So how many of you knew it was the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812? How many of you knew there was a War of 1812? Well there was such a war and it gave us freedom of the seas from Great Britain, who had been shanghaiing our sailors, the Star Spangled Banner as a national anthem and Andrew Jackson as president-he's the one on the twenty dollar bill. The bombardment of Fort McHenry at the entrance to Baltimore harbor was one of the pivotal battles of the war and when the fort did not surrender afterwards the British retreated from Baltimore. In the morning Francis Scott Key saw the flag flying and wrote the lyrics. Anyway, there is a big celebration going on in Baltimore this week and it includes a number of "tall ships" from a number of countries. A friend of mine and I went this Sunday and had a great time, touring a few of the ships and getting in the spirit of the occasion, including watching the Blue Angels naval flight acrobatic team do their stuff over the city. The pictured ship is the Colombian sail training ship Gloria. She has a crew of 10 officers, 41 enlisted and 88 cadets, who are learning the ways of the sea. In addition to the sails she also has a diesel engine that propels her at about 10 knots. Tall ships do have a certain romance about them that is undeniable.
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