Days on board National Geographic Sea Bird are busy. Staff, crew, and officers work for most of their waking hours and guests aim to maximize their time on holiday. When my head hits the pillow each night, there is little energy left for tossing and turning. I imagine most everyone on the boat feels the same way. But amidst the business are moments of blissful stillness. The most fulfilling part of my work is delivering people to these moments in the Alaskan wilderness. Many of those moments occurred today. I sat in a kayak with a woman who had declared this to be her latest in a line of “grand adventures” – we paddled until our arms tired then stopped to breathe the fresh air and listen to the screech of ravens. At the face of the glacier with our engines turned off, we listened to the thunder of glacier calving – a strangely soothing sound. The perpetually busy Arctic terns took rest in these moments, preening on icebergs. There is no doubt that today was exhausting, but it is only after such grand adventures that we travelers can truly rest.
5/3/2025
Read
National Geographic Sea Lion
Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness Area
National Geographic Sea Lion cruised throughout the night, heading south through Lynn Canal and making her way towards Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness Area. Early in the morning, we were on approach to Holkham Bay, where we “crossed the bar,” which consists of glacial outwash at the entrance to an extensive fjord system. This wilderness area was established by Congress in 1980, and 653,179 acres of land fall under federal wilderness protection. This fjord system is made up of two arms approximately thirty miles in length. Our goal was Endicott Arm, where we would spend the entire day. During the last ice age, thousands of feet of ice covered this entire area. When the retreat of ice began, these fjords were carved by that ice. This allowed sea water to enter, offering excellent cruising for many ships. National Geographic Sea Lion spent the day cruising and dropping in many of our kayaks and Zodiacs, so all had a chance to paddle and/or cruise this picturesque waterway.
