07 May 2008, Ketchikan.

After the spectacle of Glacier Bay yesterday, Ketchikan could only offer less excitement. However we still had every reason to be happy. It did not rain. It rains in Ketchikan about 332 days of the year and thus the chance that it does not rain is very small. Even if a dry day is predicted there is most of the time a little drizzle somewhere during the day. But today it was dry. Chilly, but dry. It is turning out to be a very good first cruise of the season.

The route between Glacier Bay and Ketchikan goes through Chatham Strait and then dips briefly into the Pacific Ocean near Cape Decision. Here we could feel the Ocean swell for a little while before we were back inside again, sailing through Sumner Strait. At the end of Sumner Strait is Snow Passage, a narrow passage between Bushy Island and the much larger Zarembo Island. You can avoid Snow Passage by sailing around Zarembo Island but it is an hour longer, so we go through the passage.

Snow Passage is not named after snow, although there was still plenty around after last winter, but after Commander Snow of the English Navy, who wanted to be remembered for posterity, so this passage was named after him. Due to the current I have to be on the bridge as the current might push the ship off the track and if the pilot then makes a mistake we end up on the rocks. Thus I watch carefully what the pilot is doing with his course changes, ready to take over in case I do not like it. That has not happened yet in my career as a captain but in accordance with Murphy’s Law it will happen the one time that I do not expect it to happen.

After Snow Passage it is a straight shot for Ketchikan which is located in the middle of Tongass Narrows. Tongass Narrows is also a fairly narrow stretch of water and here again it is standby time for me. Not because of the current but because of the no-wake zones. Slow downs with the ships speed are required to avoid damage to properties and tied up boats along the shore line. The approach to the dock is fairly straight forward although a bit tricky due to the wind and the current. The trick is here to find a balance between the influence of the wind and the current and then let the ship float towards the dock and only correct the ships angle in relation to the dock In the past winter Ketchikan has spruced up its docks and is on the verge of completing a new one. That means room for another mega liner to park.

The Veendam docked in downtown at berth 2, which is as close to downtown as it gets. We will have this berth for the whole season, although on our southbound trips we will have to wait until the Amsterdam departs at 13.00 hrs. We are scheduled for at 14.00 hrs arrival so that should work. We had the same situation in 2006 and then we got it down to such a fine art that the Veendam slowed down with the same speed as the Amsterdam sped up. It looked two cars given each other a parking space, only in this case with lengths of over 700 feet. Sometimes it is really fun to play with ships.

We had large tide today, so the gangway had to be shifted a few times and platforms put under and removed. It basically means that all afternoon a forklift was on standby to be called as soon as the gangway was getting to steep, due to the tide coming in, and when the break door threshold was almost going under pier level due to the tide going out.

I spent most of the afternoon inspecting the new dock to see if there were any peculiarities incase I would have to dock there in the future. But the newest dock, which has been privately built by our ships agent, has been designed by people who understand cruise ships and their constant tussle with gangways and therefore it will do its job very well.

We pulled out from Ketchikan right on time and sailed East through the second part of Tongass Narrows, heading South for Canada. The weather looks good for tomorrow and if we make good speed we will go sightseeing.