The Point Retreat
This tour vessel provides a roomy, heated cabin with elevated booth seating for 13 passengers.
She has
ideal deck space
for sightseeing and photography. She's ready for the 2024 season with a
new look.
Come and see with
Seek Aaksa.
May 1- September 22, 2024
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LeConte Glacier Tours
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Whale Tours
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Ecotourism
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Water Taxi
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Private Sailings
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Comfortable Restroom
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Hydrophone
Photos courtsey of Jerry Whitethorn
Whiskers and Whales
As a child in the 1970s, I spent a lot of time on the ocean with family and friends whether commercial fishing or boating for fun. I have vivid memories of both humpback and killer whales, seals, sea lions, and porpoises during these trips. It is truly spectacular to watch a fifty-foot, thirty-ton animal leap out of the water, a sealion "wolf down" a spiny rockfish, or a pod of killer whales hunting sea lions or salmon. And now, we have a hydrophone to hear these magnificent creatures under the sea. Even though we saw these amazing creatures often, they held my fascination.
Over the four decades since then, the population of these animals has increased dramatically. Some would even say it has "exploded". What used to be an occasional sighting of one to a few whales or sea lions has turned into sometimes hundreds of them. I never saw sea otters as a child, but now they number by the tens of thousands. By encountering these animals in their natural environment we can gain insight into the balance between their inquisitive, sometimes playful nature and their primal, "survival of the fittest" reality. It remains fascinating and memorable. -Captain Rob Schwartz-
Video Courtsey of Scott Burt
Photo courtsey of Robyn Cardenas
"Ice, Ice, Baby"
Home to the southern most tidewater glacier in Northern Hemisphere, the mouth of LeConte Bay is approximately 15 miles Southwest of Petersburg, and the glacier itself is another 9 miles up the fjord. The sound produced as this massive flow of ice moves under pressure was named by the indigenous Tlingits as “Thunder Glacier".
I’ve been there many times since my childhood, and I can honestly say that the trip never gets old. When heading to the glacier, we often encounter an increasing number of icebergs, and it’s not unusual to see a seal taking a little breather up on a berg. As we approach the inlet, there is excitement about the possibilities ahead.
Will the glacier be calving today? Will we witness a “shooter” berg thrusting its way to the surface from below? What we do know is that Mother Nature rarely lets us down in LeConte Bay. I can’t speak for others, but I always know I’m going to be awestruck by the raw beauty of the place itself. - Captain Rob Schwartz -