With only one day to go to the longest day of the year, we arrived in Seward in day light. It really did not get dark at all while we approached the most northerly point of our cruise. Somehow it looks a bit unreal to approach the pilot station at 4 am. in the morning and to do this in daylight. It was a bit gloomy but that had more to do with it being overcast than with the presence of darkness.

The port of Seward developed itself around the dock of the Alaska Railroad which used Seward as both and entry and exit point for goods and guests to the interior. If you look at the photo you can see that the dock that we use now is simply the ending of the rail road. Until the 80’s trains would roll onto the dock and goods would be directly discharged into, or loaded from ships docking on either side. The dock is now considered too weak for trains to stand on; otherwise we still could have the Holland America train come alongside the ship for a direct transfer. Now guests walk through the terminal towards the train.
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It was a bit of a gloomy day in the Yakutat, but in principle that is not too bad for viewing. It is great of course to visit in the glorious sunshine as it makes the Glacier look like Aspen on a bright day. But how often does the Yakutat with the glacier look like Aspen on a sunny day ? You have to be lucky to catch a real sunny day. So today the scenery looked the way it is supposed to look like. Lush and Green with bands of low hanging clouds between the mountains and chunks of ice in various colors all over the place.

Literally all over the place. In the last 24 hours the glacier had been really active and most of the bay was full with big and small pieces of ice. We were quite lucky however as there was a small opening on the Eastern side of the bay to reach up to the top. We had our regular Rangers on board and both Ed and Ted the elderly Indian interpreters were with us again as well. By the time we came up to the top of the bay, the ice was on the move, caused by the out flow of Russell Fjord located on the East side of Hubbard glacier. So much water is coming out of there, fed by snow and glacier melt, that it causes a current of up to 2 knots in front of the glacier. When the ocean tide flood reaches the upper bay, this current is pushed back and flows past the face of the glacier. It then pushes the ice coming from the glacier to the North West corner and normally leaves a nice open space on the Eastern side where we can sit.

The Millennium who was ahead of us by an hour, could therefore slip around Henke Island on the west side and reach the glacier face that way. By the time that we came closer, the flood had turned to ebb and the flow from Russell Fjord was now pushing the ice towards the East again. Right in front of the glacier is Henke Island about 1 mile distance from the Glacier front. The presence of Henke Island is both a blessing and a curse. If the bay is full of ice and we cannot get closer; it blocks the view of the glacier. When there is not too much ice, it quite often acts as a buffer and keeps the ice on its west side. That is what it did this time. There is a channel on the East side between Henke Island and the mainland which we can use if necessary. It is quite small and you have to be certain that there is no ice at the other side that can lock you in. But here the Millennium came in handy. They were already on the other side and they were coming out through the channel.

So we went in that way. There was a broad band of ice north of the channel but it was not so thick that I could not slowly push through it and then we sat in the open space created by that current coming out of Russell Fjord. With keeping the nose in the current, we could remain in position and let the guests have a good look at the glacier. From there we worked our way out again, retracing the route we used coming in.

It gave the guests a very good impression of what Yakutat Bay and Hubbard Glacier really looks like most of the year. Most guests found the ice navigating fascinating to see, with the ship dodging the large pieces of ice and pushing through the small rubble. It costs a lot of time to do this, as you have to go very slow and in the end we were an hour behind schedule back at the pilot station. Here the pilot, Rangers and Indians left us and we changed course to the west heading for our final port of call Seward. The wind in the mean time had died down completely and so had most of the ocean swell. As a result the Gulf of Alaska looked like a gently rippling silver foil with the Veendam cutting through it at full speed. Tomorrow we are in Seward, we will be on time and ready to start another cruise.

Well, Sitka was not according to the weather forecast again, although we got some drizzle later on. Mainly overcast, it still proved to be a lot better than the weather guru’s had predicted. So all the guests took advantage of the situation and enjoyed the sights ashore.

We were together with the Oosterdam again, her occupying the inner anchorage. Sitka has four anchorages, with number one where the Oosterdam was today, being the nearest to town, but also being the fair weather anchorage. The latter means that during windy weather this anchorage cannot be used as there is no room to swing around on the anchor. The ship that uses this anchorage will either have to put down a stern anchor or keep the stern thruster going to keep the ship in the same position. For a ship as the Oosterdam with Azipods that is very simple of course. Azipods combine rudder, propellers and stern thrusters into one and with keeping one Azipod going the stern can be perfectly held in place.

Example of an azipod. The propellor,connected to the pod, can be swiveled around 360o (azi-mutal movement) so it can push or pull the ship and when flipped to 90o it can thrust the ship sideways.

The pecking order for the anchorages is that the biggest ship gets the nearest anchorage to town, as that ship has to transport the most guests to the shore. As the Oosterdam moved to the inner anchorage, the Veendam could move to the 2nd anchorage, which would normally be the all weather anchorage for the Oosterdam. The Oosterdam used the bridge float and we the dock in Crescent harbor and so the town was invaded from both sides by eager HAL guests. I think in military language they call it a two-prong attack.

When I came to Sitka for the first time in 1982, people only lived in the direct town area. No houses what so ever on the islands and none against the mountain slopes to the East. Since then, more and more houses have been built outside the Sitka town limits and since the last 10 years also more and more on the little islands in Sitka sound, there where our anchorages are. It is not cheap at all to build houses there; poles have to be anchored in the rocks to level out the rocky bottom of the islands so that a level house can be built.
All materials have to be brought to the building site by tug and barge and the same for man power. The house itself needs to be self sufficient with electricity, sewage, water and anything else that is needed to keep a house going. A floating dock is needed (to go up and down with the 10 foot tides) and you need one or two motorboats to get you to and from the town for shopping etc. All added costs which a normal house does not have.

A strange by-product of this Sitka-Suburban-Sprawl, is that it affects my announcements to the guests. Each day I make an announcement about “where we are and where we are going” so everybody knows what there is to be seen in the next period. I always used to do that 15 minutes before sailing time when everybody was out and about. In ports such as Ketchikan and Juneau the locals have already requested the ships to minimize announcements while in port, but this was never an issue in Sitka as the anchorage was way out of town. Not any longer, the town is now extended to right on top of the anchorages. This means that I now make my announcements about 45 minutes after sailing time, depending on the onboard activities. Before sailing time it was always easy, there were never any major activities going on that would be upset by a captain’s announcement. After sailing time it is different. The Cruise Director packs a lot of things in a day for guests to enjoy and I have to navigate through the various items, to find five minutes to do my thing. Today it was just before 5 pm, as we departed at 1600 hrs. At 5 pm. Catholic Mass and a lecture started and just before that, they got me.

The weather tomorrow in the Yakutat is looking like a mixed bag; it could go either way so maybe a little prayer during Mass might help to lift the clouds tomorrow.

To the utter delight of all the guests the weather forecast had it totally wrong. Not a rain cloud to be seen and the sun was present all day long. The temperature peaked into the 60’s and that meant that it was a warm day for the locals. While I was still comfortable in my (winter) blue uniform, the locals pranced around in their under wear so-to-speak. Thus it was a grand day for going ashore. With five large cruise ships calling during the day and two small ones, there where over 11000 guests ashore to enjoy Juneau.

Good news for the locals was that their electricity power has now been restored, after an avalanche took the hydro-power lines down in March. Since that time minimal power had been available by means of generators which sent the cost of electricity through the roof and or people had to improvise their own solutions. Mainly by means of individual mini power generators.

Now the summer has finally arrived in Alaska we see an increase in mega yachts coming for a visit. In the last 10 days we have seen one in every port and we meet them also in the Inside Passage. Today there was big here one in Juneau called the Polar Bear. Our lady pilot had to leave the Veendam to catch up with another one for a visit to Tracy Arm. I do not recall the name of that yacht but the buying price had been in the region of
$ 40 million so it could not have been a small one.

There is a trend in more and more super yachts being built, especially for Russian Owners at the moment and as a result there is a great demand for skilled navigators and skippers. Some of these yachts are so large that they are the equivalent of a small commercial ship and there have been several advertisements already for skippers with unlimited licenses such as I have. These yachts have all the latest toys and gadgets, quite often more than what is present on a cruise ship and as the owner has most of the time unlimited funds to spend on his or her toy, the latest is always available.

Some of my class mates from my Maritime Academy spend some time sailing on these yachts and always came back with mixed reports. The money was most of the time good to very good, way beyond what a commercial captain makes, on the other hand you had to deal with the vagaries and unpredictability’s of the owners. Some owners were great to work for, some viewed the crew as their personal slaves and hired and fired at will and without good reason. Main consensus was, money is not everything.

We missed the USCG escorts on departure this time, see my previous Juneau blogs. Maybe they will be there again next time. Sailing through Gastineau channel was as scenic as ever and now the summer is coming, there were a lot more boats out than before. Both sightseeing boats and private pleasure craft, all heading home for cocktail hour I suppose as we left a 6 pm. going the opposite way. We also saw the first kayakers of the season and they always merit close attention. Most of them stay close to the shore and out of the way but sometimes they decide to cross the open waters. This would not be much of a problem if we could see them. On a day when the sun is shining and the sea smooth, it is not such an big issue, but during overcast and rainy days with a bit of chop it gets much more difficult. The best thing that helps (apart from staying out of our way) is to wear real bright clothing, either yellow or fluoresant orange/pink as that stands out against the predominantly green, grey and blue colors of the marine environment.

Tomorrow we are in Sitka and it supposed to be rainy again. I will believe it, when I see it.

Haines turned out to be a much better day than expected. The rain did not show and visibility was crystal clear so the magnificent scenery of the Haines area was all around us. Although we were supposed to have the currents against us all night long, we hardly noticed any, apart from a short period near Snow Passage and so we made good speed and we were docked 25 minutes ahead of schedule.

Holland America Line is the only cruise company who is calling on a regular basis at Haines, each week we have a ship docking here. One week it is the Veendam, the other week it is the Volendam. For the rest, ships call there on an irregular basis, such as the Silver Shadow who has a more unusual schedule to start with. Then there are the smaller cruise ships such as the small ships of Alaska Cruise West who specialize in calling to destinations off the beaten track.

I personally think it is great to have one port during the cruise that has not yet been taken over by Diamonds International or T-shirt Emporium. No doubt in all the larger ports these shops fill a need otherwise they would not be there but it is just great to call somewhere that is still pure and natural Alaska. Some people complain that in the town there is nothing there, which I do not agree with, but if you come to Alaska to see the real thing, then Haines is still the real thing.

And there are more than enough things to do here. Our Shore Excursion list runs up to 64 items/ tours to choose from. There are two museums in town, including the world famous Hammer Museum ($3 entry fee, not to be missed) and the walking or hiking trails start almost at the dock. The Lady pilot we have on board this cruise lives in Haines and has the wildlife right at her doorstep. Currently she is at war with a Moose with two calves who are harvesting all her cheery trees. Where do you still get that, Moose with calves in your own back garden? I think that Haines is a great place.

The temperatures in Alaska are slowly going up and most of the snow on the mountains is melting away. As a result some of the towns still have problems with their water supply. The turbidity in the reservoirs is still too high for unlimited pumping and so tomorrow we still will not be able to load water in Juneau. Haines did not have any restrictions and we were able to load the tanks full with crystal clear mountain water. What you normally buy in the shops in plastic bottles; here on the ship it comes directly out of the tanks. This water is almost as good as what we make onboard. But ship made water does not have any taste to it as it is pure distilled water with just a hint of Chlorine. Local mountain water comes with its own taste, albeit we add chlorine to it as this is compulsory under USPH regulations.

The water that we load is tested on a regular basis by the Alaskan State, which issues test reports for all the towns, so we always know that we have good water on board.

Haines is a late departure due to late return of some of the tours but it makes for a nice sail away with dusk just falling. As we are now close to the longest day of the year, it does not get really that dark anymore, but enough to have the moon come out and throw a silvery shine over the water. Perfect ending to a very good day.

Tomorrow we are in Juneau, and it supposed to be overcast and rainy.

The tide at Seymour Narrows was slack this time around 01.30 in the morning and that meant I did not have to rush nor go too slow to get there. I like it when Mother Nature conforms to the company schedule. It makes life a lot easier. Thus we aimed for going through around 1 am, when there was still a little bit of flood left but less than 4 knots and that is safe to navigate. While approaching the Narrows we had to speed up a little bit as we had to overtake a slow barge and tow and on the other side the Serenade of the Seas was approaching. If we waited for him that would have meant a delay of 45 minutes, but by going through a little bit earlier we could be first.

I have now been writing blog after blog about the importance and impact of Seymour Narrows on our time schedule. Here is a little explanation of how it works.

http://www.dairiki.org/tides/daily.php/sey/2008-06-13

See above a diagram from today. I use myself the tables issued by the Canadian Pilot Association but the above is accurate enough to safely work with. The current at Seymour Narrows changes direction four times a day and each day it shifts a little bit as the tides are under influence of the sun and moon. Strong winds can have a little bit of influence as well but not that much. Where the color goes from yellow to green in the diagram is the moment of slack tide. When it goes from flooding (yellow) to ebbing (green). Flood is in the Narrows in the direction south, Ebb in the direction north. So this time we had to push against the flood while going through and later had the ebb current with us. A ship such as the Veendam can safely transverse the Narrows with currents of four knots or less. It can be done with more, but it means that you have to give sharp rudder orders and that makes the ship list, it drifts much more from the intended track and might come too close for any other ships that might happen to be in the area. The more current, the less control you have over the vessel.

From Vancouver it is 96 miles to the Narrows that means at least 5 hours at full speed plus slow down time. So the earliest that you can make a tide in the evening would be around 11 pm. This mornings slack (see line at the bottom of the diagram was at 1.25 am) Thus I went for that tide. Now look at the yellow bit. The diagram goes under the 4 knots between 00.30 and 00.45 am. Thus I aimed for 1 am. If you go for full slack the barges and log tows might be in the way, as they either like slack tide or the end of the following tide as they go so slow and have difficulty controlling their tows.

If I would be late for one reason or the other, the latest I could go through (see the green bit) would be around 02.30 am. If I would not make that, the next chance would be around 7 am. that would delay the cruise by about 7 hours compared what it could have been. It does not take much imagination to see what a seven hour delay could have for an impact on a cruise. It is almost a full port day. Thus the times of the slack tide are of paramount importance to an Alaska Cruise ship captain and the whole cruise schedule at the beginning and the end of a cruise is built around it.

I went through once with 10 knots of current but that is a story I will tell sometime in the future.

This time we went through at 00.45 hrs. and that meant four knots. We measured only 3 knots, but then the tides do not always follow the prediction or the diagram. Once through we met the Serenade of the Seas who was in a hurry southbound as she had a very tight schedule to make. I took the scenic route so at 07.30 we passed by Alert Bay for the totem pole viewing. With some whales showing in the afternoon and evening it was a good day.

Tomorrow we are in Ketchikan, where they seemed to have located the rains clouds again.

Today was Friday the 13th, so all of us superstitious sailors were on the full alert. It is the birthday of Murphy and he likes to reinforce his laws on occasion. Thanks to a gift of one of the readers of this blog, we have Murphy’s laws hanging on the bridge and close attention is paid to keep Murphy away from navigating the ship. Murphy almost got a hand in by upsetting the traffic sequence under the Lions Gate bridge this morning, with a container ship coming out while the cruise ships wanted to get in but in the end it only cost us 10 minutes. We had the gangway out by 07.15 hrs. while the target time is 07.10 hrs.

I cannot do it faster, as we can only give the first mooring line ashore at 07.00:01 hrs. to avoid overtime penalties from the longshoremen. When you can to Vancouver from Deep-Sea, then you have to have regular linesmen that normally get paid for a four hour work window. If the ship arrives within those four hours, it is just the regular charge. If you are doing Alaska all summer, you are considered coastal and then the longshoremen that load the ships are allowed to handle the lines. They start working at 07.00 but are already on the docks just before but if we throw the first line ashore for 07.00 then we have to pay extra. That amount is considerable and so all the cruise ships aim to have their first line ashore right after 7 am. The chief officer looks at the GPS clock and at the appropriate time gives the green light. The deck officers fore and aft keep a close eye on the sailors with the lines, in case somebody’s name just changed to Murphy.

This sailing under the bridge is regulated by the pilots in close cooperation with Victoria Traffic which is a Vessel Traffic announcement system that covers this part of the coast.
Pilot talks to each other and figure out the safest way to go under the bridge. If ships are approaching the bridge from both sides at the same time, then the pilots set up the best transfer times. A ship that is running with the current has the first choice, as that ship has more problems coming to a standstill if necessary. If more ships are inbound at the same time, then the ship that goes furtherest into the harbor goes in first. So on arrival Vancouver the Millennium which docks at Centerm/Ballentyne goes first because it has to go the furtherest. If there would be a ship that docks at Canada Place East, that would go second, followed by the Veendam as we dock at Canada Place west which is the dock nearest to bridge. The only exception is when a tanker or dangerous cargo barge is transiting. Then Victoria Traffic closes all traffic down until that cargo has safely passed the bridge. In this way a very small chance of a collision is reduced even further.
This morning we had a container ship coming out of the harbor with 3 knots of ebb current with it, so we all had to wait outside for that ship to clear the bridge and then we could move to the dock.

We dock starboard side alongside as it works better for the shore side operation. I prefer to dock noise in as I hate to turn the ships stern towards the rocks and the shallows at the end of the dock, but as we have the whole Westside to ourselves it is not such a big thing so I can stay about 200 feet away from the shallows. We hook two gangways in with this setup, the 2nd gangway is used for America-bound-guests who are bussed directly to the Vancouver airport for USA bound flights and they end up directly in the departure lounge. By sealing off this gangway part and the terminal, they stay inside the Canadian custom zone and are not considered to have landed in Canada and therefore do not need to see immigration. That speeds up the disembarkation process considerably and hence the request to the captain to park his ship the other way around to what makes sense for the casual eye.

Vancouver turned out to be a nice day, the first one they had in 14 days. It seems that when we left 14 days ago we took the sunshine with us and now brought it back again. Maybe not nice for the Vancouverians, but I will try to do this again for the coming cruise.

It looked like it that the people from Ketchikan had exported all their rain to British Columbia. During the morning while sailing through Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound there was a steadily increase in wind but also in rain. The first had been expected the latter not. However it was there and it made the outside world look very gloomy. Luckily most guests spend the morning inside the ship anyway while the ship sped down towards the Canadian Inside Passage.

While coming closer and closer the wind reached gale force winds but by 2 pm. the ship came under the lee of Vancouver Island and then it was better. By the time we reached the pilot station it had diminished in strength but also had changed direction. This made making lee for the pilot boat an interesting puzzle. There was a swell running from the SW and one from the NW and the wind was blowing from the SE. Normally you turn the ship in such a way that you have the swell or the wind full on the beam. Now with opposing swell and wind it was not so easy. In the end the pilot boat and I decided on the “glue alongside manuvre”. This is best described as having the pilot boat come almost alongside and then moving the bow in the direction of the pilot boat. The pilot boat can then put its bow against the ships hull under the pilot ladder and the ships momentum in the turn creates a stable platform, as long as the ship travels just a bit faster than the waves. The stern in the meantime moves away from the pilot boat and that has the effect that the ship “irons” the waves flat.

It worked as planned and the pilot transfer went swift and safely. I had decided to go for the late tide. The early one would have been around 8pm at the latest and that would have meant racing down Johnstone Strait. With going now for the late tide we sailed with a normal sailing speed through the BC Inside Passage. That also gave sometime for some sightseeing. However the weather did not help very much here as it remained rainy and overcast. I took the gamble, hoping that the rain clouds would lift sufficiently, to at least have a look at Alert Bay and the totem poles.

By the time we reached Pulteney point the wind had died down, the rain was reduced to a light drizzle but there were still low hanging clouds. Basically it looked like BC in the winter time but with higher temperatures. Not what the cruise guest expects from a cruise but it did give a good impression. Luckily by the time we reached the Indian Village of Alert bay the clouds just lifted high enough to see the town. With the highest totem pole in the world and the concentration of totem poles around the village green my gamble paid off.

Sailing through the Narrows had been set for midnight and from 11.15 to midnight we had the first fog of the season. Luckily it cleared at Campbell River so it did not affect my short mornings sleep. We sailed through the Narrows just after midnight and by 1 am we had passed Cape Mudge and were in the Strait of Georgia. By 01:05 I was in bed because the phone would ring again at 05.30 for arrival Vancouver.

The people in Ketchikan must be wondering what hit them this season. So many nice days compared to an average year. It is all out of the ordinary. Great for the cruise ship business though. Too much rain does not make for happy cruisers. Thus I was glad we had another dry and even sunny day in Ketchikan.

Somehow it all looks different when the sun is shining. Sailing into Tongass Narrows on the approach Ketchikan was very beautiful. The sides of Tongass Narrows are covered with trees and now it all shone a sparkling green. Ketchikan has been sprawling outwards for the last 20 years and numerous large houses have been built along the North West side of the narrows. The SW side which is the North shore of Gravina Island has some industrial activity connected to logging and gravel digging and that is interesting to look at as well.

When you come closer to Ketchikan itself, Tongass Narrows becomes more narrow, mainly a result of human activity. First there is the ferry terminal of the Alaska state ferry system, whose piers must have once jutted into the Narrows. Later on the Ketchikan Drydock company was added and they have a dry dock that sticks into the Narrows. It is a small dry dock but can handle most of the craft in use in Alaska, such as the large fishing boats, the small ferries and the sightseeing boats both day and overnight. Things seem to be going well for the dry dock company as they have acquired another small dry dock that is to be moored next to, but alongside the other one.

At the moment it is moored on the outside of the large one and a bit of hindrance for the cruise ship traffic. It has reduced the width of the Narrows here even more, but it is supposed to be moved into its final position shortly. On the opposite side of the dry dock company is Ketchikan airport. Several flights a day from Seattle arrive here. The airport is currently being expanded with a longer and larger runway. As it is located on Gravina Island, all traffic to the airport goes via two little ferries which cross the Narrows all day long to keep the airport connected with Ketchikan itself. For a while there was a discussion about building a bridge from Ketchikan via Pennock Island further to the south to connect the airport with a main road. Federal money was made available but local money failed and the project became a bridge too far.

Southbound Ketchikan is an afternoon call and that is partly because of the schedule, even when going full speed I would not be able to make it before 12 am., but as all the docks are occupied, we have an afternoon arrival at 2 pm. taking the berth of the Amsterdam which leaves at 1 pm. She is to be followed 5 minutes later by the Infinity as both ships bound for Victoria and then the Veendam can slide in. The challenge is always to dock as quickly as possible. So I had the Veendam in position near the Infinity at 12.50, and the moment she moved forward the Veendam moved in as well. Luckily both ships left on time, the longshoremen were fast, the forklift driver with the gangway did a good job, CPB cleared the ship as soon as the gangway was out and the guests could stream ashore 20 minutes before 2 pm.

We sailed on time heading south towards British Columbia and towards a lot of wind according to the weather forecast. As most of it is supposed come north of Vancouver Island in the early afternoon, I hope to be able to be under the lee of Vancouver Island when that wind picks up.

Juneau turned out to be a decent day. There was a bit of drizzle in the morning and it remained chilly but for the rest it was a good day. We arrived bright and early and were the first cruise ship to dock, all in accordance with the schedule set up in the beginning of the season. During the past two calls, the Infinity went in first due to medivacs and when that happens the docking of the Veendam becomes a little bit complicated. With 800 feet of dock and 720 feet of ship it means that you have to approach under a wider angle and to be almost stopped in position before you can pull the stern in because of that other ship that is docked alongside already.

Now with the normal arrival sequence the Veendam could just sail in and approach the dock under a small angle sailing over the spot where later the Infinity would dock. The angle of approach in Juneau is important because of a water cushion that tends to build up between the ship and the dock. At our dock, The Alaska Steam dock, we sometimes have no more then 10 feet of clearance under the bow during low tide. If you then have to push the ship sideways to the dock, a wall of water builds up between the ship and the dockside and that water has great difficulty in flowing away, as there is hardly any space between the ships keel and the sea bottom. Thus if you can approach under a bit of angle you can push that water away from the dock, using the ships bow as a knife that “cuts the water”. The amount of angle is the subject of a lot of discussions among ship handlers but I find that about 20 to 30o of angle in relation to the dock normally does the trick. A large angle works as well, but then you have to pull the stern all the way in at the last moment and that takes extra time. That you do when that other ship is there. So it is handy that the Veendam sails into port first and we then can approach the dock under this smaller angle as there is no other ship blocking the approach.

The name Alaska Steam Dock is a left over from the old days. Until 1964 there was a company called the Alaska Steamship Company who maintained a regular passenger service on the coast. They docked at this dock, which was the nearest dock to the town. After 1964 they continued with carrying cargo only and in that period also the Alaska State Ferry system came to prominence, which took over the passenger business.

As an example a photo of one of the steamboats of those days.

This ship is best remembered for the fact that it sank in seven minutes on May 26,1929 after hitting a submerged rock. Of the 116 onboard only one perished because that crew member went back to his cabin to get his lucky charm. The rock which it hit is now called the Aleutian rock. The wreck was found in 2003 and there were activities going on to salvage most of the contents as everything, apart from the wood of the superstructure, was still present. With a length of 375 feet it could carry several hundred persons. Its full time capacity was sometimes reached when it was time for personnel changes at the salmon canneries in the area.

Ships like the Aleutian formed the lifelines of small and remote communities along the coast carrying peoples and goods to and from the major cities. The terminus of the voyage being Seattle and or Juneau. They often sailed in-adequately surveyed waters and regularly touch bottom or hit a rock that was not charted. In this case for the Aleutian they hit it with the full speed of 14 knots and it caused its sinking. Quite often if such a ship would run aground it would just wait for a higher tide and then sail away again. These ships were very strongly built in order to survive the Alaskan winter storms.

The Veendam only sails Alaska in the summer and luckily we now have adequate charts, at least for the areas that we sail in. We also sailed on time, had our USCG escort again and headed south to what is supposed to be a sunny day in Ketchikan.