Fittingly, we were chugging toward the Alaska Whale Foundation research station at Five Finger Lighthouse when a large pod of humpback whales surrounded us.
First, on the port side of the boat, one breached, then dove back underwater, its tail saluting us before disappearing deep into the cold waters.
On the starboard side of the ship, two humpbacks breached together, blowing as they surfaced. Then we spotted three together.
We gaped as a mother and baby broke the surface, then dove.
Now, this is why you come to Alaska. In a landscape so immense, an intimate experience is very special. We had more than a week’s worth thanks to the MV Swell, a century-old tugboat converted to an expedition ship.
Instead of gazing down at the spectacle from high above on a cruise ship that would dwarf the whales, we were almost at water level, and at times no more than a hundred yards away. The Swell, operated by Maple Leaf Adventures, measures a mere 80 feet — not even twice the length of the largest humpback.
During our meanderings through the Inside Passage from Petersburg to Sitka, my fiancee, Patti, and I shared the experience with just eight other passengers, making our group about the size of your typical dining table party on one of the big cruise ships that also ply these waters.
The big cruise ships have to stay in the wider and deeper channels of the Inside Passage. With the Swell’s diminutive size, Capt. Dave Hollis was able to take us into narrow inlets, some no more than a couple hundred yards wide. That was the case one morning midway through our journey when we stopped for an hour or so and watched two humpbacks cruise back and forth along one shore, rubbing against submerged rocks and spraying mini-geysers skyward from their blowholes. Unforgettable.
Small boats also offer more flexibility. Sure, we had a destination each day. But when wildlife appeared, the schedule be damned. Sometimes it was Capt. Dave or first mate Given Davies making a sighting from the wheelhouse. Or our onboard naturalist, Briony Penn. But passengers were always welcome in the wheelhouse, too, to report a sighting or just to chat.
Orcas interrupted the schedule another morning and brought the Swell to a screeching (if a boat can screech) halt. This was our first view of killer whales, with their distinctive white markings.
At first, they were several hundred yards from the boat, but before we motored away 45 minutes later, they’d closed the gap dramatically. As we moved slowly, three adults and a baby swam alongside us. One dove under the Swell, surfacing on the other side.
We got another treat as we came upon a humpback feeding, no more than 100 or 200 yards from the Swell’s bow. It’s hard to believe something that weighs 30-40 tons can be graceful, but it surely was as it launched from the water, mouth open wide to gather lunch.
Of course, Alaska is much more than just whales. At Pack Creek on Admiralty Island — a popular spot to view brown bears — a ranger briefed us on do’s and don’ts before leading us to an area where the creek winds through grassy meadows. Within minutes, a bear popped up in the grass several hundred yards away but soon vanished. Over the next hour, we saw two more bears, the nearest wading through the creek about a hundred yards away. Thankfully, none showed any interest in a human meal.
The following morning, the Swell was quickly swallowed by thick fog as our inflatable boats cruised away to an unnamed isle that’s part of the Brothers Islands group in Frederick Sound. The fog thinned as we neared the island and caught sight of hundreds of golden brown seals sprawled across a gray gravel beach. Most were sleeping, though one occasionally lifted its head to see what was disturbing its nap. Here and there, a pair would bicker, sometimes letting out an enraged bark.
An hour later, as we prepared to motor off, a gang of seals flopped off the shore into the water and quickly swam to the inflatable boats. What a send-off! Try that with a huge cruise ship.
The Alaskan landscape provided a wonderful backdrop for many of our wildlife sightings. Mornings often found us greeted by pine-forested shorelines backed up by snow-peaked mountains shrouded in spots by low-hanging clouds.
In the Endicott Arm, our inflatable boats took us through rain (a not infrequent occurrence) along shoreline punctuated by cascades of water plunging from high up the mountain. We passed glowing aquamarine icebergs as we motored near the face of Dawes Glacier, from which the icebergs had calved.
Around 10 o’clock one night, we were anchored in a narrow inlet. The western sky was darkening, and the mountains slid into silhouette, their edges tinted varying shades of pink. A layer of tobacco-colored clouds hung over the peaks, and the air was silent, save for an occasional bit of breeze.
It was beautiful. And it was all ours.
Phil Marty is a freelance writer.
If you go
Our eight-night Alaska Adventure on the MV Swell started in late July. Maple Leaf Adventures (888-599-5323, www.mapleleafadventures.com) offers other itineraries aboard the Swell and the sailing vessel SV Maple Leaf. Many 2016 trips are sold out, but there are wait lists. A schedule with prices is available for the 2017 season. For this year, the price of our Alaska Adventure itinerary for a Category 2 cabin, which is what we had, is about $5,995 per person, double occupancy (prices listed on the website are in Canadian dollars). There’s also a $77 sustainability fee. Airfare is extra.
Be aware that a small boat means small cabins. Our cabin — there are six total — was midsize and measured just 80 square feet, including the bathroom. Our queen-size bed, which was wedge-shaped in order to fit, took up most of the room.
As for the food, chef James Maine served excellent meals and accommodated special dietary requests.
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