01 September 2013; Seward, Alaska.

After a smooth crossing of the Gulf of Alaska with only the occasional gentle movement of the ship, we entered Resurrection Bay at 03.00 in the morning. Again a wind still and clear night, with just a slight haze playing around the feet of the mountains. Rain was forecast for the morning but when I arrived on the bridge and looked outside, it did not look like it would for the morning period. Rain needs a little bit of wind to get inland and that wind was not there. Indeed we had a sunny morning and only with the afternoon wind, did some precipitation come in. By then all our guests were happily on their way into the interior. For the boarding guests it is not such a problem, as they come in small groups so there is no line of waiting people between the terminal and the gangway. Outbound about 300 guests stream off in one go, as they go with the train. Then we get slow downs at the gangway and at the train boarding area and then it is really good if it is nice and dry.

With the pilot on board we sailed towards the dock and where all fast by 05.30. The staff captain opted to go to bed for a little while again, as he has to be up and about for the whole day but as I can set my own time, I decided to spend the early morning hours on inspections. A turn over day has the advantage that there are no guests around. Those who are going off are in the Lido or are going down the gangway and those who are staying with us (about a 60 or so) for the return trip are still happily tucked away in bed.

It gives me the chance to nose around un-disturbed; that is a contradiction in terms as I do disturb a lot while doing so. The crew is not really used to having the captain walk about that early in the morning and that has an interesting effect. All the early morning crew do their jobs and they do it well, but as is human they tend to be a bit creative at times in doing it, when there is no constant supervision. Then suddenly the captain pops up, when least expected and people are startled.

This is Mr. Seward after which the town of Seward was named. He was instrumental in the purchase of Alaska from the Russians. I wonder if he liked strawberries.

This morning I came across a crew member who had somehow “organized” a batch of strawberries and was sitting in a pantry with a divine smile on her face, eating them with great delight. There is nothing against eating strawberries in general but doing it in a pantry is against the rules. That should be done in the mess room. But then you might have to share, as a lot of crew also like strawberries and they are not on the crew menu every day. Trying to save the day by offering the captain one as well did not work as the captain is beyond temptation. (…..supposedly) So with a friendly reminder she was sent off to the crew mess to finish her early morning delight.

The main reason for early morning inspections is to see if the crew are really following the required rules. With a late evening finish everybody wants to rush off to bed and then things are forgotten or postponed. (e.g. I will do it first thing tomorrow morning) That is not the idea, as the workplace has to be left in a clean and safe condition before the responsible crewmember can stand down for the night. That kept me going until breakfast time and then it was the regular routine for the day, with a good afternoons rest scheduled in as well. It might be “very low clouds” again when we go through the Inside Passage southbound so each hour of rest helps to stay alert.

We pulled out from Seward dock at 20.00 hrs. with a bit of southerly wind which brought in the rain that had been predicted for the morning.
Tomorrow we will be sailing through the Gulf of Alaska again back towards Glacier Bay. The NOAA has postponed the windy weather until Tuesday and then we will be back in the Inside Passage.