Today we are sailing in the estuary / open sea area between where the St. Lawrence really begins and where you have the real open ocean. On departure yesterday it was blowing up to 45 knots and it did not change much during the night and morning. This morning I still observed a wind force 7 to 8 blowing out there. But as we are still in the estuary area, there is not much swell buildup and the ship is riding the waves in a nice and quiet way. Today is our only Sea day and thus it is a good thing that the ship is nice and quiet without any movements as otherwise it would upset all the regular proceedings including the Mariner Party, Mariner Medal presentation and Mariner luncheon. Not to mention happy hour later this afternoon.  Another good thing is that we do not have to call today at Gaspe or at Sept. Isle which are two ports and we have them sometimes on the cruise schedule as well.

We cannot sail up and down the river anymore as we could in the good old days. Then we just gave the pilot an ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) made sure the agent had a berth reserved for us and there we went. I already mentioned the Vessel Traffic Reporting on the river which is an Aid to Navigation as it helps to keep the ships apart. (There is also a similar system for when we sail under the Confederation Bridge to ensure we do not get any problems with ships blocking each other’s passage in the route to and under the bridge)

The Route from Quebec to Charlottetown and the part we sailed today. If we can not go under the Bridge then we have to sail past the island on the northside and then double back. (Courtesy: Canadian Fisheries)

But nowadays we also have a compulsory reporting system otherwise we are not even allowed to enter Canada, let alone sail up and down the river. Similar to USA regulations we have to provide 96 hours in advance a complete manifest of everybody on board and send it to the dedicated Canadian Customs Office. If we cannot do that because we have only a night or so between ports then the report has to be send the moment we leave.  When we then cross the border and there is Canadian Coast Guard coverage, they check if indeed we have forwarded the manifest, before we are giving permission to enter coastal waters. For the Alaska cruises, sailing from Vancouver to Ketchikan and back this is standard practice. There is a Canadian Coastguard Station in Prince Rupert and we call them as soon as we cross the border. Canada has an enormous border and thus it cannot be expected that every inch of the country is monitored by the Authorities. If there is no direct Coast guard control possible then the port agent is the contact point and if we do not submit on time, then he/she is advised (sometimes friendly, sometimes not so friendly) that we have to get our act together. The ships are quite good in complying it is sometimes the internet that lets us down. I do not know how effective it is to check a ships manifest 96 hours in advance but I have heard about Customs and Immigration waiting at the gangway to arrest people with outstanding warrants, outstanding fines or having another question mark behind their name.

The ms Maasdam sailing under the Conferation Bridge. (Courtesy www.confederationbridge.com)

Around 4 am. tomorrow morning we will pass again under the Confederation Bridge, unless it is too windy, so that is something the Captain will continue to monitor today. That decision has nothing to do with the bridge but with the narrow fairway that you sail through to get under it. The pilot likes to sail under it with a sedate speed and if the wind is then on the beam, you get a lot of drift and for drifting the channel is too small.  If this would occur, then we have to sail around Prince Edward Island and that costs extra time. We can then still arrive on time but the decision has to be made timely. I am not expecting that to happen as the wind is supposed to die down to about 10 knots, with even less in the port, but the weather does not always follow the weather forecast.

I am hoping for calm weather as tomorrow my lifeboat and tender driver students are starting the practical part of their training. And although they must be fully proficient in boat handling in bad weather as well, I need to start them off in nice weather as otherwise they will be too nervous.

So if the weather gurus are right, it will be: Partly cloudy skies and 16o C / 61 oF. with 6 knots of wind. That I can live with.

We have a little bit of a troublesome situation with the weather here on the river. I already mentioned during the Quebec call two days ago that the water was extremely high. Due to a lot of rain water coming down and a lot of sea water going up. This has only intensified itself and last night the Canadian Authorities announced a Surge – Warning for the coast and up the river. Basically all the way down the St. Lawrence River from the moment the tidal movement had any influence on the water height of the river. Regular flood warnings have been in force for the last week or so, all the way up Montreal and even beyond.

It was a very close call at the Ferry dock, and it was not even high water. Some streets behind did overflow.

A storm surge can occur if certain elements in nature enhance each other and most of the time the end result gives reason for concern. A heavy storm during Spring tide can increase a water level so much that the levees and dykes over flow. At the moment we have large amounts of rain water coming down the river, and we have high sea tides and at the same time we have a strong on-shore wind pushing that high water tide even higher while it goes inland and up the river. Quebec has had a lot of rainwater in the last week or so and even called the army in to help out in the worst areas.
Not much you can do when the river goes higher as far as the ships are concerned. We float and will not get wetter than normal and we just have to hope the water will not go so high that we cannot see the docks and the bollards anymore. Today we did not have that as an issue with that but the captain brought the arrival for Quebec one hour forward just to ensure that we still fitted under the Quebec Bridge in case the water would rise more than expected.

The regular docks are a little bit higher but normally we have much more dock level clearance than this.

As said we did not have an issue, there was still about 2 feet of Quay height were we could dock against. It made the Staff Captain very happy as it made it much easier to do maintenance on the ship’s hull near the water line. Shore side they did have problems, the road near the ferry dock was flooded again and also the lower level of the parking garage had more than a foot of water in it. I did not see any cars on the higher levels and thus I assume that the entrance must have been on the street level. I hope the water was not affecting the electronics; otherwise the garage might be closed for a while, unless they go for free parking while barriers and ticket machines are being repaired.
Today I got a lot of exercise as I was in my inspection mode again. I went in the Engine Room for a walkabout. A ships engine room is an enclosed space or better said a number of enclosed spaces, separated by water tight doors which are closed while the ship is sailing. When there is an emergency is can be difficult to get out. Remember that nearly all the engineers on the Titanic perished as they were stuck somewhere down there.

Since that time, more focus has been given to improving the escape options from those enclosed spaces. It is now since a long time compulsory that each engine room space has at least two exits. A normal one and one which leads directly to a deck about the Bulkhead deck. The bulkhead deck is deck under where the watertight doors divide the ship in sections and enclose the most vulnerable area of the ship in relation to sinking. In most sections of the engine room they are vertical pipes called Emergency Escapes with a door at the lowest deck – entry level and a door above the bulkhead deck – exit level.  Auditors such as Lloyds and Coastguard can always get very excited about them and it is a standard part of their inspection to look inside. I normally go one better, I climb them all. All 9 of them, 3 to 4 decks up and all with vertical steel bulkhead ladders. Good exercise as long as you are not claustrophobic or suffer from vertigo.

This evening we sailed just before 17.00 hrs. and used two tugboats to do so. We had almost 30 knots of wind full on the beam and a strong ebb current running…………. And that current could have pushed us along the dock and then press us again at an outcrop further down. If that would happen the wind on the beam would then help the current to keep us there. That is something we do not like of course and thus we employ tugboats as 30 knots of beam wind is too much for the ships thrusters to create a swift lift off and deal with the current at the same time. Once off the berth we continued our descend towards the sea. Thus tomorrow we will in open waters heading for Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island. Early tomorrow morning we will disembark the pilots again at Escomins and then enter the St. Lawrence Estuary. Weather should be nice with partly sunny skies but with chilly temperatures.

I normally do not post funny pictures for that there is Face book. But I am a fan of public transport and it looks like this gentleman as a LOT of faith in his local Bus service. (Photo courtesy CTV Montreal)

Our temporary home for the day. Berth 34 in Montreal.

Thus today we docked at what turned out to be a temporary cruise terminal. The new terminal, better said: the refurbished old one, where we always used to dock was not ready yet it turned out. Due to strikes and other complications work had been delayed past the start of the season. So we were diverted to a cargo terminal with a Marque on it. The Veendam is now scheduled to in-augurate the opening of the new terminal.

The good thing was we did not have to go into “the hole” and sail past the outflow of the St. Lawrence where it turns into the port of Montreal. The bad thing was the ship now docked on the river, fully in the current. Most of the berths at Montreal are on the river and in the current so it is normal here but with so much current, you need tugboats and that is what we always try to prevent. First: because we normally have enough power to do it ourselves. Second:  the conversations between the tugboat skippers and the pilots are normally in the local lingo and today it was no different. Most of us speak a certain amount of French but not Quebecois.  And that makes is very hard for the captain to keep oversight of what is going on and if the tugboats are doing exactly what the captain wants and what the pilot is relaying.

The dock width coming out was about half the width of the ms Maadam.

The docks along the river are designed in a peculiar way. They are trellised. The idea is when the ship is alongside then the wall sticking out will keep most of the river flow away from the ship. That might have worked in the days when the docks were built and the ships were much smaller and had less width, but now we are sticking out by almost half. We saw that happening when we docked. The ship came in and then bounced out again as the current still managed to flow in between. One good thing is that the flow or current is constant. Only the river level dictates the water height and even if it rains a lot it normally only changes gradually. We are now so far up river that there is no influence from the ebbing and flooding anymore. With just current things are easily manageble but if the wind had been blowing over the very flat area, then this would have been a nasty place for a cruise ship.

For those with a bit of a nautical eye will see that this is current. Over five knots, it even caused a white wake while racing past the buoy.

And so carefully and slowly with two tugboats in attendance we came alongside while the river raged by with at least 5 knots of current. We were docked by 7 am. and then dis-embarkation started. Canadian Customs has an easier system of clearing the ship than the USA and that made everything go quite fast.  The ship then went to the turnover stage so embarkation could start again at 11.30. We are expecting a full house and if everybody can find Montreal on time we will have all cabins full. We sailed again at 16.00 hrs. to ensure we will make it to Quebec on time. This time the river will help us with a lot of “push” in the back and going down the river we can reduce our engine speed. Still we need about 10 to 12 knots on the engines to really to control the movement and the direction of the ship; otherwise we really would be surfing, and not necessarily in the right direction.

This is the Radar screen with the ships heading (long white line) and the drift /set by the current the small arrow. At times the drift sideways was over 25 degrees while approaching the dock. The two little triangles are the AIS identifications of the two tugboats.

The sunny day here today had one negative effect; the ship was surrounded by what one person called mosquitoes, another called moths and other called midgets (very big ones). Once we swung the ship around and sailed down river, passing green pastures on both sides of the ship, the ship was inundated with them. This must be an early summer thing, as I do not remember it to happen during the Fall cruises from the past in September and October.

I spend most of the day outside for a ship inspection, taking advantage of the nice weather but the –whatever they were – did not bite me, so I wonder if they were mosquitoes or more moths type.

Thus tonight we will sail the same way down the river as we came up and then tomorrow morning we will dock again in Quebec. The weather for tomorrow is good , with partly cloudy skies and temperatures of 17oC or 63 o F.  There is a storm surge warning in effect which might push the water levels even higher than the already are, but there is no indication that this will also affect our berth.

As planned the ms Maasdam sailed around the corner and approached the port of Quebec just after 06.00 hrs. and by 07.00 hrs. we were happily docked. Although Quebec is far inland it is still under the influence of the Ocean Tide. One of the reasons that the river has such strong currents. At the moment the water level is extremely high due to extensive rains falls in the whole area through which the ST. Lawrence flows. If the river would just flow downstream it would probably not be much of a problem, but with the flood coming in, the downhill freshwater gets stopped by the uphill salt water and today the river banks almost overflowed. One section of the road just outside the cruise terminal was flooded and traffic had to be diverted. If I was a car driver here, I would for once be very happy with a diversion as driving through salt water is not good for your car.

The ms Ryndam sailing past Chateau Frontinac on the way to to Montreal.

Holland America has been coming here for a long long time. Especially just after the 2^nd world war we had two ships, the Ryndam and the Maasdam who had a regular liner service here in the summer months. On occasion also our pure emigrant ship the Groote Beer would show up. Not all Emigrants going to Canada would leave the ship in Halifax, although this was most usual, but some stayed on until Quebec and Montreal and took the train from there to their final destination.  Because this area is sort of French, quite a few of those emigrants were not Dutch but French and they embarked in Le Havre.

And now we do the same route in the form of a cruise. I bumped into a couple a few days ago, who had emigrated this way and were now retracing their previous route. Visiting Pier 21 in Halifax was a highlight for them as it had all the emigration records and a very nice display about emigrants entered Canada.

The only major hurdle to get to Montreal is the bridge height just upriver pass Quebec. The Maasdam / S Class fit under it, the Vista and Signature Class do not. Thus those ships do two overnights in Quebec with a turnover in between before sailing down river again. Guess which option the crew prefers…………

Captain Bas van Dreumel addressing the newly married couple.

We had something quite unusual going on today. Our first officer was getting married on board. Wouter Koolhaas married his beloved Eline in the Crows nest of the ship.  For that purpose we had a government representative come on board as on Dutch ships Captains are not allowed to marry anybody. We can almost do anything else but the Dutch Law, logical as it is, sees no reason or argument to allow marriage. Marrying is not an emergency according to the Law and thus it should be planned properly at a shore side venue. But getting a shore side licensed civil servant or a member of the clergy on board that is allowed. Marriage then takes place under special license and that license can then be converted to a normal approved contract.

The happy couple surrounded by the officers of the ms Maasdam.

This did of course not stop the Captain to do his little bit of supporting the marriage. We all do if we get the chance. If you go back in the archives of this blog and look at March 2010 when the Prinsendam was in the Falklands I did something similar by getting the Deputy Governor on board to do the official part. Thus the Crows nest was reserved for the happy occasion with the official vows, followed by the Master with a 2^nd dedication, followed by toasts, best man speech and cake.  Those officers who could get away from work were there. I could only manage after the first half hour as I was sitting in a lifeboat with my school class. Hence no picture of the Official, officiating, but I caught the 2^nd part.

This evening we will sail up river, change pilots at Trios Rivieres, about half way up and then dock in Montreal tomorrow morning around 06.00 so the luggage unloading can start on time. Due to the dock configuration that is always quite a happening. We are supposed to dock at a different location than normal so it will be interesting to see where we are going. Of great interest to me as I am only used to docking at the Cruise terminal.

It is supposed to be a nice day; 22 oC / 71 oF, no wind and partly cloudy skies. A great day for a change over.

Today is the only sea day of this 7 day cruise and that makes the hotel department very busy. All standard HAL activities have to be crammed into this one day. Mariners presentation, luncheon, speaker on board lecture, Park West Auctions, Bridge lessons etc. etc. it all happens this day. On other days there might be a few things going on but with the majority of the guests going ashore, being ashore, or coming back from shore it is hard to find an audience. Thus everything has to happen today. Tomorrow we are in Quebec and the next day we are in Montreal and that is for most guests the end of the cruise.

The weather is sunny but very chilly with a balming 9 degrees or just touching 50oF. There is hardly any wind but the Maasdam plows along with 16 knots and that already causes a 4 wind chill factor on the outside decks. Luckily the cold temperature also ensures we have good visibility as the outside air is as crisp as the sea water.

The whole St/ Lawrence River. We are too large for the locks which lead to the Great Lakes and thus our Journey has to stop in Montreal

The St Laurence is a very wide river and in the beginning you do not really have the idea that you are on a river. The opposite shore lines are miles away from each other. So far that the Canadian Government has not seen any reason that we should have a pilot while we are still in –almost- open waters. Only tonight at 21.00 hrs. we will embark the pilot at a location where the river slowly starts to get smaller. The pilot station is called Les Escomins and from there it is 265 miles to Montreal. These pilots stay with us until about 05.30 tomorrow morning and then just before turning into the harbor area of Quebec, where the river makes a 90o turn, the docking pilot comes on board.

From Quebec to Montreal we will have two different pilot groups. One group from Quebec to Trois Rivieres and from Trios Rivieres to Montreal. Apart from the docking pilot in Quebec, the other pilots come in a team of two, so they can relieve each other and remain fresh while conning. With the strong current one has to be very alert as the ship might easily be pushed away from the middle of the river and into the river banks. Plus there is a fair chance of large numbers of Sunday Sailors around who do not always understand that a big ship cannot move around a small sailing boat, especially not on a river and certainly not with all the current.

Part 1 of the River. The is the part we can sail without a pilot by staying in the purple tracks. At the lower left is Escomins pilot station. And this section is monitored by Traffic Control on Ch, 14 and later Ch. 08.

Although we are allowed to sail more than 150 miles up the St. Lawrence estuary and river and as it is so wide, The Canadian Government has ensured that all those free wheeling ships will behave themselves by introducing Vessel Traffic Separation schemes. As everywhere else in the world they ensure that ships that go in opposite directions keep apart. At the same time there is a reporting requirement for all the ships. Everybody has to call in at certain points and then give their expected ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) to the next calling in point.  If needed that information is then relayed by the reporting system to other ships in the area. When the pilot(s) gets on board this just continues as the system is covering the whole river.  To avoid too much irrelevant information to be broadcast the river has been divided into 5 sections which each have its own VHF channel and when you sail into a new sector or zone, Traffic Control hands you over to the next monitoring team.

This is part two of the river. From Escomins pilot station to Montreal. The black spades are the calling in points. (Both diagrams courtesy of the Canadian Coastguard)

The weather for Quebec is going to be a bit uncertain but definitely chilly. 14o C / 57oF with a gentle to moderate breeze. And a 50% chance of “une peu de Pluie”.  Still it will not keep the guests from going ashore and enjoy themselves. Quebec is the highest rated city on all our Comment on Board forms. Regardless of Rain or Sunshine.