Along the Breakwater

Photo by Bob Tuomi

By Myles Rydeen

As the summer comes to an end, so does the parade of cruise ships gliding into

their Ogden Point docks. From the end of the breakwater and along the Dallas Road waterfront folks gather each arrival afternoon to watch the sight. Many wishfully thinking they were onboard, others reminiscing of past voyages they have enjoyed, and some just amazed and bewildered by the sight. As always there are the "armchair" experts that know all about it and want everyone to hear of their expertise and experiences, and a few others that speak loudly about what they obviously know so little! Just once in a while does someone with knowledge speak out. In order to assist the interested in understanding the process here are a few tidbits of information.

As the ships approach Pier B, that is the one farthest from the breakwater, a smallish tug appears. Two Seaspan tugs are based in Victoria and are often seen moored near the Pilot boats. Seaspan Foam is the larger tug. Cates XX is the smaller vessel and she has the number "20" painted on her deck housing. It is this tug that we see close to the cruise ships as they approach their berth. Often heard are comments such as "that little tug could not push that big ship" and "why don't they use the larger tug?" The truth is that this vessel is hired not to push or pull the cruise ship about but rather to bring ashore the lines that hang down from the bow or stern of the cruise ship that extends beyond the end of the wharf. /this little tug is actually the "lines boat" and bring the mooring lines ashore so that they can be attached to the bollards along the dock and to the new dolphin appendage to the pier. Each Saturday you can witness this activity from the stern of Norwegian Pearl and then again from the bow of Golden Princess when she backs into her berth. Lines boats are not needed at Pier A, the one adjacent to the breakwater, as the berth is longer than the vessel so no lines are dangling over open water.

Another misconception is that the vessels race each other in order to get a better dock. This would be unsafe and is totally false. The dock assignments are done months in advance and are allocated based on many factors after discussion between the shipping companies, their shipping agents, the operators of the facility and the Harbour Authority. One of the deciding factors is that the vessels that utilize the pier closest to the breakwater  are either the smaller of the three vessels in port, or are highly maneuverable thanks to the new style of propulsion called azipods. There is a bit of "dog leg" approach required for vessels docking at Pier A, and the azipods are of great assistance.

When the ship sails around midnight, they cross over to Port Angeles where they board the Puget Sound Pilot for the voyage down into Elliot Bay in Seattle. Those who have a high perch or are on the Dallas cliffs can see these ships again on their way north to Alaska. They sail about 4:00pm from Seattle and pass by Port Angeles about three hours later. There is one regular visitor that sails about 2pm for San Francisco. Those watching Grand Princess sail will see her turn right at Race Rocks and head out the Strait rather than heading to Port Angeles.

Hopefully this little insight into the cruise ship movements will add to your pleasure as you witness their comings and goings!