When we awoke this morning, there was ice and snow on our veranda and the ship’s decks. Based on historical weather records, we knew it was definitely possible for this part of the World Cruise, but winter came on rather dramatically. Weather was quite rough overnight, as we headed northbound for Sakhalin Island. Captain Vorland reported this morning that winds had reached over 70 knots (Beaufort Scale 12 – Hurricane Force). Due to this, he had to slow down the ship’s speed, and he told us we’d be a little late arriving at Sakhalin Island.
Yes, we’re in Russian waters, but it’s close to 4,150 miles straight-line distance from here to Moscow (or to Seattle, Washington in the opposite direction). Sakhalin is Russia's largest island – almost 600 miles long in a north-south orientation – in the North Pacific Ocean off the east coast of Russia, and north of Japan. Korsakov is a port town at the southern tip of Sakhalin. We anchored offshore at 46.6° North and 142.7° East. According to the itinerary, we were supposed to dock at Korsakov, but that changed a little while ago and we missed that (unannounced) information.
Winds were only 25 - 30 knots this morning, although it was evident that Korsakov had experienced a lot of recent snow. The morning temperature was 27º F.
Ginny decided to stay on the ship today and not risk the possible dangers of the tender ride to Korsakov. Jim bravely pressed on for the shore excursion titled “Sakhalin Museums.” We had signed up for that one, because we thought it would be mostly indoors.
Some very short background history: Sakhalin has been claimed by both Russia and Japan over the course of history, which led to many skirmishes between the two countries over control of the island. In 1857 the Russians established a prison colony on Sakhalin. Japanese forces invaded and occupied Sakhalin in the closing stages of the Russo-Japanese War. Per the 1905 treaty ending that war, the island was separated at 50º latitude – Russians to the north, and Japanese to the south. Then, near the end of World War II (1945), Russia seized the entire island from the Japanese, by invading the southern region and occupying the capital of Toyohara (which they renamed as Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk). All Japanese people were removed from Sakahlin Island by 1949, including Ainu native islanders who were moved to Hokkaido.
Most of the population on Sakahlin now live in the southern half of the island, where it’s a little warmer, and they’re centered mainly around the administrative center of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and two ports, Kholmsk and Korsakov.
Going ashore in Russia isn’t easy. None of us could just go ashore and wander around on our own. In order to be allowed to visit Sakahlin, guests had to be on a shore excursion or have obtained a visa (on their own) and made other private tour arrangements. Twenty-eight uniformed Russian officials were brought to board the ship (via a large tugboat) as soon as we anchored. They watched, to ensure that our ship’s crew members gave passports out to only people who were on excursions. Then they checked our excursion ticket and passport before we were allowed to go on the tender, while comparing the face in the passport photo with the person handing them the passport. During the course of the day, they were checking passenger lists on their computers that they brought with them. Of course, they all enjoyed lunch and dinner on the ship, while also visiting the Connoisseur Club (the sealed-off cigar room on the 6th deck). The tender boat ride to shore wasn’t too bad – definitely cold and windy, with fairly rough seas, but everyone who was interested in going ashore made it safely.
We boarded buses at the tender pier and started our 26-mile (50-minute) ride from Korsakov to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, the biggest city on the island (population of about 180,000 people). We saw a lot of snow along the way, but the roads were clear after we got out of the immediate port area. Most of the homes we saw were small but rugged.
Once in the city, there were rows and rows of what we’d call Soviet-style concrete-block apartment buildings, along with some newer buildings and small shops.
We had been warned in advance that tour bus transportation at this port may not be as nice as we’ve come to enjoy on earlier parts of the cruise, nor are there experienced tour guides. The bus lived up to that, as the loud speaker system didn’t work. The windows of the bus were very dirty on the outside and fogged over on the inside; bottom line was that we couldn’t see much out of the windows, nor could we hear anything that the tour guide was saying in her soft voice.
Our first stop was at a Russian Orthodox Church. It was an attractive style combining a rustic log structure with some typical Russian features, including beautiful onion domes. Our feet got a little wet from walking through the slushy snow, but it was worth the stop for a photo opportunity. We’re sure the guide must have said something interesting about this church on the bus, but we couldn’t hear anything she said. Then, once reaching the church, she managed to avoid all of us by hanging around with her fellow tour guides from other buses.
After that we rode to the Chekhov Museum. The Russian physician and author Anton Chekhov visited Sakhalin for three months in 1890, interviewing thousands of convicts. This stimulated him to write a series of articles and later a book titled Sakhalin Island that related the shocking and troubling conditions he witnessed at the Russian prison colony. The book was a documentary not a novel. We assume this museum was established in honor of this one single book that brought the world’s attention to Sakhalin Island.
During our visit we saw several exhibits of rooms that were set up as they must have been at that time – showing what life was like for the prisoners, as described by Chekhov. There were also costumed guides; but, of course, they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) speak English. Our tour guide went from set to set reading a prepared script in English that helped us a little, but it was difficult for 28 of us to hear her clearly. The second floor was even more interesting, as there were exhibits of Ainu (native islander) artwork and decorative clothing.
Next was the Sakahlin Regional Museum, which is housed in an impressive building from the Japanese period on this part of the island (1937).
The museum’s first floor includes items related to Sakhalin’s history and climate, as well as exhibits of indigenous plants and animals (including large bears who apparently roam forests across the whole island). The second floor has a mixture of several topics – first was an interesting and well-done set of artifacts and exhibits about the island's indigenous peoples (mostly Ainu).
We’ve read that Sakhalin has experienced something of an oil boom since the liberalization of Russian economic policies. Several large multinational oil corporations are exploring and mining for oil and gas off the northeast coast of the island. Apparently there are at least two pipelines already operational to transport Sakhalin's oil and gas to the Russian mainland. These products could be consumed domestically or shipped to fill demand in East Asia. We didn’t see any evidence of that today, but we assume the drilling is all taking place on the northern end of the island.
The overwater tender ride back to the ship wasn’t too bad, but waiting onshore for the tender was. Many of the shore excursion buses arrived back at the tender pier at almost exactly the same time. This resulted in a long line to get on the tender. After the first tender left, Jim was still in line. It was snowing, the temperature was in the upper 20’s, and the wind was howling (he estimates at least 30 knots). The wait was about 30 minutes, and Jim was on the last tender to go between shore and the ship today. He was happy he’d worn heavy clothes, a stocking cap, and gloves today. He was still cold when reaching ship and needed an immediate cup of hot chocolate from The Bistro to help warm up. It’s hard to believe we’re only a few weeks removed from port calls where temperatures were in the 90’s.
We left Korsakov at least two hours late this evening, because the Russian officials had not finished their official functions on the ship until then. They were transported to shore by a large tug boat again. Now we’re headed even further north on the Russian coast to Petropavlovsk for our visit scheduled for Wednesday (April 20). The Captain said he’d need to “put the pedal to the metal” in order to make up for lost time and still get to Petropavlovsk on time.
Jim & Ginny
In your opinion, is this port even worth getting off the ship for the 3 of us? Many thanks
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