Along with all the edits and other wonderful new improvements being made to the 3rd Edition of the Cruiser Friendly Guide to Alaska’s Inside Passage, there is a new section - The Taste of Alaska! Executive Chef Mike Roemhild, has included some of his very own recipes using the best of Alaska - land and sea. As you may know Mike is among the great chefs of the world who roam markets looking for the essential ingredients that give local food its unique flavor. Included in that is Alaska where he has made contact with local fisherman and growers who share with him not only their catch and produce but also their secrets for its preparation. We have brought those insights to you in this new section. Hope you will enjoy!

For those of you who did not receive John’s email or read the chat boards, our Johnny-boy has moved on to Seabourn along with Barry Hopkins and Handre Potgieter. John is to be the relief Cruise Director on the Odyssey when Barry goes on vacation. Currently the three are sailing from Genova to Venice for the big christening. It is my understanding that Seabourn plans on building two more ships; when this happens Barry will move on to take out the new ship and John will become senior cruise director on the Odyssey. It is a big step for him and I am sure you all join me in wishing him luck. I think he has a great future at Seabourn and look forward to hearing all about how things are on the new ship.

I spoke to Handre yesterday and he said they were underway and everything was running smoothly. Taking out a new ship is always nerve-wracking and the launch of the Odyssey is no different. I can remember one of my experiences taking out a ship, running through the dining room ripping plastic off curtains as guests were embarking! Barry said that all things considered he has never seen such a beautiful ship. And for those of you who know Barry that says a lot! No expense was spared and no detail overlooked. It sounds great. And again, we all are looking forward to her successful launch.

If you have sailed to Alaska perhaps you were lucky enough to visit Yakutat Bay home of Hubbard Glacier. Hubbard is phenomenal to see, at seven miles in width, fifteen hundred feet in depth and seventy-six miles in length, it is the largest tidewater glacier in North America. (I say the world because all the other glaciers that touch the sea that are bigger are continental glaciers - but that’s just me!) As you know glacial ice is melting worldwide and glaciers are retreating rapidly. But not Hubbard. It is an anomaly. Based on its location and other factors affecting the accumulation of ice, etc, it is growing. Back in 1986, it pushed forward at an incredible rate moving more than one hundred and forty feet a day! It dammed off Russell Fjord and created all kinds of problems. Eventually the ice dam broke and all was “normal” until 2002 when it did it again. Well, once more Hubbard is on the march. During the last four visits the Seven Seas Mariner has not been able to get close to the glacier due to the build-up of ice. If Russell Fjord is closed-off permanently, the ice that the glacier continues to expel will be so concentrated ships will not be allowed in. This is exactly what happened to Columbia Glacier. And you may remember that it was ice from Columbia Glacier that caused the Exxon Valdez to steer up on Bligh Reef!

“French Explorer LaPerouse in Alaska” is the title of a talk to be presented Saturday June 27th at Juneau’s Assembly Chambers by Captain Philippe Fichet Delavault of the cruise ship Seven Seas Mariner.

Fichet Delavault, who has been sailing around the world for the last 36 years, has been serving on cruise ships for the last eight years. The Seven Seas Mariner docks in Juneau each Saturday this summer.

In 2001, Fichet Delavault came to Alaska for the first time, and learned that his French compatriot Jean Galaup de la Perouse had preceded him by 215 years. LaPerouse (1741-1788) charted the coast of Alaska by direction of the French king Louis XVI, and entered Lituya Bay in July of 1786. He and his crew met the Tlingit people living there and described the people and their culture in journals and art work.

Twenty-one French officers and seamen in two small boats were drowned while charting the mouth of the bay. LaPerouse placed a plaque on Cenotaph Island with the names of the lost men and the words “Who ever you are, when you read this, mingle your tears with ours.” The French Association Laperouse-Albi-France has prepared  a replacement plaque as the original no longer exists. A new location, instead of Cenotaph Island, must be found.

Captain Fichet Delavault will speak Saturday June 27th at 5 p.m. at Juneau Assembly Chambers at 155 South Seward St. Juneau. His web site (choose French or English)  is: http://web.mac.com/phfichetdelavault/Lap%C3%A9rouse_in_Lituya_Bay/Welcome_to_Lituya_Bay.html

The Association LaPerouse Alaska is being formed and membership information will be provided. For more information call 907-321-7558.