Sitka, Sunday, Sept 24

About 1AM we started rocking and rolling to the point it felt, at times, as if we were going to be pitched out of bed. The motion woke us both up, but we soon were back asleep and didn’t wake again until we were docking. Yes, docking!  Sitka has a new dock (about three years old) that can handle up to mid-size ships according to the shuttle driver. The dock is almost at the “old Sitka Dock” at the end of the road, seven miles north of Sitka.

Fronting the Pacific Ocean, on Baranof Island’s west shore, in a beautiful setting is the little gem of Sitka. Its western horizon is surround by small forested islands and the graceful cone of Mt. Edgecone, an extinct volcano, and framed in the east by snow capped mountains and granite peaks. Sitka is the home to Alaska’s Russian heritage with St. Michael’s Cathedral and the Bishops Palace. The Russians arrived in the early 1740's and stayed until 1867 when the territory was purchased by the United States. The small island is rich in Russian and Native American history and fabulous wildlife viewing.

We are docked by 8AM and go to breakfast soon afterwards. We watch the Otter Quest boat and a whale watching group leave as we eat. Today is still very overcast, but no rain. In fact it is not even very cold. When we get out later, we find the jackets too much.

Our plan for the day is to try to get out to the Fortress of the Bear. It is a rescue operation started about 10 years ago located at the south end of the road, about 7 miles from town.

The terminal area is nice. There is a fresh crab café that is closed today and a nice set of tourist shops in the permanent terminal building. Between the terminal and the dock is a mini-dry dock for fishing boats and several are hauled out getting their undersides worked on.

At the gangway there is a man in a golf cart giving rides to the terminal for a tip. A free shuttle bus is waiting at the terminal to take us into town to the Visitors Center. It is running very 15 minutes or so until 4PM. We take the golf cart up the small hill to the terminal and board the shuttle. The driver gives us a short history on the 10 minute ride into town.

It is Sunday and we are the only ship in town. Most everything is open so there is enough to do, but no crowds. There are several taxi companies giving tours and rides to different spots. We hire a taxi to take us out to the Fortress of the Bear and back to the Russian Cathedral, $18 each way plus wait time. He gives us a little extra and stops by the site of the Russian-Indian battle ground of 1806 and tells us how the natives held off the Russians for six days. This area of the National Park is at the mouth of a salmon stream and the shore is choked with birds including some eagles feeding on the salmon.

We stop at an old paper mill, now a fishing co-op, on the fjord at the end of the south road to look for whales. He said there were three playing around yesterday. Sure enough we see two.

The Fortress of the Bear, across the road, is home to 5 brown bears and three black bears. There are a sister and brother unit and an another unit of two brothers among the brown bears. All the bears were rescued as cubs less than a year old. Their mothers had been killed for various reasons having to do with interactions with humans. Alaskan law forbids ever releasing these bears back into the wild, but this group is working to change that law so rescued orphaned cubs can be released when they can care for themselves. The big female was really lording it over the males to the point they would run from her! They are very active, fun to watch and looked well cared for.

From there, we share our cab with an Australian couple and go back into town.  We visit St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral and do a little shopping before going back to the ship. We have a light lunch at the Patio Grill and Dick soaks in the hot tub out front on deck 6, probably our favorite outdoor space on the Seabourn ships.

This afternoon is the Caviar on Ice event at 4:45PM and a pre-dinner Conversation with John Fonseca, “Alaska’s Gold Gateways,” at 6:30PM. Dick heads to the caviar event and Carolyn joins him for the talk. Dinner is in the Restaurant at a lively table for six: us, a couple from Florida and a couple from Calgary. The most popular main is the Alaskan Halibut seconded by the beef tenderloin and a chocolate souffle with Bailey’s cream sauce for dessert. A good meal spells bed time for us to round out our Sitka day.

Tomorrow...Icy Strait Point and some scenic sailing.