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The Pacific Northwest covers some
magnificent coastline and forms a perfectly protected playground for your yacht
charter vacation. The sheltered, waterways offer endless miles of calm,
protected cruising, which makes this charter area great for beginners. Hundreds
of inlets and coves offer stunning anchorages amongst majestic evergreen
beauty. The facilities throughout the area are extensive.
From
Vancouver Island to Alaska’s capital Juneau, the coastline ventures alongside a
pristine wilderness of secret coves, glacial valleys, majestic mountains and
sheltered fjords. Abound with phenomenal sea life, birds and mammals, the
Pacific Northwest is extremely popular with outdoor enthusiasts.
Cruising
the Pacific Northwest offers boaters the opportunity to leisurely cruise the
protected waters of the Canada’s Inside Passage while enjoying the spectacular
vistas of soaring mountains, miles of wilderness, iceberg summits, sandy
beaches and fishing streams teeming with trout and salmon.
Start in
Alaska’s state capital of Juneau. A variety of sightseeing and shopping
adventures are available.
Leave Juneau
and steam for Saginaw Channel, located at the top of Admiralty Island on the
eastern shore of the Mansfield Peninsula, which offers excellent whale
watching. Continue around Point Retreat for Funter Bay, located at the base of
Icy Straits on the western side of Mansfield Peninsula.
Steam across
the Icy Straits to Chatham Strait to Tenakee Inlet. Just inside the inlet you
will find Tenakee Springs, the town has a delightful coffee shop and gift shop
and, more unusually, a community bathhouse with alternating hours for ladies
and gentlemen.
Leave Tenakee
Springs and steam through the Peril Straits for Sitka, a town rich in Russian
history and native culture. Visit the Sitka National Historic Park for its
totem pole collection and exhibits on the Tlingit heritage. Spend the day near
Sitka, where you will find great clamming nearby and possibly halibut, ling cod
or salmon fishing around the entrance of Salisbury Sound.
Leave Sitka
and steam through Salisbury Sound, into the Peril Strait and out into Chatham
Strait for Baranof. Well worth a visit are the Baranof Springs, where you can
enjoy a soak in the natural hot pool adjacent to a roaring waterfall. In the
afternoon, leave Baranof and head down Chatham Straits to Red Bluff. Red Bluff
is a spellbinding anchorage with a huge waterfall cascading nearby.
Leave Red
Bluff and enter Frederick Sound for more fabulous whale watching. Cruise to
Tracy Arm Glacier, where you will take an incredible trip through a
granite-walled fjord to observe Sawyer Glacier. You will see eagles, seals and
perhaps even brown bears, mountain goats and moose.
Leave for St.
Petersburg, an exceptionally prosperous Norwegian fishing community rich in
Nordic tradition. Cruise from St. Petersburg to La Conte Glacier.
Anchor in a cove slightly north of the entrance and go in to explore this
pristine fjord and retreating glacier by tender.
The peak cruising season for the Pacific
Northwest is from June through to September. The yacht charter shoulder seasons
of May and early October are also well worth considering, as they are less
crowded and the weather is usually still fairly settled.
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