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| The deer was there when we arrived. There when we departed. |
It was an easy trip to Ketchikan. We saw a few humpback whales off in the distance. We also saw a boat I have a distant connection with. Many years ago I helped deliver a Nordhavn 40 named "Rhapsody" from San Francisco to Seattle. The owners had bought Rhapsody as a "filler" boat while their real boat was being built. I helped get that temporary boat to Seattle for them. The new, real boat, a Nordhavn 55 also name Rhapsody, passed us today as we neared Ketchikan.
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| Rhapsody, a Nordhavn 55. I helped move their previous Rhapsody years ago. The previous Rhapsody was a Nordhavn 40. |
Many miles from Ketchikan we could get our first glimpse of civilization. At first it looked like giant buildings, perhaps warehouses. Once closer we could see they were cruise ships. 5 of them. They are monstrous and tower over this tiny town. They range in size from 800-1000 feet. Each carries thousands of people.
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| The cruise ships dominate the Ketchikan waterfront. |
I called the Ketchikan harbormaster on the cell phone and was instructed to call on VHF when were closer so we could get a slip assignment in a marina. There are very few vacant slips in Ketchikan, so they work on the "hot berthing" principle. When a permanent boat leaves for a few days or more, they tell the harbormaster who then puts that slip on the available list. Transient boater's like us then get to use that slip while the regular tenant is gone. The fishing fleet is leaving today as a fishery opens at midnight tonight. So there are plenty of slips. We choose one in the Thomas Basin marina which is very close to an IGA grocery store and adjacent to the cruise ship terminal.
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| I feel insignificant looking out my pilothouse windows, |
As we get next to our slip and start turning into it, a local guy with a great big bushy grey beard in a group of guys yells "Welcome to Ketchikan, SUCKER!". They are huddled in a group on the breakwater behind us. They are drinking, and obviously have been for a while. After we get tied up I call the customs office and they say they will send a customs agent right down. He arrived about 15 minutes later and checks our paperwork. 15 minutes later we are cleared into the US. Ah, home gain :-)
Those drunk guys are still carrying on, yelling at another boat as it arrives. They are ignoring us. We pull our blinds down so they can't see into the boat. We leave and go for a walking tour of Ketchikan. There are tons of little shops selling trinkets, jewelry, furs, art, etc. We walk through a few. There are hundreds of these little stores all within short walking distance of the cruise ships. As we are walking around, a boy in a passing car full of teenage boys (locals, I assume) yells out in a cartoonish voice "Welcome to Sitka, enjoy your visit". I'm still not sure what to make of this, but it was interesting and thought provoking.
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| Almost every street and sidewalk are under construction in Ketchikan |
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| Kevin at the famous Ketchikan Salmon Capital sign |
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| The "Duck" tours are here now. |
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| Adagio tied up in one of the Ketchikan marinas. |
The streets were pretty crowded. Restaurants were full and some had lines out the door. We wandered for a few hours. Alex and I both agreed that most of what we see here has been manufactured to suppoort the cruise ships. All the streets are getting new sidewalks. The streets are being widened and repaved. Many of the buildings are new, but made to look like gold rush era structures. It's sort of like going to Harry Potter World. It looks real, but it's all an illusion. As we head back towards our boat we stop at a restaurant that had a line out the door before. It is almost empty now (two cruise ships are departing). We have lunch there. Great salmon burger, and salmon and chips. Fresh Alaska seafood!
While back at the boat I have a conversation with the fisherman in the boat next to us. He doesn't have much good to say about the cruise ships, and the changes that they have brought to his town. I cannot repeat the language he used, this is a family friendly blog. Alex goes walking the docks and a local gentleman tells him "Ketchikan is a drinking town with a sidewalk problem." A variation on the old saying "we are a drinking town with a fishing problem". It seems that many of the locals have opinions they want to share about what is happening to their small town of 8000. It will never be the same, that is certain. The cruise ships and the 10,000 - 15,000 they bring every day have forever altered this town, and their way of life.
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| A tidal grid. You pull your boat in at high tide. Tie it up. Then as the tide falls your boat is left high and dry. You can then work on the bottom of the boat. These are very common in Alaska with it's 20 foot tides. |
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| A cruise ship terminal, complete with new shops for the passengers to visit. |
Those drunk guys carry on well into the evening. Alex witnesses a drunken fist fight. A firetruck shows up. A drunken woman joins them. There is yelling and swearing for hours. I think that guy on the dock may have been correct. Ketchikan is a drinking town with a sidewalk problem.
We untie and leave early in the morning. Two new cruise ships have arrived overnight, and the other three are gone. One of the new arrivals is the biggest cruise ship I've ever seen. AIS reports it at 1094 feet. I look it up and it is the 10th largest in the world. 3,800 passengers. As we leave Ketchikan behind us we encounter 3 more cruise ships heading there. There will be 5 cruise ships full of people in port today, just like yesterday.
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| 1094 foot cruise ship in Ketchikan, along with a 900 foot ship. You can see the ship's pollution filling the valley. |
If we pass through here on our way home at the end of summer, we will stay at one of the other marinas, a few miles away from the cruise ship portion of town. Maybe the experience there will be more "authentic".
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| RV, Alaska style! Now this is unique. |
Today we are headed for Meyers Chuck, a small remote village far removed from the cruise ship world.
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