Cruising Alaska: Fishing Bamfield. First Nation Canoe Journey. Salt Spring Marina. Port of Friday Harbor. The Small Ship Experience

Transcription

1 Salt Spring Marina Fishing Bamfield Cruising Alaska: The Small Ship Experience First Nation Canoe Journey Port of Friday Harbor USD $6.95 CAN $7.95

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3 CRUISING ALASKA: PART 1 Northern Latitudes, Southern Hospitality Nine Days Aboard the M/V Island Spirit by Russ Young There were no singers, dancers or magicians performing. There was no casino, nor was there a spa or onboard shops. You couldn t push your tray down a dessert buffet or call your cabin steward for a 3 a.m. hamburger. There weren t any private-balcony cabins. And for those reasons and many, many more nine days aboard the M/V Island Spirit was the Alaska cruise experience we had always dreamed about. At 130 feet with a capacity of 32 passengers, the Island Spirit could be hidden in the lower decks of most of the cruise ships that work Alaska s inland waters during the summer. But the maneuverability of the vessel, and the Southern hospitality and can-do attitude of her crew, more than made up for the size differential... and offered us an unforgettable cruise experience. The Seaplane and Boating Destination Magazine HARBORS 15

4 DAY ONE We met our captain and his crew in Petersburg, a quaint fishing town that that is known as Alaska s Little Norway. Immediately we put our land-legs to the test, taking a hike to the edge of town to experience the muskeg an Alaska peat bog. It was a good opportunity to meet our 15 fellow passengers, who were an eclectic group varying in age from 9 to 73, including a pediatric dentist, a geospatial cartographer, a retired schoolteacher and a former spokesman for the Central Intelligence Agency. Back aboard, we unpacked our bags in our cozy cabins, each of which has its own bathroom. But by mid-afternoon we had shoved off the dock and were motoring toward the Baird Glacier. Before long, we were bundling up in raingear and life jackets, and boarding the DIB (a Demaree Inflatable Boat) for our first time. The DIB was our magic carpet for a ride through the icebergs near the base of the glacier. They ranged from dirty white to deep blue, and the cold drizzle was quickly forgotten as we oohed and ahhed our way through the ice. Then it was back to Island Spirit, where we were greeted 16 HARBORS

5 by... wait a minute, what? It was an old mariner, with a gray beard, a nor easter rain hat, holding a navigation chart. Fortunately, it was the ship s owner and captain, Jeff Behrens (see sidebar), giving us a first glimpse of his considerable sense of humor. We shed our raingear, convened in the main salon for hors d ouevres and cocktails, and prepared for our first night s dinner: salmon, the perfect entree for starting an Alaskan cruise. DAY TWO After waking up at our anchorage in Thomas Bay, we headed toward the Five Finger Islands, where we again bundled up, climbed aboard the DIB and set out for a short hike and a visit to the former Coast Guard lighthouse. We got up-close-and-personal with a bald eagle whose nest we walked under, and toured the building and grounds with the summer-volunteer lightkeepers, a married couple from Colorado. Back aboard Island Spirit, we were motoring close to a sea lion rookery there were dozens of the big pinnipeds on the rocks, steaming in the morning sun when there was a sudden The Seaplane and Boating Destination Magazine HARBORS 17

6 change of plans. Jeff and his crew had spotted a group of humpback whales, so we changed course and began to follow them, in hopes of watching them engaging in the group feeding activity known as bubble netting. We didn t witness it this time, but the instant change of itinerary was a reminder of the advantages of the small-ship cruising experience. DAY THREE The Island Spirit spends each night at anchor while the big cruise ships are steaming toward their next port of call. And they are quiet nights; since the ship s batteries provide the overnight power, we weren t listening to engines or generators. Every morning the early risers are greeted by a continental breakfast buffet and lots of coffee followed by a hearty sit-down breakfast served by Jeff s remarkably chipper crew. But we soon left our anchorage in Sanford Cove for what promised to be an exciting and memorable day; we were headed up the Endicott Arm fjord to take a DIB trip through the memorably named Fords Terror, a narrow and scenic fjord that only a small ship can navigate. Later would we would visit and anchor overnight at the Dawes Glacier. However, there was a change of plans; there was too much floating ice in the fjord, and it became clear to Jeff that the risk was unacceptable. We had an extra challenge that day; we needed to pick up three additional passengers, who had missed flights due to summer thunderstorms in the eastern US. The trio had made their way to Juneau, where they boarded a Ward Air seaplane that would rendezvous with Island Spirit on the Endicott Arm. With the help of the DIB, they joined us aboard as we headed north for our new destination: the Tracy Arm and the Sawyer Glaciers. We took an early-afternoon kayaking break at 18 HARBORS

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9 Harbor Island, enjoying some brilliant sunshine that was a distinct contrast to the morning s cold rain and icy waters. On our way up the Tracy Arm toward the glaciers, we were treated to more icebergs, some of which resembled large-scale floating ice sculptures. We also got a demonstration of Island Spirit s maneuverability, as we nosed up to a waterfall along the fjord, getting close enough so that Tony, the ship s Arkansas-native naturalist, was able to lean out the bow and fill a pitcher with ice-cold water. (Try doing that in a 1,000-foot-long cruise ship!) Soon we were treated to a view of the North Sawyer Glacier; there was too much floating ice for us to visit South Sawyer. But despite the day s Plan B itinerary we weren t disappointed; we were treated to terrific views of the ice, which rises a couple of hundred feet above the water, capped off by two bus-sized chunks of ice calving and falling into the water. The Seaplane and Boating Destination Magazine HARBORS 21

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11 DAY FOUR Waking up with no other boats or any signs of civilization in sight at Woodspit, we found the main salon and dining area decorated in red, white and blue... it was the Fourth of July. Breakfast was omelets with firecracker chicken and grits. The latter are a reminder that, despite the fact we were in the northernmost US state, the entire ship s crew of eight hails from the southern US: Arkansas, Louisiana, Georgia, Florida and North Carolina. The feeling of Southern hospitality permeates everything they do, from serving meals and mixing evening cocktails, to helping you in and out of a kayak, or loaning you a pair of rain pants for a DIB excursion. The morning featured the only rough water we experienced during the trip; in fact, the weather nixed a planned shore trip and kayak excursion to Taku Harbor, a village along the Stephens Passage. So we steamed on toward our ultimate destination: Juneau, Alaska s state capitol, which is a virtual metropolis compared to the other towns on our itinerary. En route, Jeff and the crew performed a Coast Guard-required man overboard drill, which, despite the nasty weather conditions, they performed speedily and efficiently (and, I should add, successfully). There were five enormous cruise ships tied up at Juneau s docks, with fleets of buses shuttling the passengers to and from their shore excursions. The streets were crowded with shoppers and sightseers. So it s worth noting that us small-ship cruisers chose to go hiking once we were ashore; a large group went on the scenic Gold Creek Flume Trail. A smaller, heartier bunch of us decided to hike up the back of Mt. Roberts, which rises almost vertically from the waterfront. After a steep, muddy slog up the mountain, we arrived at the top of the Mt. Roberts Tramway, much to the amazement of The Seaplane and Boating Destination Magazine HARBORS 23

12 most of the patrons of the tram-top restaurant, bar and gift shop. (We took the tram down with them, arriving in time for an onboard Independence Day feast of hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork, corn on the cob, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, brownies and peach blueberry cobbler. After, dinner, there was time for a twilight stroll (the sun set a little after 10 p.m.) around Juneau, which was transformed once the big cruise ships departed in the early evening. The streets were quiet and uncrowded, with the activity level a tiny fraction of what it had been midday. We settled in for a quiet night spent tied to the dock, with the sound of water lapping at Island Spirit s hull, lulling us to sleep. To be continued Part two will appear in the March/April 2018 issue of HARBORS. 24 HARBORS

13 Jeff and Catherine Behrens FANTASY CRUISES Born and raised on Staten Island, New York, Jeff Behrens grew up thinking he would be a pilot, just like his father. He attended military school in New Jersey, but says he was always enticed by water, and bitten by the boat bug. Armed with an economics degree, he began a career in sales, working for paper, soft drink and onsite music companies. But after he was skipped over for a promotion, he decided to try making a living with a boat that he owned for fun and charter, hosting weddings, parties and some tourism. Expanding the tourism business, Jeff specialized in boat trips for up to 149 guests, with hotels providing the lodging. Finding that arranging the accommodations was too harrowing, he bought a supply boat called Magnum Force, which he converted in 2002 to the Island Spirit. The project took six months; he had scheduled the first trip so tightly that he says he was bolting down the last few toilets as the first passengers were coming down the passageways. For several years, his trips were within Washington and British Columbia, but in 2009 he started the Alaska cruises. A lifelong bachelor, he was introduced to Catherine while buying a house in Florida. They ve been married for six years. Although she joins him on the ship for part of the year, she runs the company s Florida office; She s the accountant; I m the marketing guy, says Jeff about their teamwork. They pride themself on the attitude and courtesy of their crew members. He says that in recruiting I look first for a smile. And those smiles help make time aboard the Island Spirit both enjoyable and memorable. It s fun to watch as people decompress, and realize they don t have to be tethered to the world, says Jeff... with a smile. FANTASY CRUISES P.O. Box 448 Pierson, FL The Seaplane and Boating Destination Magazine HARBORS 25