16 April 2013; Willemstad, Curacao.

Willemstad is a very interesting port from a navigator’s point of view as it is quite a challenge to get in there. The port entrance, St Anna Baai, is perpendicular on wind and current and that means that when you head straight in on the course line, you run aground. Wind and current will push you onto the west side of the channel. As the current is never the same and the winds tend to be gusty it is not one of the easiest ports. Today we had the additional challenge of having to dock about 2000 feet inside the port entrance, just past the floating bridge. That means that as soon as you are out of the current you have to start giving full astern, to slow the ship down otherwise you over shoot. If that happens the only option is to continue by passing under the Koningin Juliana Bridge and swing around in the inner harbor, which is called the Schottegat and then return. As a result you end up docking starboard side alongside. The port prefers s portside alongside, so that on departure you just back out into the Caribbean Sea again.
The secret of part 1 of this arrival sequence is to be early. Line up for the entrance about four miles out and then see how the elements behave when you are coming closer to the entrance and the pilot station. Logic demands that when coming closer the wind factor should get less as you come into the lee of the island and so should the current as the water gets shallower. However at times that can result in a counter current and you have to be aware of that. Of course there are other things happening that you have no control over.

Our way in, you see on the black track how we climbed to sb to be high on the wind and then on the last moment end up in the middle of the channel.

This morning we were intrigued by the behavior of a small container vessel called the Cappeln. It was sitting less than a mile from the entrance & blocking the entrance and was, we assumed, waiting for the pilot. Indeed the pilot came out and the ship made a swing on the spot to line up for going in. Not very wise as it gives you only a very short distance to line up properly and get a feel for the elements. I do not think that the pilot was a very happy camper but it was a small ship so there was room.

Our approach was by the book and if there were any guests watching it must have scared them considerably. With 25 knots of wind on the sb. Beam and a knot of current, we had to go almost sideways through the water to counteract the drift. That made it look like as if we were going to run straight into the Hotel on the Eastern shore. But you drift over and with a last minute course change there you are right in the centre of the fairway. The floating bridge, had opened up nicely in time and when could sail in without any delay.

Mathew dock with behind the ship the Koningin Emma Pontoon bridge. You have to walk over this bridge to get into the downtown area of Willemstad.

Then came the next part of the equation; stopping. I compare this maneuver with driving a car into a garage at 20 miles an hour and then stopping on time by pulling the handbrake and ending up 1 foot from the garage wall. So that is what I did and we came to a stop right in front of the dock. From then on it was a matter of regulating the drift to the dock with the wind pushing and the thrusters going the other way, making sure that it was a gentle drift. Our ETA was 0800 hrs. but we were docked by 0700, as I had built in some time in case we had to go to plan B, having to sail onwards and swing around in the Schottegat and then come back to dock.

Once docked my interest was on departure, as I had never backed out of this port before. It is a very new idea that came into being when the ships with Azipods arrived which is basically carrying your own tugboat with you. We do not have azipods, so I opted for a tugboat on the stern to keep it all under control in case the wind would suddenly flare up.
By 22.45. we were on the way out and here the trick is to line up properly and then just make speed so the current has as little influence as possible when going out. At the same time you stay as high (e.g. on the windward side of the channel) as possible to have room to drift sideways. It must have been impressive for the guests in the restaurant on the corner to see the Statendam coming by with almost three knots stern way, only 90 feet away from their tables. This as the hotel/restaurant is built right on the edge of the fairway channel. We got a lot of applause while moving out as for most of them it must have been the first time that they saw a big cruise ship passing so close they could almost touch it. But it is regular routine for this port. They take tankers in here that are 1200 feet long and 160 feet wide, so we are just a little baby compared to that.

By 23.00 we had swung away from the port and where on the way to our next port of call Oranjestad Aruba.  We have been asked to be at the pilot station at 06.15, as the Caribbean Princess who was with us in Willemstad today (docking outside at the mega cruise pier) will be right behind us.