I have always had a soft spot for Haines. Maybe because it is still so original without all the tourist shops and other happenings caused by the cruise boom. Haines became more prominent when it became an army base and until the current day the white clapboard army houses dominate the skyline. As there were no great tourist attractions such as the train in Skagway, it never gained much prominence in the cruise business. As a result Holland America is one of the few, and I think this year the only cruise company calling there. Guest’s reactions are always mixed; those who need to be entertained in order to be happy complain about the lack of activities but those who come for the real Alaska love it, as this is still a real Alaskan town. (For those who need more stimulation, we do run a tour to Skagway from here with the Fairway Explorer) I love the place as it is nice and sheltered for the ship to dock and also as it is the home of the world famous Hammer Museum. (There is not another one like it in the world)
Haines on the West side of Lynn Canal, in a nice sheltered bay. Chart courtesy of the NOAA.
Going to Haines means that we break away from the parade of cruise ships going up the Lyn Canal towards Skagway. Haines is located about 10 miles south of Skagway so at 05.30 in the morning we made a sharp turn to port while the rest of the ships continued their voyage further up the Lynn Canal. As it is located in a sort of Bay, a bulge of the Canal to the West, it is completely sheltered from the predominantly southerly winds that blow through the Lynn Canal in the summer. For the ships it is only a big “no go” when there are strong winds from the North and that situation normally only occurs in the very late season. In the past years we have always docked at Haines without any issues.
Docking at Haines is quite easy as well, as it is a straight high dock. So as long as you do not overshoot it is an easy happening. A perfect dock to train the navigators with a bit of ship handling. So this morning it was the turn of the First Officer to park without bumping anything and the departure was done by the 3rd officer. Carefully scrutinized each step of the way by the Captain and the Staff Captain. Especially the latter keeps a very close eye as it is his sailors who will have to touch up the paint in case some of it gets rubbed off while docking. But with a proper briefing before the maneuver and proper coaching during the maneuver, it is safe to do. It is a good learning experience, builds confidence and enthusiasm for the job and it saves me work in the future as I do not have to train a new staff captain from scratch.
Times are different from when I started sailing. The idea in the 1980’s to let a non-staff officer maneuver the ship was unheard of. Partly due to the fact that the old timers all grew up in the North Atlantic days when most of the maneuvering was done by the pilots as the old Trans-Atlantic Ocean Liners always needed tugboats to get in and out of port. And because of that those officers when they made captain had not as much ship handling experience as we get nowadays, thus they did not like to let somebody else do it, now they finally had the chance themselves.
I had a quick look at the all-knowing Wikipedia to see where the name Haines comes from.
quote:
The area around present-day Haines was called “‘Dtehshuh” or “end of the trail” by the Chilkat group of Tlingit. It received this name because they could portage (carry) their canoes from the trail they used to trade with the interior, which began at the outlet of the Chilkat River to Dtehshuh and would save 32 km (20 mi) of rowing around the Chilkat Peninsula.
The first European George Dickinson, an agent for the North West Trading Company, settled at Dtehshuh in 1880. In 1881, the Chilkat asked Sheldon Jackson to send missionaries to the area. Samuel Hall Young, a Presbyterian minister was sent. He built the Willard mission and school at Dtehshuh, on land given the church by the Chilkat. The mission was renamed Haines in 1884 in honor of Frances Electra Haines, the chairwoman of the committee that raised funds for its construction.
We left at 9 pm and then sailed for Juneau, where we will arrive at 06.00 in the morning. I will come back to Haines again, as today we had our 68th. Indonesian Independence Celebration.
August 23, 2013 at 2:08 am
Great to read and imagine I am back there again. I loved haines too but sadly only went there once. Keep up the good work, it alwasy makes for an interesting read at the end of my day in the Highlands of Scotland.
August 23, 2013 at 8:56 am
They’ve got a nice little Brewery in Haines at the Southeast Alaska State Fair property (think ‘White Fang’) known as the Haines Brewing Company. Among other beers, they brew something called “Spruce Tip Ale” which is mighty tasty and not at all bad after some smoked salmon. And if you’re into hammers, they happen to have a nice little museum there 😉
August 24, 2013 at 1:19 am
yes,
but not so easy for us on board, you have to bring your own bottle if you want to do take away.
Best regards
Capt. Albert
August 23, 2013 at 9:51 pm
And, I am forever grateful to Haines for having a photo shop still selling Kodak coloured 36 exposures films !!!
Captain, I’ve been meaning to ask you this question on another topic. What on earth does “schat-harding” mean on the lifeboats of seemingly only the Volendam and the Zaandam??
The first half is definitely a Netherlands word; the second half could be an English name.
May I have your explanation, please. Other ships coming to Vancouver don’t have this imprint on their lifeboats.
August 24, 2013 at 1:17 am
Good morning,
There was one time a Mr. Schat (Dutch) and a Mr. Harding (Scandinavian) who both built lifeboats. Somewhere in the 1980’s the firms merged. Most HAL lifeboats comes from this company and all should have that brand name somewhere. Maybe that with the other ships it has long been painted over.
thank you for reading my blog.
Capt. Albert