permission, known as “letters of marque”; and
WHEREAS, the original Lynx was commissioned less than a month before the beginning of the War of 1812, making it one of the first American ships to set sail, though she was captured by the British the following spring at the mouth of the Rappahannock River and renamed the HMS Mosquidobit; and
WHEREAS, the current Lynx is operated by a not-for-profit educational foundation based in Newport Beach, Calif. The Lynx spent the winter in Mystic, Connecticut undergoing extensive maintenance, including work on its engine, spars and rigging; and
WHEREAS, in 1975, the City of Baltimore adopted a proposal for the construction of a replica sailing vessel as the centerpiece of its Inner Harbor revitalization efforts, and an iconic clipper ship was chosen because of the pivotal role Baltimore privateer vessels played in the War of 1812; and
WHEREAS, the Pride of Baltimore, the first Baltimore Clipper to be built in 150 years, and the first tall ship to represent a city and a state, was commissioned on May 1, 1977, in a ceremony at the Baltimore Inner Harbor attended by thousands; and
WHEREAS, during her nine years at sea, between her maiden voyage to Bermuda, New York, and Nova Scotia in 1977, to her final European voyage in 1986, the Pride of Baltimore extended the hand of friendship to countless visitors, logging more than 150,000 nautical miles, equal to six times around the globe, and sailing further in nine years than most sailing vessels travel in their lifetimes; and
WHEREAS, on May 14, 1986, on her way home from a successful European campaign, the Pride of Baltimore was struck by a microburst squall north of Puerto Rico, sinking within minutes and taking with her the captain and three crew members, since lost at sea; and
WHEREAS, by late summer of 1986, due to an outpouring of unsolicited public support, plans for a replacement vessel were under way, and on April 30, 1988, the Pride of Baltimore II was hoisted aloft and launched from her Inner Harbor birthplace, officially being commissioned on October 23, 1988, at Brown’s Wharf in Fells Point, just blocks from the shipyard where Chasseur, the original Pride of Baltimore, had been built in 1812; and
WHEREAS, since her commissioning, the Pride of Baltimore II has sailed over 250,000 nautical miles and visited more than 200 ports in 40 countries in North, South, and Central America; Europe; and Asia; and
WHEREAS, each season the vessel visits dozens of ports of call, welcoming aboard over 100,000 people for private sailing charters, dockside receptions, deck tours, day sails, youth programs and overnight guest crew experiences; and
WHEREAS, the Pride of Baltimore II is owned and managed by the 501(c)3 nonprofit Pride of Baltimore, Inc., which relies on individual donations, corporate philanthropy, and grants to bridge the gap between earned income and operating expenses each year; and
WHEREAS, the Adventurer is a schooner sailing vessel that exemplifies the vessels that have a long history in the Chesapeake Bay region as workboats for oystermen, crabbers and fishermen alike; and
WHEREAS, the Adventurer creates an educational opportunity for the public to learn the history of the Chesapeake Bay and the industry that supported this area for well over a hundred years; and
WHEREAS, the Pride of Baltimore II and the Lynx will be visiting Annapolis at the City Dock on May 13 through May 15, 2022, to officially participate in the First Annual Special Event “Annapolis UpRigging: Maritime and Heritage Festival”; and
WHEREAS, the City of Annapolis, in recognition of the Pride of Baltimore II and Lynx non-profits’ mission to promote historical maritime education, and to foster economic development and tourism in every port they visit, wishes to waive the fees for the two tall ships to dock while visiting Annapolis on May 13 through May 15, 2022, to officially participate in the First Annual Special Event “Annapolis UpRigging: Maritime and Heritage Festival”.
WHEREAS, the Pride of Baltimore II, the Lynx, and the Adventurer, along with other tall ships, will be visiting Annapolis at the City Dock on May 13 through May 15, 2022, to officially participate in the First Annual Special Event “Annapolis UpRigging: Maritime and Heritage Festival”; and
WHEREAS, the City of Annapolis, in recognition of this Special Event’s mission to promote historical maritime education, and to foster economic development and tourism in Annapolis, wishes to waive the fees for the Adventurer to dock while visiting Annapolis on May 13 through May 15, 2022, to officially participate in the First Annual Special Event “Annapolis UpRigging: Maritime and Heritage Festival.
NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ANNAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL that the Council expresses its support for the First Annual Special Event “Annapolis UpRigging: Maritime and Heritage Festival and that the fees for docking the Adventurer Pride of Baltimore II and Lynx at the Annapolis City Dock on May 13 through May 15, 2022 are hereby waived.
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE ANNAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL that this resolution shall take effect from the date of its passage.
EXPLANATION
Underlining indicates matter added.
[Strikethrough] indicates matter stricken.