The season is now so far advanced that the land and sea have slightly warmed up and that” slightly” is just enough to throw things out of balance and let the low clouds come down all the way to the water. Then only a bit of wind can help but we did not have any. So by 22.30 in the evening a low white woolly blanket descended over the Alaskan Inside Passage and reduced visibility to about 1,000 feet. That meant standby for the Staff Captain and me. Him until midnight and then me from midnight to 0600; and then him again. The hours are split up in this way, as he has a department to run with officers, sailors etc. and they work mainly day service, so it is handy that they can reach him. As a captain I can assign my hours the way I want and as long as I am there when necessary, it normally works well. Continue reading

UPDATED ENTRY. IT SEEMS THAT DUE TO OUR INTERNET ISSUES TWO DIFFERENT VERSIONS WENT OUT. SO SOME READERS GOT MY DRAFT WITHOUT PHOTOS AND SOME GOT THE FINAL VERSIONS. I HAVE RE -EDITED AND NEWLY POSTED THE PHOTOS. SORRY FOR THE INCONVINIENCE.

Posting sligthty delayed as the internet was down on board.

If there was no mountain range, it would take only 3 hours from Haines to get to Juneau as the crow flies. But there are mountains in between and thus we have to sail south through the Fjords like inlets and channels to get there. First out of Lynn Canal going south, then through Saginaw Channel going east and in the end going  north through Gastineau channel at which end Juneau is located. We can do that with the slow speed of 12 knots and still arrive at 04.30 at the entrance of Gastineau channel and approach the dock by 05.30. That is very early in the morning but it is needed to deal with a whole parade that comes in during the day. As we had to tuck ourselves away in the corner of the port it made sense to be the first one going in. Then came the parade: Norwegian Sun, Island Princess (going to anchor), Grand Princess and Celebrity Century. All in all, almost 12,000 eager shoppers being let loose in Juneau during the day. It was a dry day, so it was a good day. Continue reading

I have always had a soft spot for Haines. Maybe because it is still so original without all the tourist shops and other happenings caused by the cruise boom. Haines became more prominent when it became an army base and until the current day the white clapboard army houses dominate the skyline. As there were no great tourist attractions such as the train in Skagway, it never gained much prominence in the cruise business. As a result Holland America is one of the few, and I think this year the only cruise company calling there. Guest’s reactions are always mixed; those who need to be entertained in order to be happy complain about the lack of activities but those who come for the real Alaska love it, as this is still a real Alaskan town. (For those who need more stimulation, we do run a tour to Skagway from here with the Fairway Explorer) I love the place as it is nice and sheltered for the ship to dock and also as it is the home of the world famous Hammer Museum. (There is not another one like it in the world) Continue reading

We had dark, rainy, clouds looming over the valleys east of the Fairweather mountain range but they remained where they were and it did not rain. Instead it became sunnier and sunnier while we approached Bartlett Cove Ranger station. Which was an interesting happening as the tides, and thus the currents were completely out of synch with the tide tables. It is a phenomenon that occurs occasionally, when the moon and the sun and the earth together are not exactly behaving as the calculations expect them to do. Last year we had a similar situation when there was the period of the “blue Moon” and the tides were more than 90 minutes off from what was predicted. That is a lot if you plan a safe passage through the Seymour Narrows and you find out that you are 90 minutes late. Today it was less dramatic but at the time that we were supposed to have slack tide (the change from ebb to flood) the ebb current was still running with 2 knots of velocity. It changed in time for our passage up the Bay and that was nice as a following current saves fuel. Continue reading

We had a beautiful day today. Sunny and not too warm. So no chance of haziness appearing that might make our life miserable. It was nearly wind still and thus we could clearly see the ocean swell running in from the south. If there is a bit of wind then the swell can easily be mixed in with the waves produced by the wind, making it harder to discern what is what. Today there was no wind and thus the only thing that made the sea move was the swell. Two swells today, one from the South East and one from the South West. The one from the south East was short in time period and had been caused by the wind we had the day before yesterday. The swell from the south west was higher but also longer in time period. It must have originated all the way down in the Japan area. By the late afternoon it became really pronounced and the ship moved a little bit; even with the stabilizers in operation. But this was a gentle movement and no doubt it helped everybody have a good nights rest. Continue reading

Arriving in Seward is always a mixed blessing. The bad side is we all have to start so early, the good side is that around that time of the day it is still mostly wind still. And so it was in this case when I came on the bridge at 03.15 in the morning. The pilot had already confirmed that he was out of bed & on the way and in the far distance we could see the dock with all the flood lights on; so they were awake as well. It was almost wind still in the bay and that is the way we like it. Rain is not an issue for safe maneuvering, wind is. The weather forecast for the day indicated drizzle all day long and that is what we had on arrival, during the day and on departure. Continue reading

Today we sailed through the Gulf of Alaska and the weather was not exactly exciting. Overcast and gloomy with a lot of showers. Strong winds from the East but as they were following winds, the relative wind on the deck was merely a gentle Breeze. There is very little sightseeing on this part of the voyage. When the weather is very clear you can see the Fairweather Mountain Range but that is about it. In the afternoon you pass Capt. St Elias on Kayak Island and then it is only open water again. Even the whales are not that prominent here; most of them are closer to the coast where the feeding is better. Near the end of the season, when the migration starts again, then we will see more of them. Continue reading

Today we paid the price for the beautiful sunshine of yesterday. When we arrived at the entrance of Glacier Bay, it was rainy and gloomy with very low hanging clouds. It reminded me a little bit about The Lord of the Rings. Frodo on the way to the Misty Mountains. It took a while before the Rangers Boat had found us in the low hanging clouds but by 07.00 they were all on board and we went north towards the glaciers, greatly helped by 5 knots of following current. The tides were with us today. Northbound we had the flood and southbound we had the ebb and that saved us about 20 minutes of travelling on the engines. That translates quickly into a saving of a $1000 on fuel so the Chief engineer had a good day. The schedule that we follow with the Rangers on board is quite strict and as a Captain I can only deviate if Navigation (ice & low hanging clouds) demands so or if I can add something extra within the allotted time frame. Continue reading

A whole line of mighty ocean liners glided serenely towards the Promised Land. In this case Skagway. During the night the ships had all lined up in their required position so that they could all dock at their assigned berth without hindering somebody else. First in was the Island Princess who had to go all the way forward on the Railroad dock. Once she was out of the way, the Golden Princess came in, who decided to swing on arrival and dock with her nose out . That makes for a quicker departure but sometimes the reason is because the Staff Captain wants to paint the other side of the ship. Skagway is blessed with some nice docks and the cherry picker company there makes good money with renting out four or five cherry pickers each day when there are ships in. The next one was your Statendam, destined for the Broadway dock and last was the Disney Wonder. She was going to the Ore dock and had to wait as you cannot get at the Broadway dock if there is a ship already docked at the Ore dock. The opening left is simply too small. By 07.30 all the ships were in place and thousands of eager tourists could stream ashore and invade the town of Skagway and its surroundings. Continue reading

When dawn came, it became clear that it was going to be a glorious day in Juneau. We were scheduled for a 10 am arrival in Juneau and that meant that the guests could see the approach through Stephens Passage and Gastineau Channel in bright and sunny daylight. As explained yesterday, our approaches and departures are regulated by the Voluntary Waterway Guide. So it also dictates our arrival speed going into Juneau. Hence the approach starts around 08.30 when entering Gastineau channel. That brings us by 0930 at the dock and then it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to get the lines ashore and the gangway out. Continue reading