Impressive whale watching in Hoonah with Glacier Wind (Icy Strait Point port)

[Coral]

On May 16th - I went whale watching with Glacier Wind: https://www.g-wind.com in Hoonah. The company had been recommended to me by @Italy52 on this board. This was my first time to this port. Excellent recommendation.

 

I signed-up for their whale watching via their website ($190 plus tax, total $213.75). Once in port - one of the owners (Teresa) picked us up at the designated spot at 9 am. The tour was from 9 - 12:30 pm that day. On the way to the dock - Teresa gave us a quick tour of her village. We saw her house and the popular local places.

 

They have 2 boats - a 13 passenger one and a 6 passenger boat. I was on the 13 passenger boat which was super clean. The boat was spacious and allowed for outside viewing by all. We had 11 passengers on our boat that day. Captain Casey was our Capt and there was a 2nd individual (name escapes me) from G-Wind on the boat. Both excellent. Both down to earth, knowledgeable and it was obvious they love what they do. They were great at answering questions about whales and other questions - I asked about how expensive it was to live there and Casey talked about how he built his own house there.

 

We spent some time watching some individual whales and then we headed out and happened to see a group of whales (5 total) who were bubble-net feeding. I have gone whale watching many times and I had planned to not take any pictures (just observe and enjoy) but once the bubble feeding started - I had to get my camera out. I wish I had taken it out sooner.

 

I like to support local companies in Alaska and book direct with the company. This is a family owned, family run company that provides excellent tours. I highly recommend them if you happen to visit Icy Strait Point/Hoonah.

 

Here are some pics of their boat and pics of some of the whales that I happened to catch on my iPhone.

 

-Theresa

 

Edited May 28, 2023 by Coral

[Italy52]

@Coral, I am so happy to hear that you had a great trip with Glacier Wind.  We are very anxious to try out the new boat and look forward to seeing our friends at Glacier Wind in July.  Your pictures are great; I especially love the bubble net feeding.  We are keeping our fingers crossed in hopes that we might experience some bubble net feeding on our trip.

[Coral]

6 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

@Coral, I am so happy to hear that you had a great trip with Glacier Wind.  We are very anxious to try out the new boat and look forward to seeing our friends at Glacier Wind in July.  Your pictures are great; I especially love the bubble net feeding.  We are keeping our fingers crossed in hopes that we might experience some bubble net feeding on our trip.

The boat looked brand new - I didn't know if it was new or not. We passed the 6 passenger boat which had Capt Shawn on it.

 

Keeping fingers crossed for you! I can't wait to read about your whale watching in July.

[Casey12]

We went with Glacier Wind a few years ago with Captain Shawn. It was an excellent whale watching day. I also recommend them. I hope to go back next year.

[Italy52]

@Coral, the "Apogee" is fairly new.  We have always gone out with Shawn in the smaller boat. 

 

I do hope to post a small review and some pictures when we return.  It won't be a "live" like you did.  I am not as talented as you are.  You really did a great job of answering everyone's questions, posting pictures and links.  Thank you for that.

[Sigyn]

Looks amazing! I'm booked with them for July, thanks to recommendations from this group. 

[Coral]

9 hours ago, Italy52 said:

@Coral, the "Apogee" is fairly new.  We have always gone out with Shawn in the smaller boat. 

 

I do hope to post a small review and some pictures when we return.  It won't be a "live" like you did.  I am not as talented as you are.  You really did a great job of answering everyone's questions, posting pictures and links.  Thank you for that.

It was just easier to do a live. If I wait until I get home, it probably wouldn't get done.

[luv2cruise668]

On 5/27/2023 at 7:20 PM, Italy52 said:

I am so happy to hear that you had a great trip with Glacier Wind.  We are very anxious to try out the new boat and look forward to seeing our friends at Glacier Wind in July.  Your pictures are great; I especially love the bubble net feeding.  We are keeping our fingers crossed in hopes that we might experience some bubble net feeding on our trip.

We were on the new boat last year with Capt. Casey.  It is really nice.  We enjoyed it so much that we are on it again this August.  I am also hoping to see some bubble feeding.  Capt Casey always seems to know the best places to go.

 

[tropiclvrs]

I have G-Wind booked for June 29th based on the recommendation of @parodeejay on YouTube (they're fantastic by the way..with lots of great info on the ports).

 

@Coral,  How was they water the day you went out?  Was there much motion on the boat?

[Coral]

6 hours ago, tropiclvrs said:

I have G-Wind booked for June 29th based on the recommendation of @parodeejay on YouTube (they're fantastic by the way..with lots of great info on the ports).

 

@Coral,  How was they water the day you went out?  Was there much motion on the boat?

It was pretty smooth. We of course were seated when the boat was moving but I thought it was as like most boats are when moving. Someone did stand up and asked if they could go outside and they were asked to sit and wait until the boat stopped.

[madre2]

I know this is a touchy subject on these boards, but we really don’t know how much to tip for this excursion.  We will be on this excursion soon, and have heard how wonderful it is.   We certainly want to tip, but don’t have any idea what is appropriate for two people.  Can anyone help me with that?  

[hawk1972]

On 5/27/2023 at 8:31 PM, Coral said:

The boat looked brand new - I didn't know if it was new or not. We passed the 6 passenger boat which had Capt Shawn on it.

 

Keeping fingers crossed for you! I can't wait to read about your whale watching in July.

I think Casey said the new boat was ordered pre-Covid and then built and picked up during Covid in Seattle. We've been on both boats with both Shawn and Casey and both are fantastic. The Norwegian Sun was late to port last September and they waited for us and Casey kept us out until almost dark to make sure we saw lots of whales. I highly recommend Glacier Wind Charters!

[Coral]

22 hours ago, madre2 said:

I know this is a touchy subject on these boards, but we really don’t know how much to tip for this excursion.  We will be on this excursion soon, and have heard how wonderful it is.   We certainly want to tip, but don’t have any idea what is appropriate for two people.  Can anyone help me with that?  

I think I tipped $20. I am sure any tip amount would be appreciated.

Edited June 1, 2023 by Coral

[JSSpence]

I just want to jump on the Glacier Wind bandwagon. We had seen them highly recommended on this site and as a result booked with them for June 2022. Our ship was several hours late arriving in port and they rearranged the schedule to make it work for our us and our fellow passengers. Captain Casey was awesome and took us to a spot where we saw so much - we even had a baby humpback starting bumping and playing against the boat. We loved the small boat experience vs some of the bigger boats we saw. In addition, they paid such extra special attention to our 10 year old. We highly recommend them to anyone stopping in ISP!

[CRUSINGFAMILY]

Way to go Glacier Wind!  We toured with this company many years ago when they were first starting out and will do so again when we make it back to Icy strait  We have recommended them to many folks and see they are well recommended all over these boards.  Personal tour -- the best!

[Ashland]

We've had some pretty great whale watching from near the fire pit along the shore in ISP.

Also many years ago from our tender (when they used them).

[Alsmez]

On 5/27/2023 at 9:59 PM, Coral said:

We had 11 passengers on our boat that day. Captain Casey was our Capt and there was a 2nd individual (name escapes me) from G-Wind on the boat.

 

We just sailed with Casey and Glacier Wind as well, on May 30. His first mate that day was his brother Kyle - maybe he was on your sailing as well? Regardless, I agree that Glacier Wind is great - everyone was super nice and it was a well-organized tour. Unfortunately we didn't see anywhere near the level of whale activity you did, but they can't control that! Your pics are amazing!

 

On 5/31/2023 at 7:52 AM, madre2 said:

I know this is a touchy subject on these boards, but we really don’t know how much to tip for this excursion.  We will be on this excursion soon, and have heard how wonderful it is.   We certainly want to tip, but don’t have any idea what is appropriate for two people.  

 

We tipped $20 per person for two people or $40 total. I didn't see a jar or anywhere to leave tips, so I just handed it directly to Casey as we disembarked - he seemed sort of surprised, which surprised me! I didn't see any other passengers tipping but I'm not sure where they were from - we had a lot of non-Americans on our sailing and I know tipping is less customary in other places, so who knows. Maybe people were just salty that we didn't see many whales!

[Coral]

18 minutes ago, Alsmez said:

 

We just sailed with Casey and Glacier Wind as well, on May 30. His first mate that day was his brother Kyle - maybe he was on your sailing as well? Regardless, I agree that Glacier Wind is great - everyone was super nice and it was a well-organized tour. Unfortunately we didn't see anywhere near the level of whale activity you did, but they can't control that! Your pics are amazing!

 

I want to say his name was Jared or similar. He was a quiet guy who was a friend of the family going back decades - around Casey's age. Though once I spoke to him, he did come out of his shell. I think Casey said that whenever they came to Hoonah for the summer, the families were close and spent time together so they had known each other for a long time. This guy was also a Captain on the smaller 6 passenger boat.

 

I emailed Teresa once I got back and she told me that Kyle and his family had arrived and how excited she was to have them there. She also informed me that that day, they had quite a few orcas. We did not see any that day.

 

Sorry your whale watching wasn't as good. This creatures are difficult to predict. There were individuals on our boat with great cameras - I wish I had their pics! 

Edited June 8, 2023 by Coral

[Alsmez]

3 minutes ago, Coral said:

She also informed me that that day, they had quite a few orcas. We did not see any that day.

Nor did we, just a few humpback tails. However, I was lucky enough to see an orca do a full breach from the deck of Eclipse one night - it was so cool. Fingers crossed for bubble net feeding next time!

[Coral]

2 minutes ago, Alsmez said:

Nor did we, just a few humpback tails. However, I was lucky enough to see an orca do a full breach from the deck of Eclipse one night - it was so cool. Fingers crossed for bubble net feeding next time!

It has been years since I have seen a full breach!! And my camera didn't catch it (back in day when cameras were slow). I used my iPhone for these pics.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Coral