The Inside Passage is a 1000-mile saltwater corridor that twists through narrow channels and wanders among countless thousands of islands. A voyager could spend several lifetimes cruising from anchorage to anchorage, and never stay in the same one twice.

The rich (and recent) history of the Inside Passage adds to the indescribable natural beauty. All of the early explorers were here. Russian, Spanish, English and American explorers arrived in waves through the span of three hundred years. Some found what they sought, some answered questions that had yet to be asked, and others failed utterly.

The “Catalyst” invites you to make your own voyage of discovery along this singular ocean pathway. Our historic vessel, with her original, slow-turning diesel engine, easily invokes those earlier ships. It is easy to imagine that you have booked a passage aboard one of the many small coastal steamers that plied these waters for 100 years, serving as the cords that tied the scattered settlements of the Northwest coast together as recently as 50 years ago.

We will transit the narrow “back-roads” of the Inside Passage. Tide and weather will set our itinerary, just as it did for those who went before. Traveling only during the daylight, and finding a different protected anchorage each evening, and moving at 71/2 knots, we will have time to “read along” with the many narratives from earlier explorer that we have in our ships library.

Northbound Inside Passage Voyage of Discovery:
Friday Harbor, WA to Juneau, Alaska, Fourteen Days

Suggested Itinerary

DAY 1: Like all other trips through these narrow reaches, our schedule is set around the tides. The narrowest passages become choke points for the currents flow, and can produce currents that are double the speed of the “Catalyst”. Today we will leave the San Juan Islands and cross the international border, passing through British Columbia’s Gulf Islands. Catching the slack current through Dodd Narrows we will moor in Nanaimo, where we will check in with Canadian Customs.

Day 2: No big currents to face today, but big waters to cross. The Gulf of Georgia is about 30 miles square, and can generate significant wind waves. We will cross to the mainland side of the Gulf and enter Desolation Sound after cruising north through the Copeland Islands. Tonight’s anchorage in Squirrel Cove will be a good place for us to launch kayaks and take a relaxed paddle around this protected cove. A unique feature of Squirrel Cove is a lagoon with a reversing tidal rapid. Great fun in the warm waters of summer!

Day 3: Today is the day of the big currents! We have three major rapids to navigate, and to-the-minute timing is essential. We will transit Whirlpool Point, Dent and Greene Point Rapids. All three offer slack current windows of only a few minutes, and we need to be perfect in our timing to avoid trouble. We will find shelter for the evening somewhere in the Broughton Archipelago.

Day 4: Today we’ll make our first open-ocean crossing. Queen Charlotte Sound can be formidable, especially this early in the season, so we’ll make an early start. Engine start-up is 0500, and the anchor is on deck at 0530.

Days 5~6: We are now in the true “Inside Passage”. We’ll see barges, tugs, ferries and cruise ships. We will make a few turns off of the “main road” to visit some interesting fjords and bays.  We will take time to explore narrow, ice sculpted canyons lined with waterfalls. In the river deltas at the heads of the inlets, we may see bears feeding on sedges having recently emerged from their winter dens. This is also the homeland of the rare “Spirit Bear”, a genetic mutation in the black bears of this region causes about 10% of them to be born with white fur. They are hard to see from the water, but sharp eyes may be rewarded!

Days 7: We have one more open crossing to make, the legendary Dixon Entrance, before we arrive in Alaskan waters.

Day 8: We’ll arrive in Ketchikan at about 10am. The sudden re-introduction to traffic and crowds can be shocking after the wildness we have just experienced, but this shock is easily treated with a milkshake!

Day 9: After getting checked back into America by the gentle folk of US Customs we leave the float planes and cruise ships of Ketchikan behind. The time of our departure from Ketchikan is never assured, so we may not get too far today. One of our favorite anchorages is Meyer’s Chuck, a quintessential Alaskan village.

Day 10: Our goal today is to pass through two of the most picturesque waterways in the world; First is Zimovia Strait, and second is Wrangell Narrows. At the north end of Wrangell Narrows lies the Norwegian fishing village of Petersburg. Here we may stop and stretch our legs, or we may push on toward our evening anchorage in Thomas Bay. From here we will explore the outwash plain of Baird Glacier.

Day 11: Leaving Thomas Bay we will continue north through Frederick Sound. As we approach Brother’s Islands we should be on the lookout for Humpback Whales which are arriving in their summer feeding grounds. We will anchor among the Brother’s Islands, which provide a wonderful setting for a kayak paddle and forest walk.

Day 12: Underway early we will cross Stephen’s Passage and enter Endicott Arm. At the head of Endicott we will visit Dawes Glacier, an active salt water calving Glacier. We will spend the night in a small cove adjacent to the narrow entrance to Ford’s Terror, where we will play the currents and paddle one of the most dramatic fiords in North America.

Day 13: Leaving Endicott Arm we will continue north through Stephen’s Passage. Passing verdant river estuaries we will scan the emerging sedges for Brown Bears who are just emerging from hibernation. We will stop for the night in Taku Harbor, site of a former Hudson’s Bay Company trading post and, more recently, a fish cannery.

Day 14: This morning we run the final 20 miles of the Inside Passage and tie to the dock in the historic gold rush town of Juneau. We plan to be moored up by 10:30, leaving plenty of time to visit the Alaska State Museum before catching your flights back to “civilization”.

NOTE: ALL PASSENGERS REQUIRED TO HAVE PASSPORTS! No exceptions. Law change!

Available April 24 to May 7, 2011

Northbound Inside Passage Voyage of Discovery:
Friday Harbor, WA to Ketchikan, AK

Suggested General Itinerary

DAY 1: Like all other trips through these narrow reaches, our schedule is set around the tides. The narrowest passages become choke points for the currents flow, and can produce currents that are double the speed of the “Catalyst”. We work with the tides. Today we will transit through the San Juan Islands across the international border to Sidney, BC to go through customs and then head north through the Gulf Islands and anchor along the way for the night.

Day 2: No big currents to face today, but big waters to cross. The Gulf of Georgia is about 30 miles square, and can generate significant wind waves. We will cross to the mainland side of the Gulf and enter Desolation Sound after cruising north through the Copeland Islands. Tonight’s anchorage in Squirrel Cove will be a good place for us to launch kayaks and take a relaxed paddle around this protected cove. A unique feature of Squirrel Cove is a lagoon with a reversing tidal rapid. Great fun in the warm waters of summer!

Day 3: Today is the day of the big currents! We have three major rapids to navigate, and to-the-minute timing is essential. We will transit Whirlpool Point, Dent and Greene Point Rapids. All three offer slack current windows of only a few minutes, and we need to be perfect in our timing to avoid trouble. We will find shelter for the evening somewhere in the Broughton Archipelago.

Day 4: Today we’ll make our first open-ocean crossing. Queen Charlotte Sound can be formidable, especially this early in the season, so we’ll make an early start. Engine start-up is 0500, and the anchor is on deck at 0530.

Days 5~8: We are now in the true “Inside Passage”. We’ll see barges, tugs, ferries and cruise ships. We will make a few turns off of the “main road” to visit some interesting fjords and bays.  We will take time to explore narrow, ice sculpted canyons lined with waterfalls. In the river deltas at the heads of the inlets, we may see bears feeding on sedges having recently emerged from their winter dens. This is also the homeland of the rare “Spirit Bear”, a genetic mutation in the black bears of this region causes about 10% of them to be born with white fur. They are hard to see from the water, but sharp eyes may be rewarded!

Days 9~10: We have one more open crossing to make, the legendary Dixon Entrance, before we arrive in Alaskan waters. We hope to have favorable tides and winds as we attempt as smooth a crossing as possible. If we hit a good weather window on our first attempt, then we may layover in Foggy Bay, or continue across and spend our last night in Alaskan waters.

Day 10: We’ll arrive in Ketchikan at about 10am. The sudden re-introduction to traffic and crowds can be shocking after the wildness we have just experienced, but this shock is easily treated with a milkshake!

NOTE: ALL PASSENGERS REQUIRED TO HAVE PASSPORTS! No exceptions. Law change!

Not offered in  2011.

Southbound Inside Passage Voyage of Discovery:
Ketchikan, AK to Friday Harbor, WA 

Suggested General Itinerary

Day 1~2: We welcome you aboard at 12:30 pm. After an introduction to the boat we will have a late lunch as we are underway. Good time to explore the Catalyst, spend time checking out her pilot house and engine room as we head south to cross the legendary Dixon Entrance and leave Alaskan waters for the shores of British Columbia. With good weather we should make our layover in Foggy Bay or continue across for another safe harbor. We leave an extra day in our schedule so that we can take advantage of favorable tides and winds, as we attempt as smooth a crossing as possible.

Days 3~5: We are now in the true “Inside Passage”. We’ll see barges, tugs, ferries and cruise ships. We will make a few turns off of the “main road” to visit some interesting fjords and bays. We will take time to explore narrow, ice sculpted canyons lined with waterfalls and in the river delta at the inlets head, we may see a brown bear feeding on sedges. This is also the homeland of the rare “Spirit Bear”, a genetic mutation in the black bears of this region causes about 10% of them to be born with white fur. They are hard to see from the water, but sharp eyes may be rewarded! We may stop and take a hike with a bear guide and also stop at an old cannery along the way. Also watch for wolves.

Days 6~7: During this time we will we’ll make our open-ocean crossing. Queen Charlotte Sound can be formidable, so we’ll make an early start.

Day 8~9: During this time we will be experiencing big currents! We have three major rapids to navigate, and to-the-minute timing is essential. We will transit Whirlpool Point, Dent and Greene Point Rapids. All three offer slack current windows of only a few minutes, and we need to be perfect in our timing to avoid trouble. Traveling south through the Copeland Islands and down into Desolation Sound, with anchorage perhaps at Squirrel Cove. This is a good place for us to launch kayaks and take a relaxed paddle around this protected cove. A unique feature of Squirrel Cove is a lagoon with a reversing tidal rapid, which is great fun in the warm waters of summer.  No big currents to face, but still big waters to cross. The Gulf of Georgia is about 30 miles square, and can generate significant wind waves. We will cross from the mainland side of the Gulf into the sheltered waters of the Gulf Islands of Vancouver Island with a potential stop at Nanaimo. We will celebrate our last night with the Captain’s Ball, sharing in our adventures together.

Day 10: Like all other trips through these narrow reaches, our schedule is set around the tides. The narrowest passages become choke points for the currents flow, and can produce water flows double the speed of the “Catalyst”. As we continue through the Gulf and San Juan Islands, crossing again the international border we go through customs in Friday Harbor. Here we say goodbye and invite you to explore Friday Harbor before you head home aboard the ferry or plane. We will arrive in time to make the evening ferry to the mainland.

NOTE: ALL PASSENGERS REQUIRED TO HAVE PASSPORTS! No exceptions. Law change!

Not offered in 2010 or 2011. See Great Bear Rainforest twelve day trip for Southbound.