PORT ANGELES — Gale-force winds on the Strait of Juan de Fuca will delay arrival of the boutique cruise ship American Spirit in Port Angeles to midmorning Tuesday.
And the delay will shorten slightly its visit to Port Townsend later this week.
The American Spirit was originally due to dock at Port Angeles City Pier after dusk tonight from Friday Harbor, which was the Day 3 stop for American Cruise Lines’ 2013 Puget Sound/San Juan Island tour that lasts eight days and seven nights.
But winds Monday afternoon gusting up to 40 mph — and consistently hovering around 28 mph — keeps the ship at Friday Harbor tonight and delays the arrival at City Pier until around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce Russ Veenema said this afternoon.
Veenema is assisting shore activities for the ship’s Port Angeles arrival.
The National Weather Service forecast winds in the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca to diminish by Tuesday morning to around 15 mph. Light winds are expected Wednesday.
The ship spends most of Tuesday in Port Angeles, with visits to downtown merchants and tours to Olympic National Park, casinos and other Clallam attractions available to passengers.
It is now scheduled to depart Port Angeles early evening Wednesday, Veenema said, and arrive at Union Wharf in Port Townsend around midnight for a daylong Thursday visit that ends with an early Friday morning departure.
