As we are coming closer to the longest day of the year, it really does not get dark anymore. We do not reach the 66oNorth, e.g. the land of the midnight sun, but we are nearly touching the 60oN. The period of darkness is very small and because twilight lasts so long and there is the reflection of the snow capped mountains, dark is not the dark you would expect during the night. The fact that there is still so much snow on the mountains does help with keeping it lighter although this snow should have gone already. We are 11 days away from summer and we have not seen summer yet. Also today it was a mixed bag. The weather forecast was off on the wind; prediction wind still at the dock and it was blowing 20 knots and the only thing that made it good was that it hardly rained. Thus a reasonable day for disembarkation and embarkation. We had 1312 guests going off and 1276 coming on. Courtesy of more families leaving than joining. As I had parked the ship at the time required by the agent, the whole process went like clockwork and by 06.30 the guests were exchanging their floating hotel for a train carriage and were on the way to Anchorage. Then in the afternoon the trains and coaches make the return journey and by 1900 hrs. everybody is on board for the southbound journey. Continue reading

For all of the less than “pleasant weather” we had during this cruise, the Gulf of Alaska made up for it. If it had not been for a low running swell from the Siberian coast, the sea would have been as flat as a mirror.  Yesterday morning the weather forecast indicated strong winds with 30 kts. coming from the East, but by 9 pm. last night the forecast had been suddenly changed to light winds. It looked as if:  “that to great success the bad weather is staying for another 3 days at another location”. A sort of circus that is not moving because things are going so well in a certain area. We are now supposed to get those strong easterly winds this coming Sunday night. We just had a little pitching to remind the guests that we are still sailing on a ship and they are not living in a land based hotel.  Last night the clouds lifted high enough to show the Fairweather mountain range and we could just see Mt. Fairweather’s top 20.000+ feet above the water. On a clear day it is a spectacular sight when the evening sun sets on it. If we get some wind tomorrow and on Monday, maybe it will blow the clouds away and we will get such a sight. We are almost in the middle of June but we have not seen much sunny weather yet. ……………………….. Alaska is known to have the highest suicide rate of the US States per 1000 people and if the summer goes on like this 2012 will be a record year.  Continue reading

It was rainy, overcast and  wisps of low clouds were floating over the waters when we turned the ship into Glacier Bay. Still visibility was good and that solved one concern that I had, that the guests would not be able to see the wildlife while we were going through the lower bay. Not a problem there, now we just had to hope that the wildlife would be present. At 07.00 hrs we embarked the Rangers and then we had to push mightily against at a 5 knot ebb current coming out of the bay. Although the Full moon is past, the tides are still strong and this time they were in the adverse. In the Middle Bay we are only allowed to make a speed of 13 knots due to the increased sightings of Whales, and that means that we only made progress through the water with a speed of 13 – 5 = 8 knots.  On the way up we did not see many animals. It seemed that everybody slept late today. On the way back it was a lot better, seals, otters with pups on their bellys (sea otters like to back-paddle when they get the chance) and several humpback whales flipping their tails. Continue reading

During the night we over took the Disney Wonder and lined up in the parade going to Skagway. As requested by the agent we all came in 30 minutes apart and by 06.30 we were safely docked at the Broadway Pier at Skagway. Right in line with the main street “Broadway” of Skagway. It was wind still, real wind still, the wind meter read 0o and 0 knots and low clouds were hanging over the bay. It looked like a scene straight out of the Lord of the Rings, with young Frodo going into the Misty Mountains. By 08.00 a very gentle breeze came in and that blew all the haziness away. Which was good as it meant that all the helicopter tours could go for there sightseeing. The trains were being brought into position and because each dock has a rail road track next to it, or in front of it, the guests can just walk off the ship and board the train right there. There are several departures during the day, and the early morning ones which are normally less full, are combined in one train even if there are guests coming  from different ships. The longest train goes to the Railroad dock where it parks right in front of the gangways of the two ships there. Coral Princess and Star Princess completely fill the space at the Rail Road dock and with 7,000 guests on board they also fill a lot of train carriages. Continue reading

 Our approach into Gastineau Channel for Juneau was under cloudy skies but without rain. It seems that the weather is holding. At the moment we are counting our small blessings when we get them, as the weather is not very good in general. The locals are complaining about it and that must mean something. Today turned out to be a good day and the 10,000+ guests ashore took advantage of it. We had no less than 5 ships in port today. Ocean Princess, Sea Princess, Star Princess, Oosterdam and Statendam. With only 1,300 guests our contribution to the local economy was the smallest but as we were docked the “deepest” into downtown, no doubt we made the most intense impact. I think there is a retail law out there that says: the closer the dollar is to a shop, the faster it gets spent. If so, then the Harley Davidson store must have done good business as we have that shop right under our bridge wing. Continue reading

We joined right in, in the early morning parade of cruise ships sailing to Ketchikan. Everybody was on time, cruise ships and pilots alike and like on clockwork we all sailed past the pilot station and picked up our respective pilots. 03.45 for the Star Princess, 04.15. for the Statendam and 04.45 for the Sea Princess. Each with a 30 minutes interval to allow each ship to be tied up alongside and then the linesmen can move to the next dock to repeat the tying up process. It worked as expected, without a glitch and by 06.45 we were happily sitting alongside Berth 2. Right opposite downtown. It does help to be a smaller ship once in awhile. It will be of advantage to us again tomorrow as well. The Star Princess was already docked at berth 4 and the Sea Princess was hard on my heels and putting the first line ashore when our last one came tight. She docked right behind us with about 120 feet clearance from our stern to their nose. I had good hopes for the Ketchikan weather and I was not disappointed. Apart from a bit of drizzle around 11 am. (That is NOT considered rain in Ketchikan) it remained dry all day. Things were well in the world.  

The tides are very extreme at the moment. Due to a full moon and Venus moving past the Sun today (a one in a 103 year occurrence) the planets are in conjunction creating a large pull on the water on earth. It helped to create the strongest current in Seymour Narrows a few days ago and it is responsible for extreme tides in the ports. Today we went up and down 15 feet and tomorrow in Juneau we will arrive on a minus tide; 4 feet under the “zero” of the normal harbor chart depth. Then the total amplitude will be 6.3 meters or 19 feet. That is very high for Juneau. These higher tides are more the norm for Anchorage which is located at the end of an estuary and I wonder what tides they had there today.

That meant a challenge for the gangway, although it is a ramp all the way, it was still quite steep during the middle of the morning. Luckily with the tide being so high, our B deck break door appeared above the dock by 12.45 and thus for the last two hours, the lower gangway could be used, which was almost horizontal during that period.

Our Ketchikan stay is until 15.00 in the afternoon and then it is always interesting to see which ship has the most punctual guests coming back on time and can pull out first. We have very well behaved guests on the Statendam and by 14.45 I could let go the lines and pull out, while the Sea Princess was still dealing with long lines up the gangway. I know she had hoped to be first, as she has a much tighter schedule to make to Juneau. In the end she came charging by with 23 knots around 17.00 hrs. as she has to be in Juneau at 08.00 hrs. tomorrow morning while we are scheduled for 10 am. I can go much slower therefore but will have the challenge to wriggle my way past the Sea Princess as she will be at anchor and then squeeze in between the already docked Oosterdam and the tender float. It is going to be interesting.

However the weather forecast looks quite good. They are talking about some showers but if I read the wind right, then the rain will remain away in between the mountains until at least late in the afternoon and maybe will not show at all.

Although it is nicer to spend the night in bed, this was a good night to be up and about, if you have to be up and about. It was wind still, a full moon was shining over the waters of the Inside Passage and the ship was gliding serenely through Johnston Strait. We arrived ahead of schedule at the Narrows, courtesy of the fact that there was some traffic that we wanted to overtake. If there is small craft out there that is going the same way, then it is always better to have those behind you, than in front of you. You never know if they might decide to veer over at the last minute and get into the way. The Celebrity Century was ahead of us and that made sense as she has to go to Icy Strait which is a longer distance than for us going to Ketchikan. So she has to maintain a higher average speed and why should we be in the way then? Although there is enough room to overtake in Johnston Strait it is all extra hassle and that is better to avoid when possible. Continue reading

Today is the day that is dictated by large currents. This afternoon the strongest current of the year will be running through Seymour Narrows. It is expected to reach a maximum velocity of 15.8 knots and that is a lot. There is a big difference between the momentum of somebody on a bike doing 20 land miles an hour and trying to stop him/her or going against the weight and force of millions of tons of water coming through at that speed.  I do not think anybody will be near the Narrows this afternoon when this current starts to run. It will not affect us as we are going through tonight. Still, with the full moon out there the regular tides are strong as well and this morning we sailed under the Lions Gate Bridge with 3.5 knots of Ebb current against us. This afternoon when we leave it will be 4 knots of flood against us. These velocities we can deal with but they have to be handled with caution to ensure the ship goes through on the perfect course.  If you err a little off the perfect track, the ship will be caught in a back eddy or get the current under the stern under the wrong angle and the ship will veer off the intended track very quickly. The pilots are very alert to that and we are standing right on top of them to ensure that they do the right thing. Continue reading

 Sailing down from Ketchikan is after the pilot station an almost straight southerly course. We cross Dixon Entrance, sail down Hecate Strait and then into Queen Charlotte Sound. The speed we make depends on when we pick up the B.C. pilots at Pine Island and that depends again on when we have to go through Seymour Narrows. Tonight slack tide was at 23.00 and that means that I aimed for a pilot pick up time at 15.00 hrs. When the pilots are then on board, we can discuss the exact time of going through; a time that they are comfortable with and if that is earlier than I have planned, then we can still easily make it. All ships like to go through near or at slack tide and the pilots normally have a very good insight of what traffic can be expected there. Cruise ships coming up from Vancouver and Seattle, ferries, tug and tows etc. etc. It can be quite busy there. The rule is also that the ships with the following tide have the first right of way as it more difficult for them to wait and keep position. The tide keeps pushing them forward. For the ships that sail against the tide, it is much easier to wait. If you have five knots against you, then you can make five knots speed, have good steering all the time and still remain in the same place. That is all discussed with the pilots and then a final plan is made.

Continue reading

 The stretch from Juneau to Ketchikan has one navigational highlight and that is going through Snow Passage. This is the fairly narrow passage on the Southside of Zarembo Island. If you want to avoid it, you have to go north of the Island which adds 25 miles to the journey but then you do not have to deal with the current, the traffic and the whales. There is not much reason to go all the way around as experience has taught us that the only challenge there really is the whales; and most of the time they are behaving themselves by playing close to the shore line. Traffic can be regulated with good passing agreements and the current is with us every day of our life. If you remain alert to it, it does not pose a big problem either. This time we had the full flood current with us and we were “flushed through the hole” as it were while going through. The only prudent action we take is to slow down to about 11 knots, which gives more time to make the 90 degree course change, which also avoids excessive listing of the ship when we “go around the corner” with giving more rudder. There were no whales around this time, only a few seals sitting on the danger buoy and for the rest a lot of birds resting on the water. The latter got really annoyed as we were disturbing their early morning peace by going exactly where they were sitting/floating. Amid much wing flapping and squawking they indignantly moved to a safer area. Continue reading