07 October 2007, Saguenay fjord.

Winter is definitely coming. It was cold today, what I would call crisp and chilly. Somehere in the mid 40’s. It was a very clear day but with a fresh Westerly breeze blowing over the town, it was weather for two at least two pairs of socks.

We slowd down at the statue of the Virgin Mary in the morning this time as in the evening it would be dark. The sun rose at 06.55 and I had the Veendam abeam at 07.10 when the first rays of sun were just coming over the mountain ridge behind us, bathing the statue in a glorious gold-red color. I had announced it the day before and a lot of guests had made the effort to get up and to have a look. Luckily the sun did not let me down and there were no clouds in the sky.

Today we were in with the Seabourn Pride who arrived very early as they had a medivac to disembark at the pilot station during the early night. By the time we came to the Saguenay anchorage the ship was sitting pretty, but exactly at the spot reserved for the bigger ships. So I had to move the Veendam a bit closer to the shore to create a workable tender distance. Had he anchored himself just another 1000 feet to the West, I would have gone a 1000 foot to the East and we both had had a perfect spot. Now he had to face the Veendam’s big blue hull looming over him. All of course at a safe distance but it could have been more perfect.

The fjord was spectacular today with almost all of the trees having turned their leaves and it was a kaleidoscope of red, yellow, red with only a few of greens left. It was a busy day for the port anyway with two bulk carriers at anchor and one at the dock. The town has an ore dock where bauxite is off loaded. As energy is very cheap here with abundant waterfalls in the area that can be used for generating electricity, there are two factories that turn bauxite into aluminum. This bauxite is transported by the Bulk carriers from Jamaica on a regular service. I do not envy the crew on board at all. Sailing from warm Jamaica to cold Saguenay in the winter and sailing between two ports where R&R is not exactly top class.

I know a bulk carrier captain who is very happy in his job and would get sleepless nights just by thinking about what I do. But I could not do his. A bulk carrier travels with a speed of around 13 knots from port to port. There are quite often long waiting times before the berth is available for loading and unloading. The ore berths are far away from civilization and since 7/11 a lot of ports do not let the crew ashore anymore, finding it easier to keep them on board instead of providing terminal security to enable shore leave. A fully loaded bulk carrier has a very bad sea movement due to the heavy weight of the cargo and no stabilizers of course. Long monotonous sea days where nothing happens and the ships are staffed with a very small crew of 15 or 16 men. It would not be my piece of cake. If I do not have my daily dose of “controlled mayhem”, I start to wonder if something is wrong. But there are more bulk carriers than cruise ships around and they are all manned. As a matter of fact, the biggest ship in the world, the Berge Stahl, is a Bulk carrier. So there a mariners out there who like this sort of ship and the trade in which these ships ply. Luckily we are all not the same and we all have a different angle towards finding satisfaction in seafaring life.

The Seabourn Pride left early in the afternoon to go whale watching and then would arrive after us in Quebec. They were scheduled for an 1800 departure but the captain had heard there were whales, so off they went. That is the one thing that is nice with small ships, that have the chance to play with their itinerary. As soon as you go over 400 guests on board you have to stick to the announced times. With pre booked tours, the size of the ship and the grater variety of guests on board, there is very little leeway to make a big change in the sailing schedule and to do something totally different, just because the opportunity is there. By the time we had all guests back on board and sailed, it was dark when we passed through the whale area and you do not see whales very well in the dark, even when they happen to be white belugas. This was our last call at Saguenay as the winter is quickly approaching, and the town gets ready to say farewell to the last cruise ship. Next year their cruise dock and terminal should be finished, making it a lot easier for the guests to enjoy the area.