As Ive already indicated Hoonah has the best marina in Icy Strait. Most harbors are very crowded in the summer so smaller is good there and many anchorages are small so a smaller boat is better there also.
Most begin and finish in either Juneau or Sitka and visit the main highlights and more.
Best boat for inside passage. The David B is a wooden boat and a tour boat so we haul out every year. This gives us chance to inspect the bottom and do any below-the-waterline work that we have planned. Not every boat needs to haul out yearly but its probably a good idea before going to Alaska because then you know that everything below the waterline is in good condition.
I prefer twin screws but kelp is very common as well as logs and sticks. 30 to 35 boats are best. Most harbors are very crowded in the summer so smaller is good there and many anchorages are small so a smaller boat is better there also.
Obviously when it gets really rough the bigger boat is king so compromise is best. For you a planing boat is the best inside passage option but dont expect to have us allow some innocent read this and believe that a planing boat can compete in any arena other than the one where you zip here to there and back in calm to moderate weather in the least amount of time. Add a little weather and you are held up in a cove and that weekender boat hadnt dare stick its nose out.
First the boat. Wilderness Travel my host for this trip uses the MV Westward an 8 passenger 86 foot wooden yacht built in 1924 the first charter yacht in Alaska. Unlike the huge cruise ships that dominate the market its small size made it possible to get into coves and fjords that larger ships can not as well as creating a far more intimate experience.
If you dont have a boat there are many options like bareboat chartering with a cruising in company flotilla offered by Northwest Explorations and others. There are also several good options for smaller chartering opportunities on crewed charter boats. Take enough time to do it right.
On-board the Vessel. The Northern Expedition is one of the biggest vessels in the BC Ferries fleet. It is over 150 metres long holds 638 passengers and crew can have up to 115 vehicles on-board and travels at a maximum speed of 205 knots.
As I write this the winner of the 2016 R2AK is already in Ketchikan having sailed the Inside Passage from Port Townsend in 3 days 20 hours and 13 minutes beating last years winning time by more than a full day. A lot of the Inside Passage quickly slips by at that pace. Well have to wait to see who comes in last this year.
What is the best time of year for an Alaska Cruise in the Inside Passage. Carol and I are just home from our 4th Alaskan cruise. And before we begin to share our wonderful experience sailing with Regent Seven Seas Cruises I thought I might first tackle one of the first questions we generally get as folks are considering an Alaskan cruise.
What is the best time of year for an Alaska cruise in. The Royal Caribbean or Harmony of the Seas cruise ships offer fantastic Alaskan cruises that can provide top-notch entertainment magnificent live views from any suite stateroom and virtual balconies. Book an Inside Passage small ship cruise in Alaska for natural encounters stunning scenery and adventures.
Glaciers fjords forests mountains islands and beaches are heaven for wildlife fans with an abundance of birds bears and whales. For people who love to learn about different cultures. Just as the Great Loop is a popular bucket-list item for many East Coast boaters navigating the Inside Passage to Alaska from Puget Sound is on many a must-do list for boaters on the Pacific Coast.
Unlike the Great Loop however where theres plenty of infrastructure fuel stops places to provision marinas this is not the case for those embarking on The Big One on the Left Coast. With its single 200 HP Volvo Penta D3 diesel offering thrifty displacement cruising and 20-plus knot top end speeds and a semi-displacement hull design that is easily trailered the Ranger Tugs 27 can satisfy the cruising needs of those who transit the Inside Passage between Seattle and Ketchikan as well as those who follow the seasons along the Intracoastal Waterway. Enjoy your direct flight from Anchorage or Seattle into JuneauOnce you get settled your first outing should be to see Alaskas capital city from above.
Hop on the Goldbelt Tram and skim the tops of spruce trees as you ascend to the top of 3819-foot Mount Roberts and enjoy breathtaking views. A great way to get a lay of the town and stretch those legs after your flight is a guided bike tour. One of the finest cruising grounds in the world the Inside Passage is a boaters paradise with hundreds of pristine islands inlets and anchorages.
This new expanded 2nd edition of Best Anchorages of the Inside Passage is a comprehensive selection of boating destinations on. The most direct route is Discovery Passage and Johnstone Strait itself. This is an 80-mile-long passage with strong tidal currents that cause it to behave like a reversing saltwater river.
Some of the narrower regions such as Seymour Narrows actually have tidal. Inside Passage Only Cruises. Cruises that start and finish within the Alaskan Inside Passage region tend to be small boat cruises or expedition cruises.
These cruises range from 8 - 15 days depending on the route and ship. Most begin and finish in either Juneau or Sitka and visit the main highlights and more. Beneteau Swift Trawler 44.
With a top-end of just over 27 MPH the Beneteau Swift Trawler 44 is among the fastest boats in this category. When Beneteau started introducing passage-making fast trawlers like the Swift Trawler 44 back in 2011 lots of folks in the North American boating market sort of scratched their heads. And finally I think my Marlow Explorer 61E with an LOA of 65 feet is the ideal vessel for cruising the Inside Passage for one additional reason.
Many marinas along the way have a docking size limit of just 65 feet. Sherry Mills The Tlingit Princess of Hoonah Alaska. As Ive already indicated Hoonah has the best marina in Icy Strait.
But what makes the marina so special is the reception you get from. Depending on direction of travel the Sullivan Bay Marina is either the first or the last of the Broughton marinas seen by boaters taking the Inside Passage to northern British Columbia or Southeast Alaska. On North Broughton Island the marina is at the junction of Sutlej Channel and Wells Passage.
The Inside Passage also called the Inland Passage or the Inner Passage is a stretch of protected ocean approx. 1500 km long that runs from Puget Sound in Washington State USA along the British Columbia Canada coastline to Skagway Alaska USA. It is a popular cruising area and marine transportation route due to its absence of open ocean swells and its relatively flat and calm waters.
Brad and I just returned from our Alaska Inside Passage Cruise with Holland America along with some of our best friends. Before heading out we did a bit of research to make sure that we packed everything that we might need and more. Im sharing with all of you some of my packing tips for your Alaska Inside Passage Cruise.
The classic Alaska Cruise offered by such companies as Holland America Princess and Royal Caribbean. Choose a round-trip Inside passage or one-way Gulf of Alaska Cruise.