Haines turned out to be an overcast day with a bit of drizzle on occasion but luckily not the sort of rain that bothered anybody. One of the reasons we dock there is that Skagway is full of other cruise ships, a second reason is to offer an alternative port during this cruise, so that the approx 300 guests who go up and down with us have other port to look at. A third reason is that when sailing from Ketchikan you cannot make Skagway before noon time but you can make Haines before 10 am with good weather.

And as we had good weather all night long we arrived on the minute at the entrance of the bay in which Haines is located. That corner is called Battery Point and named after the gun emplacements that used to be here during the 2nd world war. As mentioned in a previous blog, the military considered Lynn Canal one of the entry points to Alaska if ever an invasion would occur. The Japanese briefly invaded Alaska in the far west, but never made to the SE panhandle. All during the war there was a large military base located in and around Haines. The large white houses overlooking Haines still testify from that period.

In Haines most of our guests go on the various shore excursions and the first ones start sharply at 10 am., our official docking time, so it is a necessity to have the gangway hooked in before that time. We use a shore gangway in Haines, due to the 10 to 12 feet tides and that means that this is done by the linesmen who also tie up the ship. During the last call we just made 10 am. sharp, so there was room for improvement. Therefore I had requested the agent to ask the linesmen to break the tying up of the ships into two parts. First take three ropes ashore fore and aft, two head lines and a spring line, then hook in the gangway and then finish tying up the ship with four more lines. Those last four lines are the extra lines that are put out as a safety. 2 +1 Fore and Aft is sufficient to keep the ship alongside during normal weather circumstances and with the thrusters as a back up if a sudden wind would try to blow the ship of the dock.

All went according to this plan and it resulted in having the gangway hooked in 10 minutes earlier than last time. The moment the forklift on the dock let the gangway go, the shorex manager marched ashore followed by the first tours. They have to walk quite a long distance over the wooden pier to the main land. As the land gradually curves into the bay and with the tides causing such a difference in height, the ship has to dock quite far out to have sufficient water under the keel. That distance is bridged by an elevated pier. For those who are less agile, there is a little blue bus shuttling up and down the pier from the ship to the shore, all very nicely organized.

The cruiseship dock in Haines with the little blue shutte in the middle. Foto courtesy Security officer John Cabalde.

Departure looks a bit like the Miami line up of cruise ships on a Sunday afternoon. Although we are alone in Haines, we leave two hours later than most of the ships from Skagway and so we can join the parade coming down the Lynn Canal. This time we had the Tahitian Princess first, followed by the Radiance of the Seas, followed by the Rhapsody of the seas, followed by us. In between there was also an Alaska State ferry coming by. Great evening entertainment for those locals who have a view over the bay. All the ships stay in line until past the narrow part in Lynn Canal near Kelgaya point, then each can set its individual speed plan and a little bit further south the ships can go West via Icy Strait, south via Chatham Strait or East, as we did, going to Juneau via Saginaw channel.

Juneau is forecasted to be a rainy day tomorrow, caused by this weather front in the North Pacific. The first winds are supposed to come through during the night and tomorrow we will see if the frontal system is going to bother us, while going to Sitka or not.

Picture of ship docked in Haines. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a bit grey and over cast when we arrived at the pilot station a 5 am. but there were no dark clouds gathering on the horizon and that meant a dry day. And indeed it was. The sun even came through the clouds on occasion and that meant very good weather for Ketchikan. We sailed into port following the Celebrity Infinity who had been with us in Vancouver. They had sailed another route, as for some reason they do not like to sail past Alert Bay. But here at the pilot station we caught up again and as they were assigned to dock 2 in front of us, we followed them in.

This was an early day for all the crew as we had our 90 day Custom and Border Inspection. We call this the US immigration Full Crew Inspection. Every 90 days we all have to go and see the Inspectors to verify that we have the correct visa and that we really are who we are. The ships crew purser, who we call Human Resources Officer or HRO, makes a schedule for all departments to attend at a certain time and normally, with 4 inspectors, the 580 crew are seen within 2.5 hours. It also pertains to any American crew that we have on board. They have to show their passport and or Green Card.

Non American crew are considered visitors and have to have passports with visa. In the old days we were called Aliens but after years of protest, that description was changed, including the signs at the airports. When you enter the USA as visitors, there are several categories. If you are coming in as a tourist, you can come in on a “Green Waiver” form. Citizens of certain countries, such as The Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany etc. qualify for this. If you are from a non-waiver country, or if you are a crewman, or a businessman, or an immigrant, you all require a visa.

As a crewman, I have to have a C1/D1 visa. These two visa’s cover the movement of a crewman in and out the USA both by airplane and ship. Every crew man has to obtain such a visa, which is a cumbersome process and can quite often delay the timely arrival of a crew member from his/her home country onboard. Nowadays you have to present yourself in person and go through an interview and that means traveling to a USA consulate. That consulate might not be near to where you live. As I live in England, it means traveling to London and as your appointment is at a certain time, it means most of the time an overnight stay as well. My wife and I combine this five year exercise with a visit to the London theatre’s.

Once you arrive on the ship with the required visa in your passport, the CBP will see you at you first call in the USA with a ship. Then you get issued an I-95 in exchange for an I- 94 that was given to you at an American airport if applicable. This I-95 has your basic details and you have to carry that with you when you go ashore in the USA as a crew member. It provides the proof that you are not illegally in the USA. Every 90 days the CBP checks if you have your I-95 and endorses it. If you loose it, there might be a $ 70 fine to get a new one.

Today we had this 90 day check. Everything ran well. The HRO had lined up the cruise staff to help with giving out the passports and with a well organized setup in the crew mess; all crew marched through very quickly.

All our guests where back on time, and I managed to pull out 20 minutes before the Infinity who still had to move its gangways. It is a tight run to Haines, hence our 10 am arrival, so every minute that I can save helps with making it more certain that I get there on time. Haines looks good for tomorrow. No wind and a dry day. Out in the Pacific a depression is brewing which might intensify or might dissipate. We will find out in the coming days.

After our little deviation, yesterday because of the medivac, we were quickly back on schedule again and sailed through the Seymour Narrows on time. Apart from some fishing boats and the Brilliance of the Seas, who was southbound, there was no traffic to be seen. The patient that we disembarked last night was reported to be doing fine and so that action ended with a positive result.

We spent the morning sailing in the Canadian Inside passage, passing the Indian Village of Alert Bay around seven thirty. The sun was just coming out and the scenery was picture perfect. Lush and green hill sides and as there was no wind, the ships shadow was reflected in the water as if we were at a stand still. After Alert Bay we sailed towards Pine Island to disembark the Canadian Pilots. Here we entered Whale country again and for the rest of the day we had numerous sightings of tail flapping and the officer of the watch reported one whale breeching not too far from the ship.

Time to answer some questions again that have been posted in the past few days:

1. How do I know about Ice in Hubbard ?
Well, I do not know until I get there. There is no Ranger station or any other observation post. Nor can we get up-to-the minute satellite photos, even if we could, they would reflect a past situation as Hubbard changes constantly. So we just go there and find out when we come closer. Hubbard glacier is very active and it depends on wind and current to flush the ice out of the bay. That makes the visit always very interesting, it is mother nature at her best.

2. Formal Nights onboard.
This is a touchy subject and generated last year a lot of responses when I posted something about it. We have on a 7 day cruise two formal nights and we request the guests to adhere to the dress code. Those who do not dress up are asked to go to the Lido for casual dinner and are not let into the dining room on formal nights. About 80% of the guests do dress up in one way or the other. It is lately getting a bit less but that is mainly due to the air line restrictions on luggage weight. A formal dress and tuxedo take up a lot of space and especially for guests who go on the overland tours it is an issue to consider. HAL has Tuxedos for rent on board and it is gratifying to see that more and more gents are renting them.

3. Northern Lights.
I have not seen them yet. The best time seems to be in July and August when the days are getting shorter but on average warmer. None of the other ships have reported anything yet either. I have seen spectacular displays over Juneau and Haines and hopefully we will have some good shows this year.

4. My Holland America lecture.
I do one (or sometimes more) on the longer cruises. On seven day cruise there is not enough sea time for the Cruise director to fit one in and also my time is very limited in Alaska, as I try to catch up on my sleep every free moment I have. On a 14 day cruise or longer, there is always the one about Holland America History but if the cruises are even longer and or the Cruise Director runs out of guest lecturers, then I can do another one about the History of The Cruise Industry, North Atlantic Liners and Fabulous Interiors as well.

5. Slack tide at Seymour Narrows on 11 July.
We are leaving Vancouver on 11 July at 1700 hrs. if everybody is onboard on time. That means the first window will be around 00.30 hrs. The current is predicted not to be that strong that night, so I will aim for Seymour at Midnight. If I will be able to get through at that time will depend on traffic and the pilots preference but normally an hour before or after slack tide works best as at slack tide all the tugs and the very slow log tows want to go through.

Tomorrow we are in Ketchikan, and the weather forecast predicts dry weather with good chance of sunshine. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Vancouver gave us one of its beautiful days again with an overcast sky on arrival but a bright sunny day for the rest. We were docked right on the mark of 7 am. and by 07.30 the first guests left the ship after what had been a very good and……sunny………cruise.
I had the plan to run ashore in the course of the morning, as there is a very good second handbook shop near the ship with lots of nautical books but I always seem to have the problem that when I plan in advance, something comes up that stops me from doing so.

Thus this morning we had Canadian Public Health Inspection. 3 inspectors boarded the ship to do their seasonal inspection to see if the Veendam was in good order. This inspection is similar to USPH of the USA and takes about the same amount of time. We had the USPH one about a month ago with good results and now the challenge was on; to repeat our performance. The ship is checked for constructional issues in food area’s, to see if everything is in good repair ,to find out if sound and healthy food preparation procedures are being followed and if the crew knows what it is doing. At the end of the day we receive a report and an overall score.

By 14.30 hrs the result was in and Team Veendam had scored 99 points out of a maximum 100 points. We lost one point on some drain pipes that led into the gutters and where an inch too long. The rules require that there is a sufficient air gap between the drain pipe and the deck drain in case of a black flow and in this case the distance was just a little bit too short. Hence we had never noticed it. We fixed it with a hack saw in 5 minutes but the rules are the rules and one was point deducted. Where it however mattered was that all our procedures were in order and thus the service to our guests. The inspectors were very happy with that, hence the 99 points. I feel proud about this achievement and happy that all the training given and inspections done, worked out as intended. Compliments to TEAM VEENDAM.

At 17.00 we left the dock, slightly delayed due to a late arriving bus with guests but once they were onboard we set sail for Alaska again. All went well until 18.30 when I got a call from the ships doctor about a patient that he was not very happy with and would prefer to be seen ashore where some specialized equipment was available. As the case was not an emergency yet, but could become one, I concurred with his request. In this case I did not need the help of the Canadian Coastguard but could order a water taxi as the patient was still ambulant. Our Agent in Vancouver was lightning fast and by the time I had made the call to him and had turned the ship around, he had a fast boat on the way.

For the guests onboard it was a bit of a startling experience, suddenly they saw Vancouver in front of the ship instead of behind him. We disembarked the patient with spouse 5 miles west of Vancouver on a glassy calm sea and then turned around again.
All went well and the patient was timely on the way for further evaluation in a shore side hospital. Due to the very quick action of the ships agent the whole operation took less then an hour and I was still able to make the Seymour Narrows slack tide time on time and therefore there will be no delay to our cruise.

The weather for tomorrow looks good again, the current is with us and by 07.30 tomorrow morning we should be passing the largest totem pole in the world at Alert Bay. (At least that is what they say, several other towns claim similar)

With such nice weather we had a pleasant ride down from Ketchikan to the Pine Island Pilot station. Not the wobbly weather that we had last cruise southbound when I had to cancel Ketchikan due to strong winds. Now we had a nearly smooth sea. The smoother the sea, the easier it is to see Whales and other wild life and we spotted flipping tails on several occasions. The ships speed was too fast for porpoises to enjoy themselves by riding the bow wave but we saw them later in the afternoon when we entered Johnstone Strait via Blackney Pass.

As mentioned before, the scenic cruising that we do in the BC Inside passage is all dictated by the times of slack water at the Seymour Narrows. The earlier the slack tide, the faster I have to go to get through Johnstone Strait to be on time. If the early tide is too early, then I have to take the late tide and that will happen next cruise southbound. This time the early tide was still preferable but earlier than last cruise, so I had to take a slightly different route. That route is called Black Passage. It does not go by the Indian Village of Alert Bay, as that requires a long period of slow –no wake- speed but it has the interesting attraction that it is much narrower and you can see the current eddy’s twirling around the ship.

I had set my pilot boarding time for as early as possible which in this case was 14.00 hrs. as the pilots had to come from the Seven Seas Mariner which was going Northbound. The pilot boat was on station to facilitate the transfer and by 14.05 hrs we were on the way. We saw some sea lions while nearing Blackney Pass, including one that showed the whole world how to catch and eat a fish while at the same time keeping a leery eye on a large blue cruise ship coming by. Nature in full action.

Blackney Passage is not difficult to navigate. It just means paying careful attention to the way the ship is pushed off-track by the current. There was about 3 knots of ebb flowing through the passage but as it turns into eddies while the water is pushed through, the set of the ship is by no means in the direction of the average current but sometimes even opposite. Thus we slow the ship down a little bit otherwise it might list when we have to give a sharp rudder command and for that we also have the stabilizer out. Normally takes only two large course changes to get through and the ship is in Johnstone Strait.

I went through here for the first time in 1982 when I was a starting 3rd officer and the pilots were the real old timers from the days before Radar and GPS. They navigated on a magnetic compass and visual bearings and listened to the fog signals from the large and small lighthouses along the coast. I remember the first time when I met one of those pilots and saw him in action on the bridge. His name was Captain Wodzyanik and he was by that time already close to retirement. We called him the teacher as he was always trying to teach us things the old way. He hated radar and if he had half the chance he would switch the machine off, when we looked the other way. He would point out the hills, the trees and the rocks that he used as reference points for course changes and even did the trick with the echo of the whistle when going through a narrow passage lined with mountains on both sides.
Those tricks I still remember and sometimes still use, also in Blackney Passage. Here when you have to make the second turn, there is a sight line that can be used. If a little beach comes just into view from behind a rocky ledge, then you can never run aground if you make a normal course change. In the early days that is what you did and it went well, now you can check it on your radar to see if the ship is on, and stays on the track line. The little beach came just in view when the pilot made course change and indeed the ship lined up exactly for the next course. Only later on we had to compensate for the changing current. As Captain Wodzyanik would say: “What do you need a radar for”.

A quick anecdote about this same pilot. He was a very friendly, quiet and polite gentleman but one afternoon he burst out in stream of profanity while we were about to make a course change. All of us on the bridge were quite startled as it was totally out of normal behavior. We made the course change of about 90o but the ship overshot a little bit. Nothing serious, but again out of fashion, compared to the normal meticulous navigating of this pilot. After he had finally calmed down, we asked him of course what the matter was. It turned out that somebody had cut down his favorite tree, the tree that he used in line with a certain rock to ascertain the right moment to make his course change. As he could not find the tree, he only started to change course when he realized it was not there anymore and thus overshot. Captain Wodzyanik retired shortly after; but lived to the ripe old age of 91, passing away last year.

We sailed through Seymour Narrows at 20.30 while the sun was still out and then sailed on a slow bell towards Vancouver for a scheduled arrival at 0700.

On our way to Ketchikan we pass through Snow Passage, which is a 90 degree turn from Sumner Strait to Clarence Strait. As there is normally quite a bit of current here, this is a standby point for the captain to be on the bridge. If the current would catch the ship and the pilot does not react to it, the rocks are very close by. Thus the captain is on the bridge with the hands on the throttle and an eagle eye on the quartermaster who is steering.

It is also an excellent area for whale watching. The currents seem to churn up sufficient food for whales to feed on and normally we have a few sightings. As we only arrive at Ketchikan at 2 pm. in the afternoon I went through Snow Passage at the decent time of 8 am in the morning so the guests could be out and about. The whales were present and we were shown a number of tail flips and deep dives. The sea lions, which can be seen quite often on the rocks and on the buoys, were not there as there were Orca’s in the area. Sea lions do not like Orca’s as Orca’s enjoy eating Sea lions. We saw the Orca’s later on in the morning further to the south.

The weather forecast was not correct, again, but in this case to our advantage. The 50% rain that was forecasted was nowhere to be seen and we had a dry but over cast day, a dry day is a very good day for Ketchikan so no reason to complain. We were scheduled for a
2 pm. arrival as the Amsterdam was at our berth and had to leave first. Also the Infinity next door had a 1300 hrs. departure and wanted to get out before we arrived. Thus the plan had been drawn up that I would wait off the berth until the two ships were safely out of the way.

If this is to works schedule, depends on the fact if all the ships tours are back on time. One delayed bus and they cannot leave and I am docking late. This time it seemed that all the tours had returned early as the Amsterdam pulled out 15 minutes ahead of schedule. They have a tight schedule to make to get to Victoria so each minute helps. The Infinity left soon after and thus I could dock the Veendam on time with the gangway out at 13.50 hrs. By 14.20 hrs we had 1100 guests ashore. For the coming weeks, there will be my personal challenge to improve on that docking time of 13.50 hrs. Which, I think I can do if the other ships will continue to leave on time or early.

With the other two ships gone, the Veendam docked at berth number two, which is the most central berth in the town. The Coral Princess, which had a departure time of 15.00 hrs, was at berth number four and that is quite a walk from town. However by next year there will also be a shopping mall at that berth, so for those who only need a Ketchikan trinket to complete their journey, it is not such a bad deal. Berth nr 4 is a brand new dock and has the advantage that the gangway goes up and down with the tide, so no moving of shore gangways and platforms to adjust when the ship goes up and down. We still have to fuss around with putting a platform under the gangway and then removing it when the tide went down and vice versa. That is not much of a problem in principle but it stops the traffic over the gangway for about 10 minutes until the gangway is repositioned.

We left nicely on time and I cranked the Veendam up to full speed, as the tide at Seymour Narrows is an early one and thus I have to be on time at the Canadian Pilot Station at Pine Island. We are getting the pilots from the Seven Seas Mariner, which is northbound and will meet us at the same time at the pilot station.

It is supposed to be dry all day tomorrow with no fog predicted and thus all is well in the world.

We were blessed with another extraordinary day of sunshine and clear skies. For me no fog to worry about as the light breeze kept it all away and for the guests glorious sunshine to enjoy the port and all the tours that were on offer. We were aiming for an early arrival again as we had to dock furtherest into the port, which is also the best spot and thus we had to be the leader of the pack. 11.400 eager shoppers were descending on the town today and the Veendam carried the first 1200. At least that was the plan, to be first that is. However the Infinity had once again a medical evacuation and requested to dock first. A similar occurrence as last cruise. Last time the linesmen were not on time and in the end we were both delayed in docking. This time the linesmen were on time and the Infinity could slip in quickly and get the patient off the ship. We could just follow in and park at our normal spot but with only 45 feet clearance to work with, it took a bit longer than originally planned as you cannot simply sail the ship in anymore

With temperatures reaching 70oF in the sun it was a pleasant day for us and high summer for the locals. It looked as if half the school population was in shorts and gathering in the little park under the bow of the Veendam to enjoy the weather. I suppose all is relative. Summers for us are Caribbean temperatures but Alaskans (or are they called Alas-kanians???) find that boiling. What is normal weather for them is considered outright grotty by us. I spent the day on inspections, doing my teaching class and catching up with paperwork. All followed by an afternoon nap, as sunshine normally indicates the chance of reduced visibility (fog) later in the evening and during the night.

My wife went on a shopping expedition as rumors had reached navigation deck that a new Wall-mart and Home depot had opened. My wife’s interest was in Wall-mart, the chief officer wanted to know about Home depot. The latter for buying small bits and pieces to keep the onboard maintenance going. It is most of the time cheaper to buy small quantities of nails, bolts, nuts and brushes locally and direct, than to order it through the company system. That works best, when you order bulk. Hence a direct interest in the existence of these stores. Nobody better than to send than my wife; who has a major degree in shopping, graduated cum laude, and also has a minor degree in finding the lowest prices.

Both shops indeed existed and can now look forward to a steady stream of visitors. One store can be reached with local public transport for the other we still are finding out what the best way is to get there.

Another person who was out on a fact finding mission was my second officer, he was inspecting the local fire fighting school in Juneau. Next week we start with a training/refreshment course for our firefighting squads and by having a look first, they can now be properly briefed on what is going to happen. He came back very impressed, so it looks like a useful investment in time and money.

On departure we had two boats from the USCG giving us an escort out of the port. This is part of their Homeland Security Program and they form a no-traffic-zone around the ship. The idea behind it is that if they do it in every port it creates a warning to deter enemies. If it works is something I will leave to the proper assessors but I find it handy for another reason. They help us to keep the boat people away who might stray into our path out of ignorance or curiosity. We just have to ask them to go to a motor boat or yacht that comes too close for comfort for collision reasons and off the USCG boat speeds to move the boat out of the way. They do not escort ships every time and they never announce when they are going to do it, but when they do, they are always useful to us.

We are now on the way to Ketchikan. Rainy capital of the world. As expected the weather forecast does not promise us sunshine tomorrow but a 50% chance of rain. I just hope that this 50% will fall on the mountains and not on the port.

The season is now really underway. Skagway had a full house today for the first time this season. Rhapsody of the Seas, the Queen of the North, Veendam and Millennium. (The last one has not been in dry dock yet, so it does not have the pre-fix Celebrity yet) All docks were occupied although the Queen of the North, which is a paddle wheeler, occupied a space that could have been used by a bigger ship. However all docks had a ship alongside and thus it was a full house.

Fitting all the ships in means; that the harbor master makes a planning and sets a sequence of arrival. The Veendam as an example has to arrive ahead of the Millennium as it would be very tight to for the Veendam to squeeze by if the Millennium was already docked. With a wind still day you could do it, with about 30 feet clearance between the ships but it is hardly ever wind still in Skagway and you cannot plan the dockings that way. So there is a pecking order established and the agent sends the sequence out to all the ships. While approaching Skagway in the early morning, the ships line themselves up accordingly. In our case, the Millennium which came from Juneau had to slow down to let us pass. We were coming from Sitka which is a longer distance and with the average speed that we had to maintain could simply not meet the Millennium’s schedule. The bumpy seas of last night did not help either of course.

Thus while our official arrival time was 0800 for Skagway, we were set for a first line ashore at 06.00 and be docked by 06.20. The Millennium, who has an official arrival time of 0700 hrs, can then dock at 06.30 right behind us. They have to wait for the Veendam, but will still be on time. There is a similar puzzle going on in the other ports. With Alaska being so popular and serviced by so many ships, it is a major challenge to get them all in on the right day and the right time. Sometimes it requires “hot berthing” with one ship departing and the other one already waiting to takes its place. We will do that in coming Ketchikan, when the Amsterdam will leave and the Veendam will take its place.

We had a glorious day in Skagway. Nearly wind still on arrival and with temperatures rising to 70oF out of the wind. The sun shone from the moment we arrived until the moment we left. If it is sunny, the wind can blow considerably in the afternoon through the Lynn Canal which acts as a funnel and increases the momentum of the wind while it travels up the Fjord. But today it did not come higher then about 20 knots and had died down by the time we left. Making it a very easy departure.

The Veendam docked at Skagway with the Millenium docked next door. The ferry dock is empty as the Malaspina had just departed. The next ferry was due late this evening. Foto courtesy of Leah Fehr, wife of the Chief officer. Taken while on a Glacier Bay Helicopter tour.

Also the departure of the ships is done in a pre-arranged order, again set by the harbor master. That means that the official departure time might not be the sailing time. This evening one of the ships tried to sneak out before the other, contrary to the schedule and a chorus of voices rose over the VHF. Although the captains are the ones who are doing it, it are the pilots who take the flak for it. There are two on each ship and all from the same pilot association. When the ships are docked they normally meet up during the day for coffee ashore and then some arguments will be settled about what happened during a certain departure sequence. This time the ship that tried to sneak out first was stopped in its tracks, before it had released its lines, and the departure sequence took place as scheduled.

Although all my guests were on board by 20.15 hrs. I had to wait because of this until 21.00 hrs. as we were the last one scheduled to leave and so we did. It is only a short run to Juneau, 15 knots average for the whole night, even with an early arrival, so I was not unduly concerned about leaving late. For Juneau our official arrival time is 08.00 hrs. but we will be docked by 05.15 am. again due to this scheduling of all the ships coming in. Weather for Juneau looks great as well, so the cruise is getting better and better all the time.

After a quiet night we approached Sitka in the early morning. It was still a bit hazy but we could see it directly; this is going to be a fabulous day. Mount Edgecumbe was visible from bottom to top and that almost by itself guarantees great weather. By the time we had dropped the hook, the sun was out and the scenery was breath taking.

We were in today with the Celebrity Infinity and as they came in later, but wanted to go to the inner anchorage, I had to keep the stern thruster going so that the ship could pass by our bow to the anchorage. When you are on the 7 fathom bank and the tide goes out the ship ends up blocking the complete approach to Sitka and no large ship can get by anymore. So we thrustered the ship away from the approach path of the Infinity until she was past and then let the ship settle on wind (hardly) and tide (a lot)

Our tenders went to the same dock as last week. This time the shopkeepers lost out from the local Salmon Derby that was going on. Crescent harbor was packed with all sorts of fishing craft and was full of eager people trying to compete for the top prize. Luckily most of them did not leave the harbor until we well at truly at anchor as it is always disconcerting to sail into port. You never know what they will do when they see a big ship and sometimes we think that most of them do not even know what they should do.

It was an un-eventful day but in the course of the afternoon we saw low white clouds gathering around the base of Mount Edgecumbe and that normally spells the arrival of this white stuff called Reduced Visibility. It is the captain bane in Alaska. You want sunshine for the guests but you know you have to pay for it with long hours during the night. Normally only wind can prevent the fog from forming but there was not much wind predicted in the weather forecast.

We sailed on time and when we made the turn into Sitka sound there was indeed a high white wall on the horizon near Cape Edgecumbe. However when we were barely 10 miles out of the port, it started to blow and the Veendam started to move on the swell that was rolling in. Not forecasted, not expected, but there it was. Later on in the evening I could reconstruct from the updated weather forecasts that a low pressure system in the North Pacific had intensified and moved closer too the shore than expected. By the time we had rounded Cape Edgecumbe we were rocking against waves of 10 to 12 feet and facing wind of up to 40 knots on occasion. Amazing; going from wind still weather to 40 knots in under an hour. It was not a great storm but still a good gale and the quick build up of the swell made it look quite bad.

In the course of the evening I slowed the ship down a bit and that helped the ships movement. By 11 pm. we were back inside at Cape Spencer which gave the guests a quiet night and the ship could make good speed again for a timely arrival in Skagway. I am slowly starting to get fed up with these un-expected weather changes. You can not pre announce it to the guests, as you do not know it is coming and it can really spoil the evening for a lot of people.

Tomorrow should make up for it though. It promises to be a sunny day with no wind in the morning but a strong breeze in the afternoon. Temperatures in the sun of up to 70oF.

We had a very wobbly departure from Seward. When coming out of the bay, there was suddenly this swell that greeted us. It caused the Veendam to pitch considerably. There had been nothing in the weather forecast and only after we had experienced the large swells (up to 16 feet) it finally showed in the weather charts when the new carts were published. It turned out that a wave system caused by a Mid Pacific storm had ventured further north than had been anticipated by the meteorologists. Sometimes Mother Nature can still surprise the scientists. During the night the waves abated more and more by mid morning there was only a very long and low swell running that did not really affect us.

I had the Veendam going full out. It is a bit of a tight schedule to the Hubbard glacier as it has been laid out of average speeds and the ice flows might not make it possible to maintain those average speeds so I try to built up a bit of “plus” that can be spend at the glacier. During the morning we could see the sun shining on the Fairweather mountain range on the portside and that bode well for good glacier viewing. We arrived early at the pilot station but as I had forewarned them, the pilot, Ed and Ted and a park ranger were all waiting to step on board. After briefly slowing down for the pilot boat the Veendam was flying again towards the glacier. This time we could see Hubbard glacier from about 20 miles away. Cold air and the sheer size of Hubbard (it is about 6 miles wide and goes for about 50 miles inland and up the mountains) made it possible to see the Glacier even from outside the bay.

About 10 miles from the Glacier we came across the first band of ice, a north westerly wind was pushing the ice to open water. Luckily the concentration was not too thick and I could push through it with about 10 knots of speed. It was quite a nice sight, as the ocean swell reached all the way up the bay to here and the ice rubble was gently riding on the waves. Think they call it an undulating motion. After the first band of ice there was about 3 miles of clear water so we sped up again until we came to the edge of the solid ice field. We were still 4 miles from the glacier face but as the glacier is soo enormous in scale, the view was awesome. It is only the beginning of the season but thus far the Veendam has been the closest to the glacier face of all ships visiting. Hopefully our luck will hold and even improve in future voyages.

I had promised the photographers of the Veendam that if the conditions were good, that I would lower a tender so they could take some shots of the glacier with the ship in the fore ground. So while we were viewing Hubbard at its most impressive, the little tender sailed around the Veendam taking photos. After 30 minutes they were back on board and I could swing the ship around so that could have a good view of the whole bay. The Park Ranger gave a narration in the mean time and this was followed by Ed & Ted, the Indian Interpreters with their lecture in the main show lounge.

Veendam at hubbard Glacier and a “small” ice cube. Photos courtesy of 3rd officer Symen van der Veen, in charge of the tender.

On the way back we had to go through the ice band again, which due to tide and wind was now thickest where we came through first, so we found another thinner band more to the west and then we sailed back to the Yakutat pilot station. Here we disembark the Ranger and the two Indian Interpreters again. The pilot is staying with us, as we need him on board for sailing into Sitka. It had been a beautiful day and the guests were very happy. More good things are to come. The weather for Sitka is predicted to be glorious. No wind, sunshine, blue skies and temperatures in the high sixties.