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2024: Our Most Successful Season Yet!

As we wrap up our 19th season, we’re filled with gratitude for what has been our most successful year on the water. This season, we had the pleasure of welcoming back many returning guests while also introducing a number of new faces to the beauty of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Whether you’re a longtime friend or a first-time explorer, we appreciate your trust in us and your enthusiasm for the wild places we love to share.

Season Highlights

This year provided countless unforgettable moments. We were fortunate to witness the auroras dancing across the skies on multiple occasions, both in the early spring and later in the fall. Nature treated us to some incredible sights, including brown bear courtship at Pack Creek in May, the awe-inspiring spectacle of humpback whales bubble-net feeding in June, and breathtaking visits to tidewater glaciers. Watch some highlights here.

Looking Ahead to 2025
2024 marks our 19th season, and we’re already preparing for a milestone year ahead. As we celebrate two decades of adventure in 2025, we can’t wait to return to Alaska’s iconic landscapes and visit our favorite locations with both familiar faces and new guests. Every season brings something new, and we look forward to sharing the next chapter with you all.

Thank you for being part of this journey with us—we’re excited to see what next year has in store!

Christine

When my mom, Lorraine, retired as scientist, I didn’t know what she would do with her time. But I didn’t need to worry, because shortly after that she began to take art classes. Now I’ll admit some of her early work was rough, and yet I was always impressed that she stuck with it. She was brave like that. So it was really impressive that she began to blossom and do shows with her other art friends.

She also traveled – and I mean a lot. She went all over the globe. She was brave like that too. There were times I wondered if she hadn’t read one too many spy novels to see all these out of the way countries behind the iron curtain.

She even went on the David B. We got to go on a San Juan Islands trip together. I was so happy to show her what I love about working for Jeffrey and Christine, in part because they are brave too, sharing awe inspiring beauty and majestic wildlife with passengers each season.

My mom passed away peacefully in her sleep earlier this month. It was a shock, but I am comforted that my mom did all the things that people always talk about doing, such as being creative and being adventurous, before it was too hard to do them any more.

So I hope you will be brave and take the trip you’ve always thought about taking. Let me help help you find the perfect David B cruise where you make the memories that your family talks about for years.

With sincere encouragement,

Sarah
Reservations, Shore Support and Cat Staff

Captain Jeffrey raising the David B Flag

This past weekend we kicked off the 2024 season with our annual open boat tours. It was a great time getting to know prospective guests, regular and returning guests, as well as, people simply curious about the David B.  

Our open boat tours also serve a more selfish purpose in that they force us to wrap up all the winter projects, such as new systems installations and modifications. For those of you keeping track of the David B, you already know we just can’t leave well-enough-alone, like adding a second generator and a second reverse-osmosis water maker to the boat, not to mention making modifications to our Chinook and Coho Cabins. 

Way back in 2005 when we were laying out the how the cabins would be built, we assumed our clientele would be more often couples who wished to share a bed, which is still pretty much the case. However, over the last five-or-so years we have noticed that we have a lot more people traveling together who are happy to share a cabin, but would prefer their own bed. So this winter, Jeffrey and Jeff, from Kingfisher Craftsman, put their heads together to come up with an ingenious way to adapt the queen-sized bunks in the Chinook and Coho cabins to be converted to either staggered twin bunks for people who would like to share a cabin, but not a bed – or to keep the cabins made-up as queen-sized bunks.

Chinook Cabin Bunks on Left and Coho Cabin Bunks on Right 

If you are already signed-up for one of these cabins this summer, Sarah will be reaching out to you as your trip nears to ask you which option you would prefer.

Getting back to the open boat…It was so much fun meeting new people and seeing lots of folks who have traveled with us in the past. As you might suspect we love getting to show off the David B and talk about all the ways we continue to make the David B the best boat for you to cruise on in Alaska or in Washington state’s San Juan Islands. 
 
We do still have a few openings for 2024 and several specials going on, so give Sarah a call at 360-474-7218, or shoot her an email. 

Here is our current 2024 and 2025 schedules: https://northwestnavigation.com/schedule-and-rates

Warmly,

Christine
First Mate, Head Chef and Chief Naturalist

Log Loading Day always means the season is getting so close!
See what it takes to keep our Sweetheart Stove happy.