Two updates prior to sending:
We are very proud to share that our daughter Rebecca just finished her third Ironman in 13:04:15. We are very proud of her. She is truly amazing.
On a different note. Those who have followed on previous blogs know we never sail our original itinerary. Political unrest (Arab Spring, Libya civil war), Mother Nature, or health concerns (Bird flu, Ebola) always seem to dictate a wiser route. Only a week into our cruise we have two events on the radar; the volcano in Japan and the unrest in Hong Kong. We aren't to concerned about Hong Kong as we have been there several times but we hope to make all our ports in Japan. We’ll keep you posted.
Now back to the originally scheduled Blog
Actually it was a warm and sunny day when we arrived in Seattle, WA on Friday, September 19, 2014. We’ll get to the cold & rainy later. Our car was waiting for us and we were whisked to our hotel. We enjoy the Hampton Inn & Suites and had stayed there on a previous cruise from Seattle. On Saturday morning we met with Mark and Jeanie. Mark was a colleague and friend from my Boeing days. That afternoon and evening we spent with Tom and Gloria, our table and cruise mates from the 2011 Grand World Cruise. On Sunday, the 21st, we joined our old friend the Holland America MS Amsterdam for our cruise. When we finish this cruise we will have around 315 days on her.
Now the cold & rainy comes into play. After two glorious sunny days in Seattle we sailed for the Gulf of Alaska and the North Pacific Ocean. This is what we sailed into.
A view from the Crows Nest
The sun came and went for our three day transit until we reached Kodiak Island on September 25th. Now Kodiak is an island in the North Pacific so if you aren’t specific when you wish to live on a Pacific Island; you could end up here. The cruising gods were watching over us and we arrived in Kodiak to sunny and unseasonably warm weather (mid 60’s). We docked near the City of Kodiak. It is the island’s largest city with a population of about 6,000. There an additional 8,000 people living around the rest of the island. When in Kodiak think fish. It is the largest industry with some of the worlds best fishing grounds located nearby offshore.
I know the sun was in the wrong position for a picture but we liked the sign.
This is one of our traveling companions. Sandy is a medical alert dog for her mom for low blood pressure and seizures. Not to many things can stop people from cruising today. She came aboard with two suitcases of dog food and has a special area for private business on the top deck.
They don’t have enough business for dedicated tourist busses so something has to do double duty.
Noreen makes friends where ever she goes. This guy was located outside the Wildlife Refuge Center.
But even this big fella doesn’t get any respect around here.
Bear proof garbage containers
Crab traps by the port
Evacuation warnings and route.
It is a working port, not to many pleasure boats. These are not the big crab boats you see on TV. We’ll get to them in Dutch Harbor.
Back in town we head for some local crafts and such. This is the main market, bingo hall and community meeting place.
Gas costs a bit more than in Florida and probably where you live.
Noreen made another friend. Note how her outfit has changed from earlier. It is getting hot!
This is a Liberty ship that was brought in following the Great Earthquake and tidal wave that hit Alaska. It destroyed the town cannery. The ship was to be a temporary home for the cannery but it worked so well that it was beached and is now the town fish cannery.
Volunteer Fire Department
After leaving Kodiak we began a one day sail to Dutch Harbor. During the night we crossed into the Bearing Sea and that was the last of “smooth seas” that we saw. I don’t need to bore you with grainy pictures of white caps and big waves. It was rough enough that they had to empty the pools and hot tubes. The water was sloshing all over the Lido deck. You can see how busy the Lido deck and bar were while transiting the Bearing Sea. We had a Salmon Bake scheduled on the Lido but it was cancelled due to the weather and ship action. We had it while docked in Dutch Harbor the next day.
Dutch Harbor, on September 27th, is located on the Aleutian Island chain. Not many know a lot about the Aleutian Islands but there was major actions here during WWII and underground nuclear weapons test in the 1960s. The Japanese occupied the western islands in the chain during the war, the only invasion and occupation of North American soil during the war. Dutch Harbor was bombed by Japanese aircraft. It was the war and the threat to the Aleutians and Alaska that led to the construction of the Alcon highway and the airports around the Aleutians. There is a WW II museum, a Visitors Center, and a local tribe museum. Having said all that I think the area and Dutch Harbor are best known from the TV show “Deadliest Catch.” During the night we sailed past Cold Harbor which is one of the refuge places used by the fishing fleet during storms.
We were again blessed by the cruising gods as the weather in Dutch harbor was clear, sunny and in the low 40s. We hired a cab to take us around the island and the driver said the day before was cloudy with rain and strong winds. Below is a picture from our stern of a crab boat in dry dock. Dutch Harbor is the closest place for major repairs.
This is our cab driver. The interesting thing about this is the name of the city, Unalaska.
We headed for Captains Bay. This is where part of the crabbing fleet docks in the off season.
If you watch the “Deadliest Catch” these pictures will have some meaning. Otherwise just know that these are some stars of the show. This is the Northwestern, Captained by Sig Hanson and one of the original show ships.
And this is the Cape Caution captained by “Wild Bill” one of the newer ships on the show.
While down at the docks with no protection from the wind. Noreen in her cold weather gear. Yes the decorations on the transformer are crabs.
The Russian Orthodox church in the town. Can you find Noreen?
The primary method of resupply.
Some homes around town.
There are a number of these hotel/dorms around the town to house the workers and fisherman when in season. They were mostly empty during our visit.
The largest and primary shopping store in the town. Gas is $6.00 a gallon.
While we took a cab there was a shuttle bus for passengers around the island. As in Kodiak the busses have to serve double duty.
We were supposed to sail to the North of the Aleutian island chain and then cut south into the Northern Pacific heading for Japan. The irony of our situation is that we were being driven north deeper into the Bearing Sea to escape a major storm in the Pacific. So as treacherous as the Bearing Sea is known to be we are seeking refuge there until we can turn south and head along the Russian coast toward Japan. This will bring us much closer to the Russian Kamchatka Peninsular than our original course line. We’ll cross the International Date Line on September 29th or is that the 30th? We’re always confused by that. Our first port in Japan is Kushiro on October 3rd.
Update on the weather. A storm developed in the Bearing Sea and is headed for us. The storm in the Pacific has abated but the seas are still turbulent. We have no choice but to head south. It is a four day transit between Alaska and Japan. We are in the morning of the third day and things are starting to rock. According to the Captain we will have two days of interesting weather and ship’s action.
A side note; we have to lose seven hours between Alaska and japan in our four day transit. Time zones are much closer this far north. So we are setting the clocks back two hours a day for three days and one hour on the last day. That is three 26 hour days and one 25 hour day.
An interesting aside. This guy swims everyday in the pool (when it has water) using the bungee and harness system as you can see. And, yup, that is cold water!!
We love to hear from you and any questions or comments. Send anything directly to us at kstein@digital.net
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