31 May 2008, Inside Passage.

After our little deviation, yesterday because of the medivac, we were quickly back on schedule again and sailed through the Seymour Narrows on time. Apart from some fishing boats and the Brilliance of the Seas, who was southbound, there was no traffic to be seen. The patient that we disembarked last night was reported to be doing fine and so that action ended with a positive result.

We spent the morning sailing in the Canadian Inside passage, passing the Indian Village of Alert Bay around seven thirty. The sun was just coming out and the scenery was picture perfect. Lush and green hill sides and as there was no wind, the ships shadow was reflected in the water as if we were at a stand still. After Alert Bay we sailed towards Pine Island to disembark the Canadian Pilots. Here we entered Whale country again and for the rest of the day we had numerous sightings of tail flapping and the officer of the watch reported one whale breeching not too far from the ship.

Time to answer some questions again that have been posted in the past few days:

1. How do I know about Ice in Hubbard ?
Well, I do not know until I get there. There is no Ranger station or any other observation post. Nor can we get up-to-the minute satellite photos, even if we could, they would reflect a past situation as Hubbard changes constantly. So we just go there and find out when we come closer. Hubbard glacier is very active and it depends on wind and current to flush the ice out of the bay. That makes the visit always very interesting, it is mother nature at her best.

2. Formal Nights onboard.
This is a touchy subject and generated last year a lot of responses when I posted something about it. We have on a 7 day cruise two formal nights and we request the guests to adhere to the dress code. Those who do not dress up are asked to go to the Lido for casual dinner and are not let into the dining room on formal nights. About 80% of the guests do dress up in one way or the other. It is lately getting a bit less but that is mainly due to the air line restrictions on luggage weight. A formal dress and tuxedo take up a lot of space and especially for guests who go on the overland tours it is an issue to consider. HAL has Tuxedos for rent on board and it is gratifying to see that more and more gents are renting them.

3. Northern Lights.
I have not seen them yet. The best time seems to be in July and August when the days are getting shorter but on average warmer. None of the other ships have reported anything yet either. I have seen spectacular displays over Juneau and Haines and hopefully we will have some good shows this year.

4. My Holland America lecture.
I do one (or sometimes more) on the longer cruises. On seven day cruise there is not enough sea time for the Cruise director to fit one in and also my time is very limited in Alaska, as I try to catch up on my sleep every free moment I have. On a 14 day cruise or longer, there is always the one about Holland America History but if the cruises are even longer and or the Cruise Director runs out of guest lecturers, then I can do another one about the History of The Cruise Industry, North Atlantic Liners and Fabulous Interiors as well.

5. Slack tide at Seymour Narrows on 11 July.
We are leaving Vancouver on 11 July at 1700 hrs. if everybody is onboard on time. That means the first window will be around 00.30 hrs. The current is predicted not to be that strong that night, so I will aim for Seymour at Midnight. If I will be able to get through at that time will depend on traffic and the pilots preference but normally an hour before or after slack tide works best as at slack tide all the tugs and the very slow log tows want to go through.

Tomorrow we are in Ketchikan, and the weather forecast predicts dry weather with good chance of sunshine. I am keeping my fingers crossed.