Set Sail for Adventure

Pride of Baltimore II is a globally recognized sailing ambassador of Maryland. Built and launched on the shore of Baltimore's Inner Harbor in 1988, Pride II is a reproduction of the sharp-built Baltimore Clippers of the late 18th century and early 19th century. She is a working symbol of the fast, sleek vessels that gained fame as privateers during the War of 1812.

Today, twelve crewmembers live onboard and operate the ship in the same way sailors would have over 200 years ago, preserving a maritime tradition unique to the Chesapeake Bay. Pride promotes historical maritime education, fosters economic development and tourism, and represents the people of Maryland in ports throughout the world. She was built to continue the mission of her predecessor, Pride of Baltimore, tragically lost in a storm in the Atlantic Ocean in May 1986.

Pride II is regularly open to the public offering deck tours, day sails, and overnight sailing opportunities at ports throughout the Chesapeake Bay and North America. Since her launch more than three decades ago Pride of Baltimore II has sailed over 275,000 nautical miles to more than 200 ports in over 40 contries in Asia, Europe, and North, South, and Central America.

Built in 1995, also by Treworgy Yachts, the Alliance was originally named the Kathryn B. and sailed as a part of a windjammer fleet in Maine. She was purchased in 2004 and moved to Yorktown, VA and rechristened the Alliance in honor of the American French alliance during the revolutionary war. Inland Seas Education Association acquired Alliance in 2022 as a response to increasing program demand. The name Alliance now represents the many partnerships ISEA has across the Great Lakes that make our work possible.

Built in 1994 at Treworgy Yachts in Palm Coast, FL the Inland Seas was intended to be a schoolship from its creation. During this time Inland Seas has connected over 165,000 passengers with the beauty of the Great Lakes. Completed in 1994 her maiden voyage saw her arrive in Toronto just in time to participate in a Tall Ships America event winning the award of youngest ship in attendance.

For more than 40 years, the William A. Irvin carried iron ore and coal to Great Lakes ports, often crashing through ferocious storms to reach her destinations. Yet the enormous vessel represents much more than impressive power.

As the proud flagship of U.S. Steel’s Great Lakes Fleet, she provided comfort and elegance to dignitaries and guests who traveled the Lakes with her. The Irvin was launched November 21, 1937, at the yards of the American Ship Building Company in Lorain, Ohio. At a cost of $1.3 million, the Irvin was the first of four vessels in her class. Her maiden voyage began June 25, 1938 after outfitting in Lorain. The boat was christened by William Irvin’s wife, Gertrude, and went to work hauling bulk materials from the tip of Lake Superior (Two Harbors and Duluth, Minnesota) down to U.S. Steel’s mills on Lake Michigan and Lake Erie (Lorain and Conneut, Ohio; Gary, Indiana).

The Irvin set a record by unloading 13,856 tons of iron ore in two hours and 55 minutes using Hulett Unloaders. That record remains unbroken today and is unlikely to be broken, because all ships today use automatic self-unloaders in the bottom of their cargo holds. The Irvin is one of a few Great Lakes vessels to be retired still holding a current Great Lakes cargo record. The ship entered final layup in 1978 with one of the smallest capacities due to the addition of the fleet’s first 1000 ft. ore boat.

The Irvin wasn’t just a workhorse. She also carried many company guests on behalf of U.S. Steel. Guests enjoyed themselves in one of four private luxury cabins and also had their own dining room and guest lounge. These guest areas are trimmed in oak paneling and walnut veneer with brass hand railings. All parts of the Irvin, from the woodwork in the guest quarters to the brass in the engine room, are intact and in excellent condition.

This rare combination of maritime force and grace has been experienced by very few. Now, you can experience life on the lakes by touring the Irvin.

Come aboard! Whether you’re interested in a 2,000 horsepower steam turbine engine or delicate antique fixtures, you’ll find them both in shipshape. The Irvin is docked along the waterfront of Lake Superior next to the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center and near the Aerial Lift Bridge.

Welcome to the Schooner When And If. Built in 1939 for General George S. Patton, When And If was commissioned by Patton himself from naval architect John Alden, and built by FF Pendleton in Wiscasset, ME to sail around the world “When the war is over, and If I live through it.”

The schooner Liberty Clipper was built in 1983 at the Blount Shipyard in Rhode Island.  With a steel hull, she is a modern replica of a Baltimore Clipper style schooner, which were widely used during the 18th and 19th centuries.  Known to be some of the fastest sailing vessels of their day, many Baltimore Clipper schooners were used as Privateers during the War for Independence and the War of 1812, and were also utilized in many large ports as pilot ships to guide visiting vessels into the harbor.  For the past two decades she has been providing guests the opportunity to experience a traditional sailing vessel in Boston Harbor.

Liberty Clipper was designed not only to help sustain the tradition of tall ship sailing, but also to accommodate guests on multi-day windjammer cruises.  She is outfitted with space for 24 overnight guests in 12 bunk-style cabins. 

USCGC Sundew (WLB-404) was a 180-foot (55 m) sea going buoy tender (WLB). An Iris, or C-class tender, it was built by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Sundew's preliminary design was completed by the United States Lighthouse Service and the final design was produced by Marine Iron and Shipbuilding Corporation in Duluth for the U.S. Coast Guard. On 29 November 1943 the keel was laid. It was launched on 8 February 1944 and commissioned on 24 August 1944.

Sundew is one of 39 original 180-foot (55 m) seagoing buoy tenders built between 1942-1944. All but one of the original tenders, USCGC Ironwood, were built in Duluth. Like all of these tenders, Sundew was named after a plant, in this case the sundew, a carnivorous plant from the genus Drosera.

In 1958, Sundew was assigned to Charlevoix, Michigan, and the following November helped in the rescue of two survivors from the Carl D. Bradley when it sank in a storm on Lake Michigan 47 miles (76 km) west-northwest of Charlevoix. Sundew remained at Charlevoix until 1981, when she was replaced by USCGC Mesquite. Sundew was then moved to Duluth, Minnesota, where it served until it was retired in 2004.

Sundew served 60 years for the Coast Guard and was decommissioned and retired on 27 May 2004.

On January 29, 2014, we were notified that the owner of the Abbey Road was looking for an organization to donate his boat to. Since his children were grown and scattered across the country, the family was not able to use the Abbey Road more than a few weeks a year, the boat owner wanted to give the Abbey Road to a non-profit organization that could put her to good use.

In 2013, the Abbey Road had been sailed by the Bayfield Area Sea Scouts under the supervision of Captain Gordon Ringberg, and we knew that she had been well maintained and would make the perfect platform to advance our mission.

We accepted the donation of the Abbey Road on April 7, 2014, and immediately began taking kids of all ages sailing on Lake Superior.

Our trips are “Un-plugged” experiential learning voyages. Teamwork is required which fosters acceptance of others, cultivates personal responsibility and helps develop leadership skills.

Longer trips can be physically and emotionally challenging for some participants (although not dangerous). As controlled risks are overcome by participants they discover hidden strengths, acquire new skills and increase self-confidence.

We are very proud that we’ve had over 4,300 participants onboard the Abbey Road since 2014.  She is an excellent platform for small groups and we will continue sailing her into the foreseeable future.

The St. Lawrence II is a custom built Tall Ship that operates as a platform for experiential outdoor adventure programs. Every detail of the design is meant to maximize the impact of the programming and the participants' experience.  

Built by Kingston Shipyards in 1953 to a design by the legendary Francis MacLachlan & Mike Eames, the ship is designed to create teamwork, community, and cooperative effort between participants; to connect people with the natural world through tactile experiences, to deliver an understanding of both the power and fragility of nature; and to foster the creation of lasting friendships. 

Zeeto is a 3-masted bald-headed Tern Schooner built by Ralph Zimmerman in Sarasota, Florida and launched in 1957. Her design was loosely based on the mid-1800s fishing schooners that were common in New England. Ralph was renowned architect - the state architect of Illinois, as a matter of fact - who’s designs included buildings at Joliet Prison and several distinguished homes in Chicago and Sarasota. It is said that his attention to detail went into the Zeeto.

Zeeto has a gaff headed main and foresail, a Marconi mizzen, and a club footed jib. She sleeps 8 in two double midship berths, 2 singles in forward cabin, and 2 in the salon where the settee can be converted to a double berth.

Lake Superior Tall Ships purchased the Zeeto in 2023 to increase our sail training capacity and take more kids (of all ages) on Lake Superior adventures.

Zeeto means “long live the king” in Greek

Charley was originally Journey, a Thomas Colvin Pipistrelle design built of steel by Daniel Stoner in Indiana. Colvin was a naval architect who achieved a cult following for his popular steel schooner designs. The vessel changed hands in the mid-1990’s, and her new owner ran a boat-based Christian sailing organization for several decades out of Sandusky, Ohio. Journey changed hands again in 2017 and was delivered to Lake Superior where she sat dry-docked for 3 years in Knife River. The current owners bought her in May of 2020, changed her name to Charley (observing all requisite ceremonies), and started the likely never-ending process of reviving her from the keel up.