Reality is calling again. After 3 months of vacation it is time to become part of the wonderful world of Holland America again and I did so by falling out of the air in Anchorage. After being bussed down to Seward I boarded the good ship Statendam again for my next three month contract. All was well on board and after the ceremonial hand over of the captain’s pager my colleague went on his well deserved vacation and I could focus on the challenges of the day. For today that was the Alaskan weather.
Depression time has started again and bad weather system after bad weather system is now being created near Siberia and sent over in 2 day intervals. Mother Nature had one planned exactly to coincide with our call at Seward and that needed my instant focus. My colleague had wisely decided to arrive in Seward on the 15th, a day early and thereby outrunning the whole approaching system. Good thing he did as on Sunday morning 60+ knots of wind was blowing outside Resurrection Bay. Seward is located at the end of this bay which is a sheltered location and thus the Statendam was tucked away safely before it all started. Still it blew in this sheltered location on occasion 40 knots over the dock together with that Alaskan phenomenon called Horizontal Rain. By the time I was supposed to sail at 8 pm it was still blowing 40 knots with 27 feet of swell outside the Bay. Not a place to be if you do not need to.
Thus I decided to stay. The weather forecast indicated that by the next morning the wind would have lessened to about 15 knots and the swell should be about 15 feet and that was much more pleasant. There is some leeway in the sailing schedule between Seward and Glacier Bay and if I would not sail too late, then I would be able to make up the lost time; provided that the weather followed the weather forecast. Following this logic I have set departure for 05.30 tomorrow morning. By that time the elements should have calmed down enough to not be much of an issue. Staying overnight gives the additional advantage that the guests will have a good night’s rest before things get wobbly and the “floor” of their cabin suddenly starts acting as an elevator out of control. Plans were announced to all accordingly. It gave me the chance to have a good nighs sleep as well after all the flying around and it is always nice to combine the useful with the pleasant. By 9 pm. I was in bed.
So if the weather follows the weather forecast, I will be sailing tomorrow at 05.30. By the time I get outside, the old storm will be moving away to the East ahead of us and a new storm will be building up behind me. We will be in between the two in the area of reasonably good weather. I call that using the window of opportunity. In the coming days, the weather will remain un-settled but I am hoping at least for a few good days until the next storm makes a landfall in South East Alaska.
September 17, 2012 at 9:34 pm
Welcome back Captain! We have missed your daily peek at seafaring life. Good to have you back. Hope your time off was enjoyable.
September 17, 2012 at 9:51 pm
Welcome Back.
Just a general question , if a ship has to miss a port or two in Alaska .
What does happen ?
September 17, 2012 at 10:24 pm
Welcome back Captain, I have missed your interesting Blogs and
my ‘Armchair’ Cruising, I hope your time on Board will be enjoyable.
September 18, 2012 at 12:12 am
So very happy to have you back, Captain! Looking forward to “sailing” with you as I sip my morning coffee over the next few months.
September 18, 2012 at 12:20 am
Hope you had a wonderful vacation Captain! Your blog entries provide outstanding information and are very enjoyable to read.
September 18, 2012 at 12:57 am
Glad to have you back! I hope you enjoyed your time off. I always look forward to your posts, and you’ve already answered one question…why the Statendam was in Seward a day early? I happened to look at the Seward webcam on Saturday and noticed it was there already. Wondered if it was due to weather. Glad you’re able to get out, in between weather storms. Good luck!
Sue in Nebraska
September 18, 2012 at 1:37 am
Welcome back Capt.! SADM looked good in Juneau 5 days ago! 🙂
September 18, 2012 at 1:49 am
Captain, So good to have you back posting again.
Safe journeys,
Rich
September 18, 2012 at 2:01 am
Welcome back ! We missed you !
September 18, 2012 at 2:12 am
Welcome back! I just sent a package of goodies for Corinto tady.
September 18, 2012 at 3:24 am
Welcome back ! Looking forward to your reports.
September 18, 2012 at 3:45 am
Dear Captain,
Please advise as to what supplies the youngsters still need. It has been many months since your last update…. and I’d like to help.
David
September 18, 2012 at 4:18 am
Welcome back! We’ve sent a check to Seattle for Corinto and I know of a few more that are either sending checks or will drop packages with the port agent in San Diego. We won’t be on the September 27 trip with you but we’ll be joining the ship later this season for Polynesia.
September 18, 2012 at 3:29 pm
So happy to have you back and once again reading your wonderful blog. We will be joining you once again in Nov for the Tahiti cruise.
September 18, 2012 at 4:46 pm
Welcome back. Looking forward to reading your posts.
September 18, 2012 at 7:19 pm
Welcome back Captain. It looks like Alaska has not provided a very warm or hospitable welcome if the weather news from Alaskan friends is accurate.
I just discovered today that my husband and I sailed with you on the old MS Noordam, Dec. 5 to 18, 2001 to the Southern Caribbean. I look forward to meeting you again on some future HAL cruise.
September 19, 2012 at 12:08 am
Sooooooo excited to have you back !!
My morning coffee is just not the same, without you !!!!!
Looking forward to your exciting posts….. Suzie
September 19, 2012 at 4:35 am
Welcome back,Master
I hope your time off in the UK was satisfactory.
Cheers
September 22, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Welcome back, Captain. Through the magic of this computer I sailed with you to Alaska in June and enjoyed the trip and your commentary.
Now I look forward to this trip that is already exciting because I am looking forward to seeing how you weather the current storm in Alaska and then it’s on to Tahiti with you .
Smooth Sailing,
Nancy
September 22, 2012 at 3:09 pm
Will you be staying on the Statendam for the entire length of the South Pacific cruise starting in late Nov?
September 22, 2012 at 9:33 pm
That is the plan. My current schedule says I am going on leave on 21 dec. that is the day the long cruise ends.
thank you for reading my blog
Capt. Albert
September 24, 2012 at 5:19 pm
I now see that I could have found that information on the home page of your blog! I should have looked more carefully before asking, sorry, but thank you for the response.
October 3, 2012 at 11:22 pm
It’s now time to play “catch up” with the blogs of the Statendam Master, Captain. It’s been a hectic one week after my most memorable 2 weeks on board your ship. The Hotel Manager (Director?) kept me informed about your EAT by bus, which was possible out by one hour. Even the ceremonial hand over of the Captain’s pager must have happened ½ hour after your arrival on board! It all served to make a corner collision the surprise I wanted it to be 🙂