(By Bob Van Leer

  SITKA, ALASKA, Thursday, July 24, 1997) - Our ship, MS Ryndam, anchored at 11:00 a.m. at Sitka, Alaska, at one time capital of Russian North America.

  Alexander Baranov, Russian territorial governor, built a fort in 1799 at a site six miles south of the present town and moved his base there from Kodiak Island.

  The Russians didn't get along too well with the local Tlingit Indians and the Indians drove off the Russians and burned the fort in 1802. However, Baranov returned in 1804 with a larger force and cannon and rebuilt his fort and the settlement became permanent. Russia had established posts as far south as northern California.

   Sitka remained the Russian capital until Alaska was sold to the United States in 1867 for $7.2 million in gold. Sitka continued as the U.S. capital of Alaska until 1912.

  Betty and I had scheduled a historical tour of Sitka, which was a good choice. Aerial tours were canceled because of rain. This is the wettest day yet on the cruise and every day has been cloudy or rainy.

  There are three cruise ships in port and apparently there is no dock of a size to handle them. All the ships are anchored and take passengers ashore by small boats.

  Our guide said Sitka has a permanent population of 8600 with an additional 1000 in the summer. He said most of the Russians went home after the sale to the U.S. Some who were married to local Tlingit women stayed, and the only continuous Russian presence is their descendants in the Tlingit population.

  The economy depends on fishing, tourism and government. There is one state highway, all of 14 miles long. Rainfall average 96 inches per year.

  In the center of Sitka is St. Michael's Cathedral which is Russian Orthodox. We were told the first Russian missionaries arrived in 1794 and the cathedral, which is not a large building, was built between 1844 - 1848. The cathedral burned in 1966, but the furnishings of the church, including historic icons up to a couple of hundred years old, were saved and returned when the church was rebuilt in 1966.

  The National Park Service has a museum of the local Tlingit culture, a highly structured society that had a few warts, such as practicing slavery.

  A group of local women have created The New Archangel Dancers, a highly professional group that put on an excellent hour's presentation of Russian folk dances.

  The next two days will be glacier viewing. Tomorrow we will approach the Hubbard glacier in Yakutat Bay. It would be nice if we didn't have to see it through rain.

  In the evening we were out of the "inside passage" and at open sea heading north. The ocean is a little rough and, for the first time this cruise, the ship has a considerable roll. Neither Betty nor I have ever had any sea sickness problem so the roll of the ship while we are in bed is like being rocked in a giant cradle.