02 June 2012; At Sea, British Columbia Inside Passage.

 Sailing down from Ketchikan is after the pilot station an almost straight southerly course. We cross Dixon Entrance, sail down Hecate Strait and then into Queen Charlotte Sound. The speed we make depends on when we pick up the B.C. pilots at Pine Island and that depends again on when we have to go through Seymour Narrows. Tonight slack tide was at 23.00 and that means that I aimed for a pilot pick up time at 15.00 hrs. When the pilots are then on board, we can discuss the exact time of going through; a time that they are comfortable with and if that is earlier than I have planned, then we can still easily make it. All ships like to go through near or at slack tide and the pilots normally have a very good insight of what traffic can be expected there. Cruise ships coming up from Vancouver and Seattle, ferries, tug and tows etc. etc. It can be quite busy there. The rule is also that the ships with the following tide have the first right of way as it more difficult for them to wait and keep position. The tide keeps pushing them forward. For the ships that sail against the tide, it is much easier to wait. If you have five knots against you, then you can make five knots speed, have good steering all the time and still remain in the same place. That is all discussed with the pilots and then a final plan is made.

This time fate threw a spanner in the wheel as the pilot’s plane broke down and they arrived 2 hours late. The Canadian law requires that the ships remain at the pilot boarding area until the pilots are on board. I probably know the area as well as they do after 30 years but the law is the law and thus I was not allowed to sail towards them while they were coming out with their pilot boat. Thus there was an interesting sight for all to see; two cruise ships milling around near Pine Island pilot station for 2 hours. Behind me was the Celebrity Century who was scheduled for the pilot for 30 minutes later but now caught up with us and had to wait as well. I had hoped for 15.30 hrs. and it became 17.30 hrs. Still, I would be able to make Seymour Narrows as long as there would be no other delays.

Seymour Narrows. Tomorrow will see the largest tide of  the year. 15.8 knots at full current.

So with the pilots on board we went to warp speed and sailed into the British Columbian Inside Passage. The standard route is then, Blackney Passage, good for whale and Orca watching, Johnstone Strait and Race passage, followed by Seymour Narrows as close to slack tide as possible. Together with the Celebrity Century we sailed through the passages, changing leads once in awhile as both ships speed up and slow down in different ways. While this is going on, we maintain a safe distance of 1.3 to 1.5 nautical miles from each other when it comes to the narrow passages.

While we are sailing through we are being advised about traffic by Comox Traffic Control and later by Vancouver Traffic. They follow all traffic on their radars and those ships that have AIS can of course be easily tracked. All larger ships and also larger fishing vessels have to call in and report their location at calling in points and when they expect to be at their next reporting point. That way we know at least, from all participating ships, where they are, where they are going and what they are planning to do. Then while coming closer to each other they can make passing arrangements and that avoids any last minute issues. Slow going tug and tows, quite often wait for slack tide and then go through on the following tide, or might even wait for the next favorable tide. So they might be hovering somewhere and if you then do not know what they are planning to do, confusion might occur. Not everybody participates and this evening the Lady from Comox traffic spent a lot of time trying to raise a 70 foot fishing boat that was pulling another one. When they finally established contact, the conversation petered out quite quickly and I got the impression that the skipper really did not understand the concept of a Vessel Reporting System

We made the tide and we will dock on time in Vancouver. The weather is calling for little wind but with a chance of showers later in the day. Temperatures in the mid 50’s and hopefully touching 60.