18 August 2013; Seward, Alaska.

Arriving in Seward is always a mixed blessing. The bad side is we all have to start so early, the good side is that around that time of the day it is still mostly wind still. And so it was in this case when I came on the bridge at 03.15 in the morning. The pilot had already confirmed that he was out of bed & on the way and in the far distance we could see the dock with all the flood lights on; so they were awake as well. It was almost wind still in the bay and that is the way we like it. Rain is not an issue for safe maneuvering, wind is. The weather forecast for the day indicated drizzle all day long and that is what we had on arrival, during the day and on departure.

Seward is located at the end of Resurrection Bay and the reason we can call there is that there is the terminus of the Alaska Rail road. Same as in Skagway, the need to transport Ore, or in this case Coal, to open sea created a nice little harbor. The bulk carriers for the coal lay at a dedicated terminal, while we use one side of the Railroad dock itself. The trains do not come onto the dock anymore but they do stop right in the front of it. The dock has two sides and the other side is quite often taken up by another cruise ship. Last season we sailed in conjunction with a Celebrity ship but today we were all alone. Since a number of years there is a 3rd dock which is used by barges that bring up the supplies for Seward and surrounding areas. In Alaska almost everything goes by barge over sea as the roads are very few and far between.

The pilot is brought to the ship by a small tugboat called the Junior and we also use this tugboat to tie up the stern lines to the dolphins at the dock. As a result our approach speed to the dock is dictated by the speed that Junior can make to keep up with us, which is about 12 knots. Hence it takes an hour to sail through Resurrection Bay. While doing so, you can see the Spring Creek Alaska State Prison on the starboard side. I have been told that they house also Federal prisoners but I an not completely sure. The surrounding land is the best prison guard the State could wish for. The story goes that a few years ago 2 convicts escaped. The State put out the regular alarms and for the rest they just waited, and indeed the next morning the two convicts were found sitting in front of the main gate. It was too cold and too dangerous outside (lots of bears) so the convict’s voluntary returned to base. It is a maximum Security prison according to national standards, but even if it was not, Yogi Bear ensures that it is.

Not much room left by the time we are in position.

By 05.00 we slowly drifted in, slowly because the end of the dock is made up of rocks, thus there is no room to over shoot. We have to dock on the inch as the B deck break doors of the Marshaling Area have to line up exactly with the fixed conveyor belt on the shore side. This conveyor belt is then used to get all the luggage in and out of the ship. After coming to Seward for so many years, there is routine and the whole operation runs like clockwork. Seldom a suitcase goes missing. This is quite remarkable as the guests are not only going to the airport in Anchorage but are fanning out all over the State on their respective overland tours. The company offers a total of 35 different variations of those and in principle that means that you also have 35 chances of losing your luggage.

The white van on the left contains a movable X-ray machine for screening the lugage before it comes on board. Most of the guests are gone by 09.00 hrs. and the first new guests show up around noon time. As they come in bus by bus, it is not such a mad affair as in other terminal ports where at 11.30 am the flood gates open and a stampede rolls onboard towards the Lido Buffet. This gives the crew some extra time off in Seward and here the Seaman’s Mission does a sterling job. There is a constant shuttle bus running and they have very good facilities. A lot of volunteer work goes into making the crew feel welcome here and it is much appreciated.

We pulled out right on time at 20.00 hrs. Tomorrow we will retrace our route through the Gulf of Alaska, back to Glacier Bay. The wind has been dying down, the clouds are supposed to dissipate and we should have a sunny day.