2012 July 6-20 Alaska Land and Cruise Adventure Review with LOTS of photos!

[WalleyeLJ]

We motored North along Shelter Island until we came upon a couple other boats and finally spotted our first spout! We ended up with a mostly grey sky day, and there was a fairly stiff wind kicking up the water, making for a little less than ideal photography conditions. In addition to the movement of the boat, whenever a wave hit the transom, water would blow through the rear deck area, leaving me playing a guessing game when to cover up my gear from the salt spray. Despite all the fun challenges Mother Nature was adding to the day, I was able to get some decent tail and spout photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the Humpback's blow hole in the lower left, wide open just aftger exhalation. The wind was stiff enough that the water spouts didn't hang magically in the air like they normally would. A few brief seconds and they were blown away...

 

 

 

 

 

 

A good look at the distinctive white underside of Flame's fluke, one of several resident Humpbacks that are seen almost everyday in the Juneau area. Humpback tail flukes are unique, between natural patterns and wear and tear, so they are often the best way to identify a particular whale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up - more tails and spouts - and other cool stuff!

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Flame was very active all day - here she is headed in the other direction

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the other smaller whale watching boats that was working the area with us. I liked the look of this particular design in terms of the boat itself. All told there were a half dozen or so small boats out whale watching with us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In 2009, we found a playful Humpback that just wouldn't stop breaching. Harv & Marv have charted the specific experiences on their trips, and said that on average a given chance had roughly an 18% chance of seeing a breach. Well, today we only had one, which was pretty close to our boat, and I was trying to photograph another whale further away, so I didn't get a great shot. At least our batting average was 1.000 for breaches!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here, one of the half dozen or so Humpbacks that were all around us seemed to be trying to signal us to come close by waving it's giant pectoral fin....

 

 

 

 

 

 

The "hump" in the Humpback. This distinctive arched roll is almost always a precursor to seeing a whale tail as the whale prepares to sound for anywhere from a few to more than 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

...and here the tail!

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

A few more shots of our entertaining hosts...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boats are not supposed to approach too close to the whales, but if the whale comes to the boat...

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

There were so many whales that even with poor lighting and tough shooting conditions, it was hard to choose. This "drive by" sequence will be the last until we get back Sunday night from the family reunion in WV!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone - have a safe, happy and healthy Labor Day weekend. "See" you in a few days!

 

 

L.J.

[DizzyDallasDi]

A good look at the distinctive white underside of Flame's fluke, one of several resident Humpbacks that are seen almost everyday in the Juneau area. Humpback tail flukes are unique, between natural patterns and wear and tear, so they are often the best way to identify a particular whale.

 

The guide on my whale watching tour in Juneau told us to send any good shots we got of flukes to some agency there (can't remember where) so they could track which ones were new and regulars. It's amazing they can identify each whale by its fluke.

[PattiB]

Great review and GREAT photos...

So, is Marv and Harv the best option?

[T-Rox!]

Loving this section especially. Reliving our day with Harv & Marv and those magnificent creatures! It was the highlight of our trip. They do an amazing job. So much better than the large boats you get when booking thru the cruise lines, in my opinion.

[Webecruzen]

I have been reading your review since you started and have loved the pictures as well as the writing so much that I had to book our first cruise and land package to Alaska for next June.

 

The pictures have been breathtaking and your writing really brings the adventure to life!

 

Thank you for sharing!

[zaks pack4]

Hi L.J. -

We have been here following your review and amazing pictures. I would love to go with Harv and Marv on our Juneau day, but DH tends to feel seasick on a small boat if water too choppy. Was the excursion you went on typical of the conditions?

Hope you had a great time at your family reunion and looking forward to more of your review.

Patty

[murphy4]

wonderful review! I am planning Alaska over 4th of July in 2014. Your pictures are stunning. I have not yet read the entire post but I am sure I will have lots of questions for you. first one being--how far in advance did you book Harv & Marv?

[sue402001]

Love the pictures of the whales L.J. How close did the boat get to the whales? Your camera makes it look like they were right next to you. Thinking of taking a Harv & Marv excursion next year.

 

Hope you had a wonderful reunion with your family and we'll see ya when we see ya!

[murphy4]

Hey Kathy - welcome back! How was Vegas? I swear Bev & I are the only adults in America that haven't been to Vegas...:D

 

L.J.

 

I haven't been to Vegas so please make that 3 of us!

[WalleyeLJ]

Well, the weekend went a little longer than planned, thanks to some intense fantasy football preparations for last night's Friends & Family league draft! So...back to the whales! We were almost ready to head back in, but we had a few more sightings to go.

 

 

 

"A whale of a ta(i)le to tell you about, a whale of a ta(i)le or two!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Double the fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to numerous whales all around, there was of course plenty of scenery to check out too...

 

 

 

 

 

 

A fishin' we will go...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, the last act...

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best of both worlds!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our morning trip done, we prepared to head back in and grab lunch on Radiance before heading back out for our evening Harv & Marv trip!

 

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

The guide on my whale watching tour in Juneau told us to send any good shots we got of flukes to some agency there (can't remember where) so they could track which ones were new and regulars. It's amazing they can identify each whale by its fluke.

 

I heard about that Di - I'll have to check that out over the winter! I think Flame is the only whale I got the right anles on for ID...

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Great review and GREAT photos...

So, is Marv and Harv the best option?

 

Hey Patti!

 

Thanks for checking out my review. As for Harv & Marv, I have to be totally honest - they are the only company we've gone with. I can say that we've had three great experiences with them. From the boats, captains, knowledge and hospitality, they've been top notch. There are always several other boats in or around their boats, so I'm sure that the expereinces on the others are very good as well. The biggest thing I can say is that I think I will always prefer the small boat expereince no matter who we go with.

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

loving this section especially. Reliving our day with harv & marv and those magnificent creatures! It was the highlight of our trip. They do an amazing job. So much better than the large boats you get when booking thru the cruise lines, in my opinion.

 

 

absolutely!!!;):):d

 

l.j.

[WalleyeLJ]

I have been reading your review since you started and have loved the pictures as well as the writing so much that I had to book our first cruise and land package to Alaska for next June.

 

The pictures have been breathtaking and your writing really brings the adventure to life!

 

Thank you for sharing!

 

Webecruzen - that's fantastic! I'm so glad you've found this helpful - you will have the time of your life! I'm already working on ideas for 2014/2015!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Hi L.J. -

We have been here following your review and amazing pictures. I would love to go with Harv and Marv on our Juneau day' date=' but DH tends to feel seasick on a small boat if water too choppy. Was the excursion you went on typical of the conditions?

Hope you had a great time at your family reunion and looking forward to more of your review.

Patty[/quote']

 

Patty,

 

I know this is of no help, but the weather could be dead calm/flat as a pancake (Ketchikan this trip), or like Seward/Kenai Fjords (4-20 foot seas). That said, I think the weather, in terms of wind, in Juneau is usually not too bad based on TripAdvisor reviews for H&M as there was pretty much one a day or more the whole month of June. Has he tried seasickness prevention options like Bodine, etc? If all else fails, go with one of the large cruise whale watches. I prefer the small boat, but if it was larger boat and whales, or no whales at all - I'd at least go with the big boat and see some whales:D!

 

Update - here's what H&M say about weather and sea conditions:

 

Q. Is the water rough around Juneau?

 

A. Juneau is located in - (the inside passage) there is no open ocean water near

Juneau. You are within sight of land at all times. Between May and the end of August the

water is usually pretty calm. The wind is usually 15 mph or less. Although an occasional

storm can blow through. In September expect it to be rainy windy and chilly on the water.

 

 

L.J.

 

L.J.

Edited September 5, 2012 by WalleyeLJ
Extra info to add

[WalleyeLJ]

wonderful review! I am planning Alaska over 4th of July in 2014. Your pictures are stunning. I have not yet read the entire post but I am sure I will have lots of questions for you. first one being--how far in advance did you book Harv & Marv?

 

Thanks Murphy4! Please feel free to ask as many questions as you'd like. I will do my best to answer them if I can. As for Harv & MArv, I booked a couple days after Thanksgiving last year - and we weren't the first ones to book our day in port the follwoing mid-July. That said, I was also able to book our 2nd/afternoon trip with Harv & Marv the day of - so you never know! If you knopw your schedule and you know for sure you want to go, I don't think you can book too early. That said, others on here will tell you that's unnecessary. Here's their refund policy:

 

Q. What is your cancellation policy?

 

A. 100%* refundable. If you cancel at least 30 days before tour date.

*If paid by check. If you pay by check we will issue your refund in full by check = 100%

refund. It costs us up to 4% each time we charge a credit card, so if you pay with a credit

card and want the refund credited back to your card, there will be a 8% fee. If you paid

with a credit card and want the refund in the form of a check, there will be a 4% fee.

 

Since the refund policy is bulletproof, I'd rather be extra early than a day late!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

Love the pictures of the whales L.J. How close did the boat get to the whales? Your camera makes it look like they were right next to you. Thinking of taking a Harv & Marv excursion next year.

 

Hope you had a wonderful reunion with your family and we'll see ya when we see ya!

 

Hey Sue,

 

It was a good weekend - lots of time with the family, still back to unwind on Monday and draft our fantasy football league!

 

The whales were anywhere from 200 feet to a 1/4 mile away. A good zoom lens helps:D. That said, several whales we've seen we've been able to clearly hear exhale and breathe - a couple within less than 100 feet. That's a case of the whales coming to the boat as the H&M captains have been very good about not pressing in on the whales (boat in neutral or the engine off). The breach we had this trip (that I half missed) was all of 200-300 feet away. One of the whales we saw rolled right next to the broadside of one of the big whale watching boats, and then showed it's fluke as it appeared to dive right under the boat! If you like whales (or at least would like to have the expereince) definitely book with someone in Juneau or Icy Stright Point.

 

L.J.

[knukruzer]

OMG LJ! the whale pictures are beyond beautiful!!! thanks so much for posting them. did you do more than one whale watching excursion? do you recommend any other ports for whales besides Juneau?

we are so looking forward to whale watching next june and lots more of your pictures to get us thru to next june :D :D

[WalleyeLJ]

OMG LJ! the whale pictures are beyond beautiful!!! thanks so much for posting them. did you do more than one whale watching excursion? do you recommend any other ports for whales besides Juneau?

we are so looking forward to whale watching next june and lots more of your pictures to get us thru to next june :D :D

 

 

Hey knu!

 

I know I've put a TON of photos in this review. Just when I think I need to cut back, someone like yourself keeps me going with them:D. We've done three whale watching trips out of Juneau - one our first time, and then two this time (10:30am-2pm & 5pm-8pm). Icy Straight Point is another great place for whale watching. Not only are there many whales right around ISP/Hoonah (humpbacks in the harbor both trips there), but many of the boats there make the run down the straight to Point Adolphus, whihch is by many accounts one of if not he best place to see Humpbacks in Alaska due to the concentration of food for them there. Kenai Fjords is another spot where we saw several whales our one trip there, and based on the reviews this summer (since we got weathered out), whales were plentiful there on most trips. I hope that helps - have a great trip next year and day hi for us!

 

L.J.

[amc155]

You're back! It was a long weekend. :p

[WalleyeLJ]

You're back! It was a long weekend. :p

 

LOL - yes it was! Plus, I have to head to Washington, D.C. and Maryland this weekend, so after tomorrow or Friday I'll be on another break...:rolleyes:

 

...but then I'll be back again!

 

Here we go with some more posts!

 

L.J.

[WalleyeLJ]

The wind we had was pushing from the south, and we were already at the north tip of Shelter Island, so she brought us around the end of the island and ran south along the inside back towards Auke Bay. The nice thing was it was the leeward side of the island, so the water barely had any chop on it at all. Along the way we were treated to some great views of Herbert Glacier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twin 4 stroke 150 Yamaha outboards powering the Haarvandarm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recreational salmon fisherman looking for some luck in front of Herbert...

 

 

 

 

 

 

L.J.