Pilot Boat - "Survey Point"
Pilot boats transport local pilots to and from Cruise ships to help/supervise navigation around ports and perhaps other attractions. This particular boat named "Survey Point" carried the pilots assigned to the Hubbard Glacier waters.
Here is an excerpt written by Jared Funderburk a ranger with the National Park Service in Alaska about this particular boat: "The ships must have an Alaskan pilot aboard who is familiar with the waters when they come into these icy areas near the glacier so this boat is docked here in Yakutat all summer in order to get those pilots and us out to the ships when they come in. It’s a 65-ft ex-Navy patrol boat, and one of the coolest boats I have ever had the privilege to ride on. We take off from the harbor and meet up with the ship about 15 miles from the harbor here in Yakutat. We call the ship on the radio and they slow down to about 10 knots, open 2 big doors down on the side of the ship near the water line and throw out a rope ladder for us. Joe (boat helmsman) carefully pulls the Survey Point up against the ship as several of the passengers look over the side and we climb in one at a time. Most of the time it's pretty easy, but there are times when the swells are fairly large out in the bay so our boat might be rising up and dropping back down alongside the ship so you have to time it just right and wait out on the ladder for the boat to come back up to you, then step off at the right moment before it drops again."
Pilot Boat - "Survey Point"
Pilot boats transport local pilots to and from Cruise ships to help/supervise navigation around ports and perhaps other attractions. This particular boat named "Survey Point" carried the pilots assigned to the Hubbard Glacier waters.
Here is an excerpt written by Jared Funderburk a ranger with the National Park Service in Alaska about this particular boat: "The ships must have an Alaskan pilot aboard who is familiar with the waters when they come into these icy areas near the glacier so this boat is docked here in Yakutat all summer in order to get those pilots and us out to the ships when they come in. It’s a 65-ft ex-Navy patrol boat, and one of the coolest boats I have ever had the privilege to ride on. We take off from the harbor and meet up with the ship about 15 miles from the harbor here in Yakutat. We call the ship on the radio and they slow down to about 10 knots, open 2 big doors down on the side of the ship near the water line and throw out a rope ladder for us. Joe (boat helmsman) carefully pulls the Survey Point up against the ship as several of the passengers look over the side and we climb in one at a time. Most of the time it's pretty easy, but there are times when the swells are fairly large out in the bay so our boat might be rising up and dropping back down alongside the ship so you have to time it just right and wait out on the ladder for the boat to come back up to you, then step off at the right moment before it drops again."