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Published: August 5th 2023
The MV Sea Wolf
MV stands for Motor Vessel.Anne and I traveled to Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska in mid July for a week-long cruise aboard the MV Sea Wolf. The Sea Wolf is a converted US Navy minesweeper that protected San Francisco harbor during WWII. Originally built in 1941, she was commissioned as the USS Observer (Amc-91). She was decommissioned in 1947, then through several different owners, was purchased in 2003 by the current owners. Thoroughly remodeled in 2003 and again in 2019, she is now the current small ship cruise host for up to 12 passengers and a crew of 5 or 6. This trip has been on my bucket list ever since our trip to Glacier Bay NP back in 2015. I finally convinced Anne, or wore her down sufficiently to agree, that we should do it before we are too old to pick up a paddle. She was not enthusiastic but did agree, with reservations about the obvious closeness of quarters that would be required. Quarters were close, but we managed, and I think she did enjoy the trip for the most part. Most of these comments are mine, but Anne will add a few of her own at the end.
The Sea Wolf - going aboard
At the Glacier Bay National Park dock as we were about to board on Sunday AM. The pictures posted here are mostly those taken by either Anne or me, but I will include a few that were posted by one of the other passengers who had a much better camera than anyone else and got much better pictures of the birds and other wildlife. To give credit where due, I will try to include, in the comments for those pictures, an entry with her initials as follows - (by JH).
Our trip involved us flying from the GSP airport via Atlanta and Seattle to Juneau where we spent a Friday night. On Saturday, we had the morning and early afternoon to ourselves since our short flight over to Gustavus didn’t leave until around 4:30 PM. We managed to get a decent walk in that morning going from our hotel, the Frontier Suites, to the trailhead for the Brotherhood Bridge trail along the Mendenhall River. We managed to actually hike down the trail itself for about ¼ mile before returning to the hotel a bit before checkout time at noon. After checkout, we packed up and walked the half mile or so to the airport where we caught the Air Alaska flight to Gustavus.
Stateroom #2
Our Stateroom. Anne got the top bunk. After collecting our luggage, we boarded a Glacier Bay Lodge bus for the ride to the park. We spent Saturday night at the lodge. On Sunday morning, we walked to the national park dock in Bartlet Cove where the good ship Sea Wolf awaited our boarding along with 10 other hardy souls.
After boarding, we got underway and motored out of Bartlet Cove and into the mouth of Glacier Bay proper and on to Geikie inlet on the western side of the bay. Along the way we were given an orientation to the ship along with an introduction to the crew, an outline of the days activities, and a kayak familiarization session. We were shown how to get into and out of the kayaks as well as how to get into and out of the cockpit skirt and life vests required for all our paddle outings to come.
Arriving at Geikie inlet, we were issued waterproof Neos Overshoes which fit over our boots for the wet landings required for shore walks and rest breaks while paddling. We suited up and boarded our kayaks for the very necessary shakedown paddle around the inlet designed to
Fantail dinner table
The table for meals was on the back, or fantail, of the ship, just aft of the Salon. orient us to the kayaks and how to get all the gear situated correctly. The passengers used two person kayaks with the rear person controlling the rudder and both persons paddling. Each paddle outing normally consisted of 6 two person kayaks and 2 one person kayaks for the naturalist-guides. There is a rule in the park that no group can be larger than 12 people. Therefore our paddles consisted of two groups, each having three two person kayaks for passengers and one single person kayak for the guide, a total of 7 people.
The shakedown paddle was a very essential event, especially for me, a very inexperienced kayaker. The weather was cool and overcast, and I didn’t know how cold it was going to be out on the water, so I wore a long sleeve t-shirt with a light jacket. Additionally I was covered from the lower chest down by the cockpit skirt as well as my upper body covered with the life vest. Once out on the water and trying to coordinate paddling I quickly found that I was going to be VERY warm. We paddled for about 30 to 45 minutes before we pulled into
The Salon
Where we relaxed for cocktail hour and socialized and/or were briefed on things by the naturalist/coordinator. shore and disembarked, and I was able to remove the jacket and cool off a bit. On all of the rest of the paddle outings, I only wore the long sleeve t-shirt under the required skirt and life vest and was quite comfortable. It took several paddles for me to get halfway comfortable with a good paddling technique and though I eventually pretty much got the hang of it, we were usually the slowest kayak in our group. After this initial kayak paddle on Sunday, we got back aboard and motored up the western arm to the small inlet fed by Reid Glacier where we anchored for the night.
On Monday morning, we donned neos and life jackets for a skiff ride to the shore of the inlet and a hike to Reid Glacier itself. Again we were in two groups, one for folks who wanted to hike further and faster, which Anne chose, and one for the slower folks more interested in sightseeing, which I chose. This was not a particularly long hike for either one of us, but Anne’s group did land nearer the entrance to the inlet and thus had a bit farther to
Kayaks on deck
The kayaks were stored on the second deck and lowered into the water when we stopped for a paddle. 6 two person kayaks (+1 extra) behind the 2 one person kayaks. hike to get to the glacier. Her group landed very near the site of an early settler’s cabin from the early 1900’s which they were able to visit. The site was marked by three hemlock trees visible along the shore that had been planted by the settler’s wife.
Hiking in the neos was not wonderful but definitely necessary since we were walking along a muddy shore line with several small creek crossings. We both did get to the face of the glacier, and I actually touched the icy front of one of the sections of the glacier. Along the way we saw lots of birds, including several types of gulls, kittiwake chicks, and puffins. We also saw wolf and bear tracks and one hoary marmot on a boulder high above us.. After the hike to Reid Glacier, we were picked up by the skiff and returned to the Sea Wolf where the anchor was hoisted, and we motored all the way to Tarr Inlet at the northern end of the western arm of the bay and the Grand Pacific and Margerie Glaciers..
After lunch, we had our second kayak paddle which went a little
The forecastle - anchor windlass
Alex, the ship's engineer monitoring the raising of the anchor. better than that first one. Margerie Glacier was an impressive wall of ice right in the water. It stands 250 feet high with another 100 feet underwater. As we paddled some distance away, several large pieces of ice “calved” off of the glacier with loud cracking noises like thunder. Had we been closer, we could have been swamped by the waves generated by the falling ice, but we were at a safe distance. With pieces of ice breaking off all along its front, there was a large amount of ice floating in the water where we were paddling, some large enough to be classified as ice bergs. Our guide cautioned us that the ice was a lot larger than the part we could see floating above the waterline (think ‘tip of the iceberg’) and that we should try to avoid hitting it to prevent damage to the kayak. That was a lot easier said than done. We hit our share of ice but were going slow enough that no noticeable damage was incurred. After paddling back to the ship, we motored back to the mouth of Tarr Inlet and anchored for the night near Russell Island.
Tuesday
Looking aft by SR #2 door
Our stateroom was on the port side, just forward of the salon and fantail. morning the ship hoisted anchor and moved to near the foot of Lamplugh Glacier. We donned our hiking duds and took a skiff ride to the glacier. Since it was low tide, we were able to hike on pretty much dry land right in front of the small tidal pool in front of the glacier. This glacier is also calving and the dry land that we were on had huge chunks of ice lying all around that had broken off earlier and become stranded by the low tide. At high tide, we were told the ice would be floating. As we walked along the edge of the tidal pool in front of the glacier, a huge piece of the glacier broke off and fell into the pool. We were hurried to higher ground to avoid the wave that did cover where we had been standing. We continued walking past the stranded chunks of ice and climbed to an elevated section of ridgeline next to the glacier for a view from above.
Returning to the ship, we ate lunch as we motored into Johns Hopkins Inlet. The ship did not anchor here. Instead we cruised around in front
Anne suited up
Ready to paddle. of the glacier passing lots of fairly large pieces of floating ice that were being used by seals as convenient places to haul out and laze about. John Hopkins Glacier is located at the very head of the inlet and is another tidal glacier that is actually slowly advancing into the inlet. After spending some time there in the inlet watching the seals, we motored down the western arm of the bay. This was a pretty long transit, thus there were no more outings that day, though the trip down the western arm was very scenic. About halfway down, we passed a small peak called Gloomy Knob where a mountain goat nanny with her kid was sited. Also a bear was sited on the top of the knob though we missed it. We ended up at our anchorage for the night in Hunter Cove on the western shore of and near the entrance to Muir Inlet, also called the east arm of the bay.
Wednesday morning was overcast and spitting rain as we hoisted anchor and motored north to near the end of Muir Inlet with views of Mt Brock, stopping near the face of Riggs Glacier.
First Paddle - @ Geikie inlet
From our rest stop ashore in Geikie inlet. Here we had our next to last paddle of the trip in front of the glacier. It was on this paddle that we had the closest contact with humpback whales. There were at least three or four of them swimming in the inlet, making their presence known by coming close to the surface and blowing the typical spray of water straight up into the air, then rolling over for a dive back down, sometimes showing their tail in the way so many are pictured. Usually we were pretty far from them, but there were two that swam very close to our group, surfacing and blowing perhaps twenty or thirty feet or so away from the closest kayak. Our guide had told us if the whales got too close, we should “raft up”, or gather together with kayaks side by side, and make some noise to let the whales know we were there. So that’s what we did. I suppose it could have been a little dangerous if the whales had surfaced near enough to capsize one of the kayaks but fortunately, that didn’t happen. I never figured out how to keep my cell phone available for pictures while paddling, so
Returning from paddle
Waiting to go alongside the float next to the ladder for re-boarding. One kayak is alongside with passengers about to disembark. I didn’t get any pictures of this encounter. However, the lady with the good camera managed to get one of the humpback as it rolled next to our kayaks, and I'll post it so you can get an idea of how close we were. I did later get a few from the ship of the whales rolling and spouting close by after we had returned, but none were from as close as when we were on the kayaks.
After our morning paddle and lunch, the plan was to motor to the face of McBride Glacier and then land along the shore for a hike around the small inlet that was fed by the melt water from McBride. It was alternating between spitting rain and raining really hard. No one was forced to go on any of the outings, but of course everyone did, except for this time. About half of us, me included, opted to stay on board while the other half of hardier souls, Anne included, suited up with rain gear and boarded the skiff for the ride to shore. They made it to shore and had started their hike back around the inlet when a
Geikie Inlet Sunset @ 10:02 PM
After the paddle the sun sets over the inlet. This was taken at 9:32 PM, 30 minutes before official sunset. bear was spotted making its way along the shore in their direction. They were unaware of the approaching bear since it was around a bend from them, but the captain radioed the guide with the hiking group, and the decision was made to cut the hike short, and the skiff was dispatched to pick them up. Once all were back aboard, the anchor was raised, and we motored back down the inlet into the bay proper and to North Sandy Cove where we anchored for the night.
North Sandy Cove is an area on the east side of the bay sheltered by a couple of small islands, one of which is Puffin Island, which curiously had no puffins on it. Thursday morning we launched our final paddle that took us completely around the island for a look at a low tide vertical inter tidal zone. This zone is the area along the island shore that is exposed at low tide but underwater at high tide and is home to hundreds of different types of marine life including sponges, sea snails, sea stars, urchins, etc. They literally hang there on the near vertical shore line awaiting the return
Reid Glacier
From the hike to Reid Glacier, right behind the guide as we approached the glacier. You can see why we needed the Neo boots. of the high tide.
After the paddle, we returned to the ship for a quick tour of the ship’s engine room before lunch. The ship is powered by the original cast iron 400 horsepower, 6 cylinder, Hamilton diesel engine installed in 1941 and still going strong. Truly a testament to the original quality as well as the loving maintenance afforded it over the years since. Rated at a maximum 900 rpm, it rarely gets over 700 these days and powers the Sea Wolf at around an 8 knot cruising speed. Alex, the ship’s engineer for this cruise, was very informative and answered our questions with an obvious pride in being able to keep the various antique mechanisms in working order. The ship also has two main generators that provide the ship's main electrical power, one of which is always on during day light hours. Due to noise restrictions in the park, they are turned off from 10:00 PM until 6:30 AM each night, which caused some bathroom complications. There was no fresh water during those hours since the pumps had no power, thus no flushing of toilets, etc. There was an inverter powered by batteries that provided
power for ships instruments and essential lighting, but that was all.
After lunch, we donned our hiking gear and boarded the skiff for a ride to the shore of the mainland and a hike along a forest bear trail. The bear trail is unique in that in most places there are obvious bare spots that alternate from one side to the other of the trail where the bears feet have repeatedly stepped. Apparently the bears rear feet always step in the same spot as the front one did as they walk along. The trail was a little difficult to follow in that it required a lot of ducking under and around tree limbs and walking through wet, marshy areas. At several spots along the trail were large trees that the bears have used as scratching posts, leaving some of their hair behind.
Back aboard the ship, we motored further down bay to South Marble island and its adjacent small rocky islets that were home to hundreds of Stellar Sea Lions, some seals, and a rookery for thousands of sea birds of many kinds, including Glaucous-winged gulls, crested puffins, murrelets, loons, cormorants, etc. After spending time circling
Margerie Glacier
From our paddle in front of the glacier. the islands, we motored on to our anchorage for the night at Fingers Bay on the western side and near the mouth of Glacier Bay.
Friday morning we hoisted anchor and motored further south through the Sitakaday Narrows to the main entrance of Glacier Bay in Icy Strait, just north of Point Adolphus. Apparently this area is known for its abundant sea life. Sitakaday Narrows is the pinch point that all water must pass through to enter or exit Glacier Bay with the tides. Combined with an area of shallow water, water becomes very turbulent in Sitakaday Narrows, stirring up nutrients and fish that seabirds and other larger sea life, such as whales, depend on, making it an extremely productive ecosystem. We meandered around this area all morning and did see all manner of sea otters, sea lions, whales, and birds of all kinds. Around noon we had our final lunch as we motored back to Bartlet Cove and the national park dock where we disembarked.
We said our good-byes to the crew and other passengers whom, I can honestly say, did not include any obnoxious individuals among them. I will admit that I
Brown Bear with two cubs
Saw these three from the ship as we transited from Margerie glacier to Russel Island. (by JH) did have a worry that we would have at least one person among the other 10 passengers that would make the cruise less enjoyable, but that was certainly not the case. Six of the other passengers were from the same family, a grandfather and his two sons with their wives and one granddaughter. Of the other four, one couple was from the San Francisco Bay area with a background of service with the Sierra Club and the National Parks and the other was an older Navy veteran, just a bit younger than me, and his wife from Kansas. All very pleasant and easy to get along with folks.
Additionally, the crew could not have been more attentive, informative, professional, and personable. The main naturalist, Monika, was a wealth of information about the wildlife, the plant life, and the bay in general and delivered the information in a fresh and interesting way, avoiding what easily could have sounded like a rehashed speech she had given a hundred times. Meg, the other lady in the crew was informative as well, and a naturalist in her own right, as she led one of the groups on each of the outings.
Eagles on ice.
Passed these two eagles sitting on the ice as we went from Reid to Lamplugh glaciers. (by JH) Both of these ladies, even when they were not leading an outing, worked like Trojans, serving meals, cleaning the table after meals, handling lines when securing the skiff or kayaks to the boarding platform, helping passengers into and off of the skiff or kayaks, and generally keeping us all on schedule, all with a smile and patient attitude. Of course the three guys in the crew were great as well. They performed their duties impeccably, were pleasant and informative, but it was the ladies who, in my opinion, shined.
Once back at Glacier Bay lodge, we were provided with a taxi back to the small Gustavus airport where we caught the first flight of our long journey home. We flew from Gustavus on Alaska Air to Juneau, changed planes and flew on to Seattle where we changed planes to a Delta red eye flight back to Atlanta. We were worried we might have a problem making that connection since the scheduled layover was only about an hour, but we needn’t have worried. The flight, supposed to leave at 11:35, was delayed and did not leave until after 1:00 AM. Consequently, we missed our connection to GSP in
Lamplugh Glacier
From the edge of the tidal pool in front of the glacier, just before a large chunk of ice broke off. Atlanta and didn’t get home until around noon on Saturday, some two hours later than scheduled. But we made it, and I was able to check off this bucket list item. As usual, cats were glad to see Anne, and she was glad to see them.
Anne’s notes—As Lee said, we first saw the Sea Wolf back in 2015 when we were hiking at Glacier Bay NP during our quest to hike at all the national parks. From there, we went on to Gates of the Arctic and Kobuk Valley NPs and finally completed our goal. This was our third trip to Alaska, and I was not anxious to return again even when Lee became so interested in the boat. However, since it was a bucket list item for him, we made the decision last year to book the cruise. I had two main concerns about a week on a small boat. #1—would I feel confined? Here, if I get antsy, I can easily go outside and walk but there would be no room to do laps on the Sea Wolf! And I certainly couldn’t hop ashore for a trek through the woods! There wasn’t even enough
Lamplugh Glacier
Walking among the ice. space in the room to exercise! #2—how would we feel about this type of travel? We’ve made many trips but never with tours or groups. Just us, where we were free to make our own schedules and plan our destinations. I figured it would be our luck to end up with some opinionated red hat wearing yahoo who would be loud and obnoxious. Fortunately, there was no one in our group who wasn’t pleasant and friendly. All had interesting backgrounds and life stories. They did all look as if they could be advertising for REI, Columbia, or North Face since they always seemed to have the right outfits for whatever activity was planned. We were ok but had not purchased rain pants as was suggested, and this turned out to be a mistake but not one that caused any real problems.
This was not the kind of trip that everyone would enjoy. First of all, it was costly and not easy to reach the place where the boat leaves. It’s not so bad if you live on the west coast as most of the other guests did but from SC, it was a two day travel commitment.
Lamplugh Glacier
On the high ground after evacuating the low area to avoid the wave generated by falling ice. (by JH) And finally, I can’t imagine that it would be your choice unless you really like wilderness adventures.
A few comments about accommodations. I knew the stateroom would be small. What a fancy name for such a tiny space! I decided that it was maybe the size of our guest bathroom! Bunk beds were comfortable enough, but climbing into the upper bunk was not always easy for me. Once I was in bed, it wasn’t too bad, but I had to remember not to sit up quickly, or I’d bump my head on the low ceiling. Except for the 8-year old, I was probably the smallest in the group, so getting in and out had to be more of a challenge for the others! And now the bathroom! There was no door, just a heavy curtain. Not my idea of privacy. That feature didn’t surprise me since I’d seen pictures, but when we were told that the generator would turn off at 10pm each night, and toilets couldn’t be flushed after that, we both looked at each other and silently thought ‘what have we gotten ourselves into?’ A few minutes before 10, the staff would remind everyone to
Above Lamplugh Glacier
After walking among the ice we hiked up a small ridge for a view from above. ‘brush and flush’ and that was it until 6:30am when the power came on again. Had we known this in advance, I don’t think it would have been a deal breaker, but it did take some getting used to!
All in all, this was a very unique experience, and since I’m always up for a good adventure, I’d say it was a success! Hope you enjoy the photos!
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