North to Alaska
By Bill Jennings
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| Sighting a humpback whale. |
About two months ago, my wife mentioned that we should look into taking an Alaskan cruise in one of the luxury liners that run up the coast of the Pacific Northwest. I commented that the weather was warmer in the Caribbean (making the mistake of thinking I could convince her to go south). Despite my yearning for tropical climes, our conversations regularly swung to the natural beauties of the northwest. I think my big mistake was to point out that I was already overweight and didn't need a holiday that served eight large meals a day.
Soon friends that I hadn't heard from in years began to call, telling me how much they had enjoyed their trips to Alaska. Then travel brochures began to arrive every day from a different cruise ship company offering better and better package deals. I knew I was in trouble when we somehow received a special invitation to go through a cruise ship at the Vancouver docks and watch a video of Alaska trip highlights.
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| Bill and Betty atop a glacier. |
As the pressure mounted, I received a phone call from Jerry Todd, marketing manager for Glacier Bay Catamarans. It was perfectly timed. He was organizing a marathon trip for members of the media to demonstrate first-hand the merits of their boatline. And where do you suppose they planned to go?
Imagine the immense joy that I felt as I made the announcement to my wife that we were going to cruise to Alaska. What cabin level had I chosen? She asked. No cabin level, replied. What was the schedule? No schedule. What clothes would we need? Jeans and a sweatshirt. How big is the boat? Twenty six feet.
And so, with little fanfare, a minimum of planning and no time to think about what we were really getting ourselves, we were going to Alaska.
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| The intrepid Bill Jennings. |
The trip was billed "The Seattle to Kenai" or more affectionately, Glacier Bay to Glacier Bay. Four people would travel in each of three 26 Glacier Bay catamarans One boat was equipped with radar and all three had at least two GPS units. A couple of VHF radios in each boat would allow us to communicate on a talking channel while monitoring channel 16. Despite the fact that each boat held a small fortune in charts. 50 to be exact, we eventually found ourselves navigating with the help of those handy regional chart books with the warning label: Not to Be Used for Navigation.
On June 19th, the three-boat fleet pulled out of Lake Union in Seattle, Washington, and pointed north. While those planning a similar journey may find an explicit chronology of our trip of interest, I am concerned that most readers would find such detail a remedy for insomnia.
"That's why I've chosen not to get caught up in the details (like not finding any washrooms in Bella Bella) and concentrate on the tip's most dramatic discovers. I have decided to name these: The Seventh Truths of the Northwest Pacific World.
