Moving down the river always has the feeling that things go a lot faster. This is certainly the case in the rainy season when the Amazon current can reach a velocity of up to four knot, but even now a current of around 2 knots it gives a nice push in the back. Although the average speed might remain the same, it gives the same feeling as when walking with or against the wind. Also it saves an engine to make the speed required and that helps greatly with the fuel consumption. 100 miles south of Manaus is the Itacotiara pilot station where we switched pilots again. The two “Manaus” pilots left and the two “river pilots” joined. They will stay with us until Macapá where the Amazon starts & ends for compulsory Pilotage and which is 170 miles upstream from the Amazon Bar, there where the Amazon waters meet the North Atlantic Ocean. Continue reading

We all enjoyed a good night’s sleep after all these standbys while going up the river. Although the rainy season is supposed to have started we id not see much of it yet, as yesterday was a clear sky day and today it was the same again. Only just before departure we saw the first thunder storm gathering momentum above the city of Manaus. We were the only cruise ship in port and there aren’t many expected in the coming weeks, until the season gears up in late January. Ahead of us is another floating pier, called the Torres pier and alongside was a cargo ship, loading and unloading containers, which listened to the beautiful name of log-in. We were all wondering if her sisters would be called pass-word, username or something similar, derived from the computer world. It turned out that the name of the owner company was LOG, hence the ships names that started with the brand name. Somehow in the past, they were a bit more creative and respectful with naming ships. Continue reading

Not the whole waterway that we generally call the Amazon River is really covered by it. Just before Manaus, the river Solimoes and the river Rio Negro meet and form the Amazon. Also Pilotage for the river is split up in two groups. Thus we had a pilot change at the town of Itacotiaria about 120 miles South of Manaus. All was set for 00.15 and in front of the town we passed the Regatta from Oceana Cruises and their pilots came over to us. They had left Manaus at 16.00 hrs. yesterday and now they will be back at 10 am. today. Travelling in 5 star luxury and getting paid for it as well. For an Amazon pilot getting a cruise ship job is very desirable as mostly they are stuck on austere equipped tankers and container ships. Thus we get most of the time the very senior pilots who firmly stand on their stripes to enjoy room service while piloting. They know that the HAL ships are very hospitable as me and all my colleagues follow the policy that a pilot full of food does not complain and thus we ensure that all is arranged according to this philosophy. Continue reading

From Santarem to Boca is not that far only about 220 miles up river. Not much speed required, although the river has a few shallow spots in them where we slow down to about 10 knots to avoid squat. For the rest it is easy going and I had a quiet seven hours standby (six hours normal, plus and one hour back with time difference) on the bridge from midnight to arrival. I kept the average speed higher than needed for the official schedule as I wanted to arrive at sunrise. The sun was rising at 05.32 and I dropped the hook at 06.00 hrs. Boca de Valeria (see also the archives from autumn 2007 and March 2010) does not have a dock or a port; you just deal with it according to the height of the water. That means that an “advance landing party” is needed. Spearheaded by the chief officer in charge of an extensive maintenance team. The locals always put out a sort of platform for the tenders if the waters are low but the result is seldom five star or HAL guest acceptable. Thus carpenters with wood, upholsters with carpet and sailors with rope went ashore to do what was needed. Even the locksmith came along……just in case of….. Continue reading

The river was good to us during the night. The current was not too strong and with the timely departure from Macapá we managed to nicely stay on schedule. For the first time in three years I arrived on time in Santarem. What was even better, I was early. So I did not have to rush in but could gently float to the dock, helped by the wind that was lightly pushing on the starboard side. Due to the low level of the Amazon, the pier level was quite high compared to the ship and we had to rig up the gangway on the highest break door. And then we happily sat there for the remainder of the day. Also here Mother Nature was kind to us, it did not rain until 1830 when most of the guests were back already. Then the rain really pored down, the level in the swimming pool and the Jacuzzi’s rose more than 3 inches during the one hour’s downpour. Luckily it had diminished to a light drizzle by the time that we were departing and I got through the maneuver with one umbrella. Not always are open bridge wings conducive to enjoy work at all times. Continue reading

Last night the chief officer and I started our 6 on 6 off standbys on the bridge; to have an extra pair of eyes present when sailing in these confined waters. Until the pilot boards, the navigators are conning the ship up the river but for the whole cruise up to Manaus and back again, the chief or I will be present. A lot of extra work, but I like to be the captain of the ship Prinsendam and not of the Hotel Prinsendam. The river can be full of trees and unlit boats, the mud banks are always close, thus each extra pair of eyes is an asset. It is 170 miles from the bar to the pilot station at Macapá and that meant that once over the Bar, we could go a bit slower, all depending on how much the adverse current was going to be. That was the unknown factor as the local information that comes to us before we go upriver only indicates high and low water and not the strength of the Amazon flow. So I made sure that I had a bit of power up my sleeve in case the Amazon was going to spring a surprise on me. It did but the other way around than expected. There was much less river current than I would ever have betted on. Basically the current was so weak that the North Atlantic tidal movement overpowered it all. Good for us. That meant the Prinsendam would be on time at the pilot station without any worries at all. Continue reading

The big question mark with the Amazon is always the current as that is dependent to a great degree on the rain fall. In the past months there has been a real drought in the Amazon basin resulting in very low water levels. Only in the last 14 days the rain in the Andes has really started to come through and currently the river is rising by about 3 inches a day. That will ensure that we will have enough water to make the journey up and down the river. However it does not help with figuring out have much current there might be running while we are on the river. That is something we will only find out when we get there. From the moment we enter the river, she will dictate how our cruise will progress and if we will be able to keep the schedule and call at each port, the way we hope to do. That makes the cruise so fascinating and that is why I call this an expedition instead of a normal cruise. Continue reading

Devil’s Island is part of a group of three Islands called the Iles du Salut. It consists of Ile du Diable (Devils Island), Ile Saint Joseph and Ile Royale. It lies just (six miles) off the coast of French Guyana, opposite the town of Kourou, where they launch all the European Space Rockets. As a matter of fact you can see the installation tower with the naked eye, when you have the sun behind you. In the grey and dim past, France assigned the main land over here as a prison centre. I understand that the more severe cases were sent to the islands, from where it was difficult to escape due to the strong currents and the sharks. The current can indeed be very strong; we had nearly 4 knots against us, when we approached. The islands are located on the edge of the continental shelf of South America and the area is extremely shallow. Deep water is 30 feet, so that gives an idea. The cruise ships call at Isle Royale, as the South side of the island is the only place where there is enough shelter from the Ocean swell and the NE or SE winds that normally blow here. This means that in order to get there you have to keep the islands first on the portside and then sail around the south point of Saint Joseph to get to the leeward anchorage under Ile Royale. The average depth close to the island is about 9 to 10 meters, with not much room to deviate. Continue reading

The further south we sail, the further behind we leave the wave fields. Although the swells are not that high, they still make the ship move a bit and I am just puzzled about how much swell there still is. Normally by this time it has come down to a low running swell of about 4 to 5 feet maximum but there is still 8 to 9 feet out there. That means that we will have at least a little ripple of swell still running while we anchor at Devil’s Island tomorrow. Only ships with less then 6 meter draft can anchor far enough in, to sit in completely sheltered waters. That is however a worry for tomorrow. Today we are at sea and apart from the occasional rain cloud it is a sunny day. The navigators sail around the rain clouds as much as they can but they do not always succeed as sometime the rain clouds are interlinked into a continuous band miles and miles wide. The good thing is, is that the rain is warm; the bad thing is that the rain is wet. But then life is never completely perfect. Continue reading