We were offered the chance to get a tour of the Bridge. I wasn't sure I was terribly interested but I hated not to take advantage of anything that was offered, so I went. I'm glad I did. I learned that the mates are also Captains-- they all have a Captain's license. Beth was a coastal researcher, K.C. came from NOAH, Louis ran fishing boats and the absent one worked tall ships. K.C. has captained yachts and owns a ship in San Francisco. The ships have AIS and can identify and call out to them by radio to determine which side to pass on. They said it is much more difficult with fishing vessles without AIS as they all have huge sodium lights that create night blindness and it makes it hard to determine their distance.
At night a deckhand is on the bridge with binoculars, looking for logs, etc, as all the computer screes take the Captain's night vision. They work 4 hour shifts. Beth said she works midnight-4 and was the one who took us through the Wrangell Narrows at night. I had gotten up to see "Christmas Tree Lane' but it was so foggy I could barely see one marker light at a time, but I saw how carefully and slowly we were moving and how narrow it really was. They have no steering wheel; there is a joystick! Beth said that Captain Louis sits behind directs them, or cracks jokes! While not really a breath-taking event for anyone who doesn't own a boat, it was still interesting to see the view from the Bridge.
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