If you really want to see and experience the extraordinary natural splendor of Alaska, then only a crewed yacht charter will do! Unlike large crew ships, a crewed charter yacht can slip right into little anchorages ringed by bald eagles perched in the surrounding trees, cruise closely along the coast with bears in easy sight, anchor in isolated areas at the mouth of a salmon or trout fly fishing stream, and sit right under a calving tidewater glacier. This and everything else that is the Alaskan Experience is up front and personal on a crewed yacht charter in Alaska.
Sit under the face of a calving glacier while huge ice chunks break off with a thunderous roar to drop into the waters below. Fish for “barn door” sized halibut and cast for salmon running upstream in pristine mountain streams. Sea kayak around harbor seals sunning on large ice floes. Sit in the middle of whales performing the age old “dance” of group bubblenet feeding. Enjoy isolated anchorages ringed with Bald Eagles perched in nearby trees. All of this and so much more is waiting for you on a crewed yacht charter in Alaska. Here at Northrop and Johnson Yacht Charters, we know this area, the yachts and crews well for a great Alaskan Adventure Charter.
Formally known as Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, Glacier Bay is a special place to visit on crewed yacht charter of Southeast Alaska. As part of an area designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Glacier Bay covers over 3 million acres. Glacier Bay is a relatively new natural phenomenon as until the early 1700’s, this area was covered by one large single solid block of ice called the Grand Pacific Glacier. Since the early 1700’s, this glacier has retreated over 65 miles to the head of the bay at Tarr Inlet, and while retreating, left 20 other separate glaciers in its trail. This modern glacial retreat and the subsequent creation of many smaller glaciers offer an excellent opportunity to see nature in action and all aspects of glaciers in this very active glacier area. Access to Glacier Bay is heavily restricted however to allow nature to take its course unimpeded by man, and therefore, only certain charter yachts are allowed entrance which is by special permit. If visiting Glacier Bay is on your list of what to see and do in Alaska, be sure to ask for a charter yacht with Glacier Bay permits.
It is summer in Alaska and the salmon, true to their genetic plan are returning to their birth stream to spawn. The bays and waterways are teaming with salmon. What is your interest, King Salmon, Silver Salmon, Sockeye Salmon? All are swimming in the waters now in Alaska, and the best way to fish is on a yacht charter. For on a charter, you can move from fishing area to fishing area, visit the mouth of streams in the tender, fly fish from the shores, or troll from the back of the yacht. In fact, on a yacht charter, you can be fishing simply by dropping a line off of the stern, while cruising through the scenic Inside Passage, sipping on a glass of wine. Let the simple act of cruising, while enjoying the scenery, do the work for you and enjoy a fresh salmon dinner of the “catch of the day”. Read the rest of this entry »
We always recommend when chartering in Alaska to charter on a yacht that does only Alaska. This means the tried and true yachts that have been chartering in Alaska summer after summer, as they know where the whales are bubble net feeding, and they know where the salmon and halibut (the Barn Door Halibuts) are swimming. These are Alaska outfitted yachts, meant for Alaska, that truly do Alaska, which is the way to see this truly spectacular area. Normally these yachts are booked a year in advance. For the first time that we have seen in years (and we have been booking charters in Alaska for over 20 years), there are prime weeks still available on our favorite yachts for charter in Alaska for this summer, 2009. Read the rest of this entry »
Admiralty Island, or Kootznoowoo (Fortress of the Bear) as it is known to the indigenous Tlingits, is home to the highest density of brown bears in North America. About 1,600 brown bears inhabit the island and they outnumber the Tlingit community of Angoon, the only settlement on the island, about three to one. Around the year 2000, the human population of the island was 650 people. Read the rest of this entry »
Summer cruising in Alaska starts in mid May, and ends in mid September. The interested Charterer always asks what the best dates are to choose for a charter in Alaska. The surprise answer is that your choice of what dates to pick for crewed yacht charter should depend more on what you want to see and do rather than on what the weather does. In online weather information, you might see that August and July are supposed to be drier than June. And, most people think that August will be warmer than June. In actuality, this all varies from summer to summer in Alaska, with no rhyme or reason. The dates you choose to book your crewed yacht charter in Alaska during the summer charter season should be based on the wild and marine life that you might want to see, and the activities you might want to do, as the migration patterns of wild and marine life is far more predictable than the weather. Read the rest of this entry »
Tracy Arm is a 23 mile long Fjord capped by the twin Sawyer Glaciers, coastal tidewater glaciers; which are a long river of solid fresh water ice, centuries old, flowing from the mountains to the sea. The “rivers” move at a rate of several feet a day. As the glaciers crawl along, when reaching the salt water of Tracy Arm, the glaciers “calve” , and huge chunks of the face ice break off and plunge into the salt water of Tracy Arm. The ice chunks that separate from the face of the glaciers can be several stories high and wide, and break from the face with a loud cracking noise, followed by a terrific splash and radiating wave. The twin Sawyer Glaciers on Tracy Arm each calve at a rate of once an hour, so when visiting, one can almost be assured of seeing this age old glacier action.
The time to book your summer charter in Alaska is now. The Alaska season is short and often booked a year in advance. The summer season is mid May to mid September. Each summer month is great. Weather is expected to be slightly cooler and drier in May and June, and slightly warmer and rainier in July and August, however the weather in Alaska is constantly changing during the season even in one day, where temperatures can be 50 degrees F to 80 degrees F in one day.
The real choice of when to go, is about what you want to see and do. There are generally always whales, however the fishing seasons do change, from Cutthroat Trout to various species of salmon throughout the summer. Bears are more easily seen in earlier summer along the shore lines as they search for food, moving up into the mountains, along the salmon streams to fish for dinner later in the summer as the salmon begin to run upstream, with the heaviest salmon runs towards the end of the summer. Read the rest of this entry »
Alaska has been in the news recently, heightening the interest in this remarkable state. Did you know that more Bald Eagles nest in Alaska than anywhere else in the world? Did you know that there are more brown bears in Alaska than any other state in the U.S.? And that is only a small slice of the wonders that Alaska offers. Read the rest of this entry »
