My ship has come in!

On August 5^th, during our adventures in Alaska, I saw the Celebrity Millenium cruise ship from the window of our hotel room in Seward, AK.

What I actually was photographing was the container ship beside it being loaded with coal. We learned later it carries 700 train cars worth! Nevertheless, I made a note in my journal of the cruise ship’s name and a mental note to be on the lookout for it coming to port in San Francisco.

As always, I’ve kept one eye out the window and casually noted the name of any cruise ships that entered the bay. None was the Millenium, in fact, none was even a Celebrity ship. Like the wife of a 19^th century whaler, I started to wonder if my ship would ever come in. On Wednesday, the wait finally ended! I was lucky enough to be at the window when the Millenium finally cruised back into town.

A slow reaction time prevented a better photo so you'll have to take my word for it that it is the same ship. In any case, it appears the Millenium has finished the Alaska season as it is next heading to San Diego and then south through the Panama Canal to Miami for Caribbean tours all winter. This summer, it’s been a pretty a common occurrence to see tourists sail out the Golden Gate, up to Alaska and back. However, long before anyone made the journey for vacation, hundreds of men crammed onto Alaska-bound ships to make a living. One such ship was the flag ship of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park at Hyde Street Pier, the Balclutha.

This ship first entered San Francisco Bay in 1887 after a 140 day maiden voyage from Cardiff, Wales. They brought coal, unloaded it, loaded a cargo of wheat and went back ‘round the horn to Wales. One round trip per year. Later, she was purchased by the Alaska Packers Association and renamed the Star of Alaska. Up to 200 men would make the journey north to work the summer in a salmon cannery in Chignik Bay, Alaska.

By September the ship would be loaded with a cargo of canned salmon and the men would return to the San Francisco Bay with tall tales of the adventures they had. Someone should’ve made a TV show about it! The Star of Alaska made the trip every year until 1930 when they realized there were salmon right here in California. Actually, I don’t know why the ship went out of service then but it was eventually restored and the name was changed back to the Balclutha. I’ve gone past it several times a week for the majority of the 8 years I’ve lived in San Francisco but I’ve never been taken the tour. This week, I’ll finally do it and let you know what I find out!