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Now, Captain Philippe Menetrier takes center stage.He introduces himself and the crew, runs through a safety drill, then describes the ship’s itinerary. You’re bound for Bute Inlet, a fjord that slices into the British Columbia mainland. With a typically varied cargo, there will be numerous stops over the next four days.
Menetrier points out some basic rules for onboard life, but he is adamant about one thing. “Come up to the wheelhouse,”he says. “Don’t be shy.”
With its large front-facing windows, steering and navigational controls, radar, radios, lights, and maps, the wheelhouse is the ship’s nerve center and the source of its primary onboard entertainment.While the Aurora is under way, a perch in the wheelhouse gives an engaging glimpse of the daily routines of a working vessel. The crew welcomes company and questions. “That’s the whole point of having passengers on this ship,” says first mate Kevin Ryan. “This is a once-in-your-life chance to see what goes on up here.” And with a top speed of eight knots, the Aurora’s slow pace allows plenty of time for talk and learning.
As daylight fades, you step outside to watch the inky water, smooth as black milk. The silhouetted skyline disappears into the night. You can discern no islands, no horizon, only foam and dark water until you notice a galaxy of blinking lights all around—fishing boats, buoys, and shore lights. The thrum of the engines and the ship’s easy roll and sway lull you. You find a seat in the wheelhouse, watch the green glowing radar screen,listen to Coast Guard radio, and talk to the crew.
“What’s the strangest cargo you ever carried?” “A full - size potted palm,” says Ryan . “A horse,” says engineer Bruce Stockand. “A piano, delivered onto a muddy beach near a little settlement,” says Menetrier. “The whole community came down to help move it.” As the Aurora approaches her first stop, Menetrier works her into position with a surgeon’s delicacy, then lowers the ramp while Ryan and Stockand are down on deck, with passengers watching raptly from above.The crew’s teamwork is a choreography based on safety and efficiency. Within minutes the job is done and the Aurora ties up for the night.
The engines begin churning at first light. Coffee’s on, accompanied by warm cinnamon rolls and skewers of fresh fruit dressed with yogurt. In the pouring rain, the crew is busy with the day’s first delivery, a load of cables and groceries for a logging camp. The Aurora chugs while Sarah Martin takes breakfast orders—apple-sage sausage, eggs any style, hash browns, bread straight from the oven. Morning greetings are exchanged and conversations pick up where they left off yesterday.