Sitka today turned out to be a very rainy day. Although the forecast said that it would dry up in the afternoon, it seems that somebody forgot to advise the Weather Gods as it just kept raining in an advanced sort of drizzly way.

The good ship Amsterdam docked at Sitka this time, as a dock was built a few years ago at the cargo area of the town. Basically the area where the tug and tows come in with all the containers with supplies from the lower 48.

Until 2013 every cruise ship, unless it was very small, had to anchor on the south side of Sitka where there are four designated anchorages and at times these were all occupied. The advantage, as long as you were on the inner anchorage or at the 7 Fathom anchorage, was that it was a short tender distance and you landed straight in down town.  The other two anchorages were further out and caused a long tender ride.  The inner anchorage and the 7 Fathom were not suitable for the larger cruise ships and thus they had to go further out. Their length made it impossible to swing around on the tide and then, either they had to keep their engines on and work against the current which tried to swing the ship around or go to one of the two anchorages further out.

The dock as seen from the bridge of the ms Amsterdam. The white tent is a sort of Visitors Meet and Greet. Note the containers on the dock which are brought in by tug and tow.

Thus the decision was made to create one big dock in the cargo port which could handle one big cruise ship. Who was going there? We have the regular Alaskan pecking order again. Those who have been here the longest go first, if the ships are the same size. If that does not apply then the biggest ship will dock that makes the largest number of calls during the season.  If there is only one ship then of course it is easy although that ship could opt to go to anchor.

With tendering the tenders sailed straight into town. First exclusively into the Marina, which is on the East side but that upset the shopkeepers whose shops were on the west side of the town. So a second tender landing was created and the tenders would call one week at the East –Marina –Side and the next week and the West – down town- Side. If there were more ships in on the same day, those ships were equally divided over the two landing areas. We had to do a lot of work in those days to keep the shopkeepers happy in Sitka.

Shop keeper navigation. One week we steered 298o to the Marina and the next week 281o to the bridge dock. The blue patch of shallows is called the 7 fathom bank where we preferred to anchor.

For the guests who go to town from the cruise dock, there is a free shuttle bus system which takes them in 8 – 10 minutes to Sitka itself. For myself I still have to figure out what the best option is for the guests. Dock at the North Dock and need to use the 8 minute shuttle into town or be at the inner anchorage and have a 5 minute tender service to the shore. For us who have to run the tender service it is much better to dock. It takes a lot less labor and we do not get wet and cold while standing there conducting the tender service. If we would have had to tender today, it would have been quite miserable and very chilly.

The route to the dock. When going to the anchorage you sail straight on instead of changing course to the North.

We stayed in Sitka from 08.00 – 16.00 hrs. and about half the guests ventured ashore. Those who stayed behind had either been there before or decided to wait to a next trip when it would be dry and sunny. Sitka does have it attractions though. It used to be the capital of Alaska when it was still Russian owned and remnants of the Russian culture are still very much visible. The heritage center keeps the old traditions alive and several buildings from the old days are still there. I like the place as it feels that it is the least commercialized of all the other ports, compared to Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan.  Russian souvenirs are very much in vogue although I must admit that I saw a shop in Juneau which had much better quality.  So there is a challenge for Sitka not to lose its edge.

We sailed at 16.00 hrs. and went from the drizzle into the Fog. A large area of “very low hanging clouds” is lying along the South side of Vancouver Island and we have to sail straight through it. So the captain will be busy with honking the horn every two minutes to let the whole world know that the ms Amsterdam is in the vicinity and on its merry way to Victoria, Canada.

The Gulf of Alaska must have thought it was summer time as the sea was as smooth as could be. Just a low swell was still running from the South West but it was a really low swell and did not affect us at all. Main focus of the day was the visit at Hubbard Glacier. We normally call there between 2 and 8 in the afternoon but with days getting shorter, the captain decided to arrive at noon time at the entrance so would still have day light for the whole period. That meant cranking up the speed a lot not good for the fuel consumption but some of it will be regained again when sailing down to Sitka at a lower speed.

NOAA chart US 16761 showing the whole of Yakutat and disenchantment Bay. Latouche is the bump where the Bay bends to the North East.

Hubbard Glacier is located at the top of Disenchantment Bay, which is a 2^nd bay behind the Yakutat Bay. The border is roughly at point Latouche about ¾ up.  The name disenchantment was given to the bay by the Spanish Explorer Malespina who thought that he had found the entrance to the North West Passage. He had not as he was stopped by an ice barrier called a Glacier and thus was very “disenchanted”. Looking from Disenchant Bay down to the Yakutat, the bays are separated by a promontory on the Eastern side called Point Latouche or Latouche. It is surmised that George Vancouver named it after the French Naval Commander Latouche.

We enter the bay sailing through a gap in the shallows and then make a lee for the pilot boat. (See the black course line deviating from the red/planned route)

Yakutat is a native name or at least the English version of the Tlingit name: Yaakwdáat. And the bay is accordingly named after this town located at the entrance. When we enter the Yakutat, we are coming back into US territorial waters and that means we need to get a pilot on board. He/she boards from a boat coming out of Yakutat after having flown in from the South. The town itself is very small but it has an airport which services the whole area. Long time ago I sailed in there once with the old ss Rotterdam to facilitate a Medivac. It was quite funny as they had never had a ship that size come into the bay which forms the inner harbor and the man in charge, the local harbor master, had decided to take an extended lunch on that day and at that time. So he missed the event of the century. He gave the pilots considerable stick over it but it shows that long lunches are detrimental to work. (Although very good fun)

Once the pilot is on board, the pattern is normally to race as fast as possible up Yakutat Bay to save and create extra time for when the ship comes to the ice. You never know how much ice there will be as Hubbard normally caves a lot but can be quite erratic. I have sailed in the past all the way up to the face of the glacier but have also been stuck at an ice barrier just North of Latouche.

We try to sail mid channel courses but it all depends on the ice. Icebergs do not always give way to a cruise coming in and thus today the ms Amsterdam was hugging the Eastern side of the bay close to Point Latouche.

Today we had the best of both worlds, there was a lot of caving but there was also a lot of space between the ice bergs. Thus the ship could get to a nice spot south of the Glaciers face. Close enough to see the caving going on and far enough out to keep perspective of the whole area. Hubbard Glacier is immense with a face extending close to 3 miles and then there is an inlet to the East which extends the face even further. A number of years ago, Hubbard advanced suddenly and that inlet was closed off for most of the year. That caused the waters to rise inside and keep everything trapped until the water pressure became too strong and the ice burst. (Or the Glacier retreated again. I cannot remember, it was nearly 20 years ago) The environmental world was quite concerned about the dolphins trapped inside and about the danger of a deluge coming down the bay.

A number of years ago this side arm, called Russell Fjord, was completely closed off by the Glacier. Water inside rose 45 feet from Glacier melt water and rain until the opening burst open again.

We had a rainy day in the Yakutat but it proved my point once again: with overcast skies, the natural blue colors of the ice are much better visible than with a lot of sun light.

The true blue colors of a Tide Water Glacier.

Tonight we will sail down to Sitka where we will be docked by 08.00 hrs. in the morning. Sitka has had a dock now for some years but it will be a first for me, as I always was assigned an anchorage in the past.

Weather: Overcast with a chance of showers, no wind predicted and temperatures around 55oF. or 12oC.

After embarking the pilot at the Homer pilot station the ms Amsterdam sailed up Captain Cook Inlet to arrive at the Anchorage dock around 07.30 hrs. Anchorage does not have a real passenger terminal but more of a modified cargo shed which is understandable as the dock is extensively used by cargo ships during the off season.  As Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska and a gateway to the central part of the State thus there is a large amount of commercial traffic going on.  It benefits from a big train station (where the trains we use from Seward are terminating) and container ships call on a regular basis. Going by the names on the containers, Matson, which is better known for their shuttle service to Hawaii, has quite an important presence there.

When getting to Hawaii by ship was the only way to go. White ships and Hula girls.

Matson used to be a big Ocean Liner company as well, again predominantly servicing the Hawaiian Islands, before the air planes took over. It built some beautiful ships and many an American dreamed before the 1960’s about a Honeymoon to Hawaii; and sailing on a beautiful white Ocean Liner was a major part of the experience.  White beaches are not exclusive to Hawaii but the white ships of Matson were. But as with many passenger liner companies, Matson could not make the change to cruising when the airplane arrived but they still have the cargo side of the operation, which seems to be doing well as I see their containers in many American ports on the west coast.

The main challenge while being docked in Anchorage is the tide. I mentioned that we already have challenges in ports as Juneau and Ketchikan but Anchorage is one step up from that. If there was a port which could do with a cruise ship pontoon dock, then it would be Anchorage. Due to the narrowing of the Captain Cook Inlet, the water is pushed up and that can give cause to some extreme tides. Also today we had a good one, being 1.4 feet under normal at 13.00 hrs. and then rising to almost 32 feet by 19.00 hrs. That is a variation of 33 Feet between low and high tide.  And that means fussing around with the gangway again during the day to make sure that our guests could get ashore and back without having to climb to steep a ramp. Even more important today as it rained until mid afternoon making everything rather wet and damp. Luckily there was no wind, so even with temperatures barely coming above 50oF / 9o Celsius it was not that cold.

As the port is mainly a cargo port, it is not allowed to walk on the dock but there is a continuous shuttle service to the downtown mall. I have now been a few times to Anchorage and it is basically laid out as any other American town with the difference that it is a fairly young town so there are very few monuments and old buildings to be found. But it has a nice out of town shopping mall, Dimond Center (pronounced Diamond) and I was able to obtain a Television Flat screen for the Bo ‘sun store.  So by tomorrow the Bo ‘sun store will be enriched with a 65 inch screen for all the training’s the sailors have to go through nowadays.

Anchorage as seen from a HAL ship on a sunny day in 2015. The town is about 10 minutes away by shuttle.

The ms Amsterdam sailed from Anchorage at 22.00 hrs. catching the last of the ebbing tide while going down the Inlet again. By 10.00 hrs. tomorrow morning we should be docked in Homer which is a totally different place from Anchorage. Also the weather should be different. Same temperatures as today, also no wind, but more important, it should be sunny.

Icy Strait Point is a fairly new cruise port in Alaska. New compared to Ketchikan and Juneau where the ships have been calling continuously since the 1970’s. Holland America started to call at Icy Strait Point about seven years ago and anchored on the North side of Icy Strait and then used tenders to bring the guests to the other side. The anchorage was just east of the entrance to Glacier Bay. Main points of attraction were the small Indian village of Hoonah and the old cannery which was preserved by the local tribe and turned into a museum, visitor center and general tourist attraction. The feedback from our guests was positive and thus we kept calling. And what one company does, the other does as well and so more cruise companies send ships here.

The ms Amsterdam at the new cruise dock. Note the long covered walkway from the ship to the shore (and beyond)

That made it possible to build a dock for one cruise ship and leaving the option for another one to go at anchor. Today we were the only ship around and thus we went alongside. This is the first time I have seen the dock and it is very nice. Good bollards to make the deck officers happy for the ropes and a long wide and covered catwalk for the guests to walk from the ship to the Visitors center and the cannery museum behind it. The town of Hoonah is 1.5. miles from the dock area but if you do not want to make that journey, the area around the dock is more than enough to spend some quality time.

Part of the Cannery Museum. To the right the open door of the pasteurization process for the filled cans.

Apart from the cannery museum, which is somewhat morphed in the shops system in the big factory shed, there is a visitor center, various eateries and the largest Zip Rider with a 1330 ft. drop. It was in full operation and quite busy. It is not a Zip Line system, but a Zip Ride system the difference is that you do not hang on a pole and Zip down but you sit on a chair while coming down to the Drop Zone which is the end of the ride.

The whole complex of Icy Strait Point.

Hoonah has been an Indian Settlement for a long long time, as far as recollection goes there always has been some sort of settlement just outside Glacier Bay and when the Glaciers started to retreat the territory was simply expanded into the Bay. Now Glacier Bay is a National Park and as a Reserve restricted in its access, but the Indian Tribe still has fishing right there and not too long ago I came across a fishing boat fishing in the lower bay.

The visitors center has free WIFI so the crew were out in force during their break times.

The ship stayed here from 07.00 hrs. to 14.00 hrs. The early afternoon departure has to do with the fact that it is a high speed run of 18 knots to Anchorage. The ship will have to sail a little faster than 18 knots as we are expecting not so nice weather while en route. The summer season is ending and thus the period of the autumn storms are approaching. We are just on the edge of that period and thus it is not un-expected that the “wobbly-ness” of the Pacific is increasing.

So late this afternoon, when we left the Inside Passage near Cape Spencer we were greeted by a lot of wind, force 7 on occasion 8  and the always present North Pacific Ocean swell. The wind will abate during the coming night but it will have whipped up the waves enough by that time that we will have a lively ride until we are in the shelter of the land again.  That means for most of the next 36 hours the ship will feel like a real ship and not like a floating hotel.  Unfortunately a lot of our guests were not ready for this part of their cruise adventure and many cabins had the privacy sign in the key hole this afternoon, no doubt waiting for better times to come.

We will sail in the North Pacific Ocean until late tomorrow evening. We first have to pass Resurrection Bay, the entrance to Seward, then go around the Kenai Peninsula before we can sail into the Fjord at which end Anchorage is located. Weather for tomorrow, overcast, diminishing winds but still with waves present which can reach 15 feet and that will make the ship move around at bit.

For those who find the distance too long too walk, there is a little trolley system which runs to and from the ship.

We raised anchor at 05.45 when daylight was slowly approaching from the East. Winter is coming and the summer days where the ship was in 20 hrs. of daylight while in this area are gone, gone until next summer. The ship had dropped anchor on a bank made up of shingle, pebbles, mud and rock and when the anchor came up, the chain was nice and clean but we had about 1000 pounds of thick grey clay wrapped around the anchor. An indication that this was an excellent anchor spot to hold the ship in position even if there would have been a lot more wind than we had during the night.

One spot of grey, the bank surrounded by black, deeper water at the south side of Stephens Passage. Juneau is about 10 miles to the North.

By 07.00 we started the approach to the dock in Juneau and as we were the first ship in, we could just slide into the new dock at the Alaska Steam. This one was completed last year and now goes up and down with the tide. The locals have kept the old names for the docks although those cannot be reached anymore as the new floating docks lay in front of it.  Until the 1980’s the Juneau waterfront had three docks for specific use. 1.  The USCG dock to the west; 2. The Alaska Steamship dock on the town’s water front, where until 1964 the passenger ships of Alaska Steam used to dock and 3. next to it the ferry terminal which had the great advantage of having a car ramp for the cars and campers.  The USCG dock is still there and in full use, Alaska Steam became the main dock for cruise ships but was joined by the Ferry dock, when the Alaska State ferry terminal moved to Auke Bay. Auke Bay is located on the west side of Juneau on the other side of the mountain ridge. Here it had room to expand and it reduced congestion in downtown. This dock was renamed to Cruise Terminal and all the ships tried to get that spot as it meant that you did not have to shift the gangway for tidal changes.  We could just put the ships gangway on the car ramp and it followed the tide.

Ocean Liner Row in Juneau with the ms Volendam behind the ms Amsterdam and a Princess ship at Franklin Dock in the background.

With the expansion of the cruise industry and the size of the ships, then Franklin dock (on Franklin Street) and the A.J dock were added. Those two docks went up and down with the tide leaving the Alaska Steam a bit of a poor relation. Finally, last year Alaska steam and the cruise terminal were also upgraded with a large new dock but the west end is still called the Alaska Steam and the East end is still called the Cruise Terminal. Franklin dock is normally assigned to Princess and later in the day one of the Princess biggies came in and docked there; no doubt making the shop keepers at that end very happy.  We did not stay alone at our dock, later on in the morning the ms Volendam joined us and thus we had two of the four ships of the R class together.

The R class is not identical but they are near sisters with the Volendam and Zaandam nearly identical and the Rotterdam and Amsterdam quite similar. When you walk around inside there is not much difference in the lay out but outside it is quite visible. Rotterdam and Amsterdam have double funnels, a tribute to the old Rotterdam of 1958, and the ZADM and VODM both have a single funnel. The Rotterdam has heavier engines and can make 25 knots and the Amsterdam was the first Azi-pod ship in the company.

How about a this for a closing down sale !!! We will have to see what will be here next year.

As we are in the last days of the season, the closing down sales have started and all the shops are tempting guests in with discounts of up to 50%. I always question that as I was in a leather shop where I recognized some jackets which clearly came from Turkey and although reduced from $ 800,— to $ 400, there was still a markup of about $ 100. (Believe me I know, I have been dragged by my wife around all the leather shops of Kusadasi and introduced to the system of saving money by spending it because it is a bargain) However I did manage a bargain as well, the windbreakers were 75% off, and that I could not let go. The ms Amsterdam is going into wet dock in Seattle in 10 days and gambling on sunny, dry and warm weather in Seattle is too much to ask. It was a pity that the real good stuff was not reduced but will go in hibernation for a next season of eager shoppers.

The ms Amsterdam left at 21.30 heading for its next call, Icy Point in Icy Strait. They just built a dock there so we can now dock as we are the only ship in port. We will be docked by 7 am. and the forecast is a bit gloomy. Glacier Bay is just around the corner and the proximity of the ice will make it a chilly day if there is no sun to warm things up.

As mentioned yesterday we had Tracy Arm Fjord on our schedule today and I also mentioned that is was uncertain if we would get there due to the ice. This has been the case for most of the season and today was not different. When we go to Tracy Arm, we want to get to the face of South Sawyer Glacier and see the calving. Lately the Glacier has not been cooperating very much. It has been calving too much and as a result it has been retreating very fast as well. It produces so much ice that the ship has a hard time getting near the glacier and if the ice was not there then we still would have a challenge to get close to the face because the Glacier has been retreating. It has gone back by about half a mile in recent times and we do not know what is under water at this new half a mile stretch. But there was too much ice again to even contemplate going in.

As you can see there is not much difference, apart from Tracy Arm fjord being a bit more narrow. Both Glaciers come from the same ice field but for some reason South Sawyer is retreating fast.

But no worries: Holland America always has a plan B. And that is to go into Endicott Arm. So we went left instead of right into the fjord. The scenery is the same, it is just that Dawes Glacier calves a bit less. But that is exactly what we need. We like to see some action but we still have to get to the Glacier to see it. Too many ice cubes and we have a problem here as well.

This is how it looks on the radar screen. The yellow spots are the reflections of the mountains on either side.

Today we were in luck. The sun was brightly shining, the ice buildup only started about a mile away from the Glacier face and we could get just around the corner and see the Glacier at half a mile distance. It was a good day; it was a spectacular day, probably the best visit of the year. We entered the fjord around 10 am. and then it took with a speed of about 14 knots and slowing down all the time, until 12.30 before we were parked at the rim of the ice field in front of the Glacier. Our ships EXC host narrated the whole progress so everybody understood what there was to be seen and why it was there.

Approaching the face of the Glacier. The ms Amsterdam sailed passed all the large pieces and then stopped in the rubble where it was still safe to do so, approximately 0.5 miles from the Glacier.

By 1700 hrs. we were back outside again and our next stop is Juneau tomorrow. Juneau is only a good two hours distance from Endicott Arm and if we would have gone directly we would have been fully docked by 20.00 hrs. But then what? By the time the ship would have been cleared the town would have closed down for the night.  Juneau’s night life is not that sparkling that our Guests would run ashore to make a grand night of it. Some of the Bars still specialize in “low flying” locals when evicted late at night and that would be too much for most of our Guests. Plus when you dock the Shops, Casino and everything else which has the focus of the taxman has to close down. That takes away a lot of activities and thus not a good idea. So what we and most other company’s do, who are faced with this dilemma, we drop the hook for the night, just outside Gastineau Channel, the entrance fjord to Juneau.

The evening was wind still, there is a nice muddy bank on the West shore of Stephens Passage and by 18.00 hrs. a 3^rd officer was dispatched forward. He lowered 5 lengths of chain plus the anchor into the water and onto the ground. 5 lengths of chain is 800 feet, not counting the anchor. The anchor weighs about 13000 pounds, 800 feet of chain weights about 5000 pounds and so 18000 pounds of hardware was sunk into the mud to hold the ship safely into position for the night. If there is a lot of wind, then we can go up to 11 lengths of chain, but the weather forecast was good, so why bother to get more chain dirty.

We will raise the anchor tomorrow morning at 06.00 hrs. and then be docked in Juneau by 08.00 hrs. The weather calls for overcast skies and a temperature of 8oC or 47oF. and no rain. So not a bad day for shopping as long as you wear two pairs of socks. I know I will, as I will be on the mooring decks verifying the procedures that the officers and sailors have to follow to ensure a safe docking.

Today we had a glorious day in Ketchikan. One of the best, sunny, days I have seen in a long time. It was quite windy but who cares if the wind keeps the rain away. The wind blew straight through Tongass Narrows an indication of things to come for the town when winter descends upon the South East Alaskan panhandle. Ketchikan is nicely sheltered from the East and to some extend from the West but a North Westerly gale can blow freely through the whole of the Tongass Narrows. Creating on occasion a local phenomenon called Horizontal Rain.  Your face gets wet and your shoes stay dry.

A nice sunny day in Ketchikan. In the distance the biggest hotel in Ketchikan, the Cape Fox.

Another nice thing was that today we were the only ship in port. Some cruise ships have already left Alaska but the fact that we start our cruise on a Monday, helps a little bit. Most ships depart from Vancouver or Seattle on a Saturday or Sunday and that means a full house two days later. And that full house then moves along the coast from port to port.  The ms Amsterdam is sailing a day behind this cycle and thus we have less competition to deal with. And it will be a few days before we come across the ships which are southbound on the return leg of their 7 day voyage. We will miss most of them altogether anyway as we are on route to Anchorage. All in all it makes the shopping experience in downtown less hectic, if you feel the need to go shopping. The sales attendants have even time to talk instead of being sales processing robots. For those who shop, the season is coming to an end and thus there are bargains galore and huge discounts. Most shops sell off their stock before the season ends and the shop goes into hibernation until May of next year.  During the last week of the season you often find items on sale which go for cost without any mark ups at all.

Although Holland America has squatter rights in Ketchikan, we are the most senior company calling, and thus normallyentitled to the best berths but being the only ship in port makes it even easier. The captain can basically park where he wants to go and where he prefers to stop. That is of course as close to downtown as possible but if you want to set your mooring lines in a perfect position, then 20 feet more forward or aft can make all the difference and having the whole berth to yourself makes that possible.

The shadow of the ms Amsterdam looming over downtown Ketchikan. Please note how quiet it is with only one ship in port. The gangway is dealing with high tide and has a shore side platform under it. When the tide goes down, that platform will be removed, stopping gangway traffic for about 10 minutes. In the foreground the Ketchikan Visitors Center.

While Juneau now has all berths tide independent, which means that the part of the dock upon which the ships gangway rests goes up and down with the tide. Ketchikan still has docks which are fixed and the gangway to the ship has to be adjusted to the every changing tide. If the ship is by itself it could select to go to one of the new docks and would not have to face the hassle but it would mean a longer walk for the guests to town and back. So the convenience of docking in town always wins out over the inconvenience of stopping gangway traffic for about 10 minutes to have the gangway adjusted to the tidal condition by keeping the steepness reasonable.

Another advantage of this 14 day cruise is that we have more time in Ketchikan. The 7 day ships have a standard departure of 15.00 hrs. in order to make Juneau on time but we will be in Tracy Arm all day tomorrow and then time is less of an essence. Thus we stayed to 17.00 hrs. and then sailed with a sedate speed of 16 knots to Tracy Arm. We expect to enter around 10 am. and what happens then is anybody’s guess. I have been to Tracy Arm when we could get all the way to the face of the Glacier but this season there were a number of times where the ships could make it barely inside due to the large amounts of ice coming out. So we will see tomorrow morning what Mother Nature has in store for us.

Weather should be good again and I am hoping for overcast skies as it makes the viewing of the Glaciers much more pleasant. Less glare and more natural photos.