Dante, Deborah and Brian had been looking forward to their tour of Glacier Bay aboard the "Baronof Wind" a 79 ft tour boat run by the Park Service. They departed at 7:30 am and were to return at 3:30 pm. They encountered mechanical problems in front of the "Johns Hopkins Glacier" which resulted in the boat being unable to steer. An emergency call was made and the only solution was to fly a mechanic and parts into the bay from Juneau. A Holland American Cruise ship was in the vicinity and heard the call. Ordinarily cruise ships must stay several miles distance from the glacier but the park service made an exception in this case.
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| Here are Dante, Deborah and Brian waiting to board their ill fated cruise at 7am. |
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| The Statendam has released the first tender. |
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| Note all of the passengers of the cruise ship lined along the decks to watch the rescue |
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| View from the tender to the disabled Baronof Wind. |
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| Statendam's safety officer giving instructions |
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| Tender returning to cruise ship. |
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| Waves, applause and yells of good wishes to the rescued! |
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Deborah exiting the tender onto the cruise ship. When they were all aboard the Captain of the Statendam welcomed the rescued and informed them they had the run of the ship. They were invited to eat and drink all they wanted. An episode of
"Dancing with the Stars"was being filmed aboard the ship and they were invited to see it. |
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| The tenders returning to Barlett Cove as I wait on the dock |
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| Dante gives me the 'OK"sign as the tender pulls up to the dock. |
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| This is the Park Service Crew that assisted in the rescue. |
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| THEY ARE SAFE AND SOUND! WELCOME BACK !!!!!!!!! |
HERE ARE SOME NEWS ARTICLES ON THE RESCUE:
http://www.examiner.com/article/holland-america-line-rescues-passengers-from-glacier-bay-sightseeing-vessel
http://www.eturbonews.com/36748/cruise-ship-rescues-103-sightseers-near-john-hopkins-glacier
Statendam‘s Future Cruise Consultant Jeanni Prescan sent in this great post about the heroic rescue that the ship performed last week in Alaska. It’s always our goal to provide the best service possible, whether it’s for our own guests or unexpected ones. Kudos to the staff of Statendam for coming to the rescue and making sure the guests of Baranof Wind were well taken care of during their time with us.
We were informed by the Glacier Bay National Park ranger station that the Baranof Wind was unable to continue her day trip to Glacier Bay National Park. The disabled vessel was in Hopkins Glacier and we very close by. The attached photos are some that I took of the rescue.
We took on approx. 105 passengers via our lifeboats and directed them to the Wajang Theatre where Hotel Director Bert van Mackelenbergh and Cruise Director Anthony Choice welcomed them onboard. Of course, it’s safety first and the guests were shown how to put on a life jacket along with safety instructions. After that the guests enjoyed a dinner in the lido and an opportunity to explore the beautiful and elegant Statendam. After about 3 hours onboard, we offloaded the guests at the Glacier Bay National Park ranger station. It was an exciting day at sea!
— Jeanni Prescan, Statendam’s Future Cruise Consultant
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