The scenery is EVEN MORE


ENJOYABLE from sea level as the Legacy sticks to the sheltered coastal route that BIG SHIPS CANNOT USE, nosing into little-seen bays to ensure the CLOSEST POSSIBLE VIEWS.


An early bonus on this voyage includes flying into Juneau or Ketchikan before picking up the ship. The full immensity of the south-east Alaskan mountains is laid out from the air in stupefying extent, an eye-achingly beautiful vista that changes by the minute. That scenery is even more enjoyable from sea level, though, as the Legacy sticks firmly to the sheltered coastal route that most big ships cannot traverse, nosing into little-seen bays and inlets to ensure the closest possible views. In the UNESCO World Heritage site of Glacier Bay, Captain Dano maneuvered us within half a mile of the vast Margerie Glacier and its constantly-calving cliff of ice, while we also pottered into seldom- visited John Hopkins Inlet, where the endemic colony of sea-lions usually have the pristine place to themselves.


34 WORLD OF CRUISING I Autumn 2013 Our final port of call, chic Friday


Harbor in the San Juan Islands just north- west of Seattle, is also off limits to larger vessels, and provided a gloriously sunny end-piece to the voyage south. More importantly, there is rarely a set


schedule, hence the captain can set his own course at times, choosing to investigate an interesting-looking backwater, follow up on a whale sighting and generally provide the kind of laid-back, unstructured cruising that is an utter joy.


T


here is no real typical day for Un- Cruising, but several encounters served to highlight the glorious


nature of this way of maritime life. One afternoon we were preparing for a session of Poker lessons in the Pesky Barnacle when Capt Dano spotted a pod of killer whales in the distance.


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