Great Bear Sea Sailing

You should schedule your flight to arrive in Prince Rupert today. Accommodations and meals are not included today.

Meet the crew at the top of the dock at the Cow Bay Marina in the late morning. Upon boarding the vessel, cabins will be assigned and following introductions and safety orientation we will depart Prince Rupert.

We return to the outer islands and lower topography of Chatham Sound; Porcher, Stephens and Dundas Islands are the largest in the area with remote beaches for us to explore. As the waters surrounding these outer islands are more exposed, we also hope for a good wind to allow for the opportunity to set the sails and enjoy the silence and serenity of nature.

Humpback whales congregate along the mainland coast and we expect to find them feeding here. We also keep watch for other marine mammals like orca, porpoise, and Steller sea lions – an inquisitive species that are expert, deep-water predators.

Heading south from Chatham Sound we will enter Grenville Channel, part of the famous “Inside Passage” route to Alaska towards southern Douglas Channel (Wright Sound, Squally Channel, and Whale Channel). Exploring these waters – and at various other places along our journey – we expect to see humpback whales. We keep an eye out for large spouts and hope to witness very interesting behaviours like breaches, pectoral slaps, spy-hopping and possibly bubble-net feeding.

Fin whales have also been spotted in Caamano Sound and we hope to have luck spotting these massive and speedy cetaceans. As we travel along Princess Royal Island, we keep a close watch on the shoreline, since this is the best-known area for seeing the rare all-white Spirit bear. There is a chance we may spot one foraging along the shore.

Admiralty Island National Monument has the highest concentration of brown (grizzly) bears in North America. Pack Creek on Admiralty Island has been a protected area for brown bears for the last 40 years and offers amazing viewing opportunities in the estuary of their estimated resident 1,500 bears.

We will arrive in Kitimat around noon. Travel time to the airport is approximately 1 hour. We will provide transportation for you and your luggage to the Terrace Airport for a mid/late-afternoon flight. Alternatively, you can decide to spend an extra day in Terrace and either depart on the evening flight or the next day.