The Vessel: Length Overall: 74'7", Beam: 18'4" Draft: 9'4", Displacement: 110 tons, Cruising Speed: 8 knots Main Engine: 6 cylinder 8x10 Washington Estep diesel, 120 h.p. at 450 r.p.m., Fuel: 3,000 gallons Fresh Water: 300 gallons with R.O. water maker, Range: 4,000 nautical miles. This historic wooden vessel has been thoughtfully restored true to her 30's heritage. Classic accommodations include cozy, private staterooms, a spacious galley, and a warm wood-paneled salon.

Introduction: Imagine Glacier Bay as John Muir saw it in 1899, as a member of the legendary Harriman Expedition - without the cruise ships, the guidebooks, and interpretive signs that define the modern visitor's experience. Aboard the Catalyst, our 75-foot vintage wooden boat, we'll have the chance to see this spectacular glacier and fjord landscape in much the same way that Harriman's scientists did. Unlike the big cruise ships, Catalyst is trim enough to explore the narrowest of fjords and shallow coastal waters. She carries eleven passengers and a crew of four in superb comfort - the perfect size for a voyage such as ours. Best of all, Catalyst carries nine sea kayaks and two motorized inflatables to enable exploration both far and wide. For those who take paddle in hand, the use of sea kayaks allows a more intimate, seal's eye view of the tidewater glaciers, inlets, islets, and estuary streams that make this coastal wilderness one of the most beautiful and biologically diverse areas in North America.

May is a magical time to be in Glacier Bay because we have it largely to ourselves - just the bears, the first returning humpback whales, and the thousands of migrating shore and seabirds bound for Arctic nesting sites. Against a backdrop of some of the most magnificent mountains on earth, rivers of glacial ice tumble into the sea and aquamarine-colored icebergs drift by on the tides. Responding to the boom and crash of ice at the glacier front, kittiwakes and Arctic terns swirl over the churning, welling waters in search of food. Western sandpipers and other shorebirds skitter along the shorelines, poking their bills into the food-rich mud and gravels of the intertidal zone. Sea ducks and enormous rafts of harlequin ducks forage in the quiet bays before making the final push to their nesting areas. Grizzlies and black bears, recently emerged from their hibernation dens, can be seen bending the branches of black cottonwoods down to feed on the sweetly-resinous leaf buds, grazing on swards of lush sedges, and scraping succulent barnacles and mussels from rocks along the water's edge.

For the wildlife of Glacier Bay and the outer islands, this is truly a time of plenty. As we, too, feast on fresh-caught seafood and share the day's discoveries over a glass of wine, there seems little doubt that this is one of the best ways to experience all that Southeast Alaska has to offer! Ports of departure and arrival will be Juneau and Gustavus.