12.16.11 Alaskan Boater's Base Camp

New: starting June 2012 - a floating base camp in Prince William Sound designed for Alaskan boat owners. Hi, Matt Cline here: I’m the owner/operator of Aquetec LLC, Whittier Water Taxi. Many local boaters are familiar with my boat, the Bayhawk, a 32 foot Bay Weld boat. For years I have been operating my water taxi service catering to Alaskans and their guests. I recognized years ago that most water taxi services cater to the summer tourists, not Alaskans. Having operated my own boats in and around Prince William Sound for over 25 years, my friends and I have had to camp, due to the limited room on the boat. One never gets a good night’s sleep worrying about the boat all night. Then there is all the camp gear we had to load up and haul out. The load of gear didn’t help the fuel mileage and consumed a lot of time packing and unpacking again after we got home. After all, we are supposed to be having fun but often the trips end up being a lot of work. We looked at staying at the remote lodges but once again they were priced more for tourists than Alaskans and they are located in the middle of commercial fishing districts. We are refitting our 76 foot, 111 ton Covacevich trawler, Cathy G, into a base camp designed for Alaskan boaters. The Cathy G will have 4 rooms available with double and single bunks in each room. The galley and dining area is designed for groups up to 12. We have always enjoyed cooking up gourmet meals when camping out. On the Cathy G we give the option of meals provided or cook up your own meals in our full galley or barbeque on the back deck - the choice is yours. There is nothing better than cooking up freshly caught fish, shrimp, wild game or crab. Our 17 by 22 foot heated sheltered deck is very handy for bad weather days or late season deer hunting. You can clean your fish or process your game on our 7 foot wide fish cleaning table with plenty of space to process your fish and game before taking it home. We know many Alaskan like to vacuum pack or can their fish fresh. Bring your vacuum packer or canner – there is plenty of room in the sheltered deck to process your fish. Got guests coming or a group of friends? You can fish or hunt all day and come back to the Cathy G with all the comforts of home but located close to the fishing or hunting hot spots. Unlike expensive land based lodges, we can move close to the hot spots and away from the crowds or the commercial fishing districts. Whether it is early spring shrimping, spring or fall black bear season, salmon, halibut or lingcod season or deer season, we will be located close by. We all know how Alaskans like to entertain their out of state relatives and friends, but most don’t have enough room on their boat for everyone sleep or a galley to cook dinner. On the Cathy G the large galley fully stocked with all the cook ware you need, allows you to show off your culinary skills and make your guests envious of our great Alaskan lifestyle. No more worrying about dragging anchor at night - you can get a good night’s sleep tied up to the Cathy G. Do you love to cruise the sound with other friends that also have boats? You can rent the whole boat and cook up your own meals for only $700 a night for up to 8 guests. That’s less than half what the land based lodges charge and there are no hidden fees or added on taxes. Once again they are designed more for the tourists. Don’t want to cook your own meals? We can provide meals for you at $75 per person per day. That includes breakfast, box lunch to go and a hearty Alaskan style dinner of seafood or steaks. We also take requests for your favorite Alaskan dish - just let us know well ahead of time so we can stock up. Got guests that don’t want to fish or hunt all day but want an Alaskan wilderness experience? For an extra cost we can take those guests on a glacier wildlife tour or a hike. Maybe they always wanted to try kayaking or kayak fishing? We offer many wilderness activities at very reasonable rates and all excursions are guided by me, Captain Matt or Captain Heidi. Check our Alaska Boaters Base Camp page on www.princewilliamsoundlodging.com

12.4.11 Prince William Sound Deer Hunting Nov 2011

November started with large storm fronts, high winds and heavy freezing spray. The hunters that were in the field at that time reported much higher winds than what was forecast, but even though the weather was less than ideal, there was plenty of deer harvested. Some hunters felt the noise of the wind helped them stalk the deer but the wind chill was rough on any exposed skin. Their hands would go numb while dressing out a deer. After breaking some low temperature records across the state we got a good dump of snow. By the end of November the snow was chest deep on some of the northerly islands and knee to waist deep on Montague Island. Check out your tent and make sure it can hold up to strong winds and a snow load. Often new tents come with weak poles. Quality tent manufacturers offer stronger poles, more suited for Alaskan conditions - always get the stronger poles! Tarps that are set up right can catch and shed the snow and can also be set up to deflect the main gusts of wind off your tent. When shopping for tarps, look for heavy weight tarps as they flap less in the wind and usually have better eyelets. This is the time of the year to dig out the snow shoes and plastic sled. If you are renting one of the Forest Service cabins, or bringing a wood stove for your tent, remember to bring the chainsaw! With the deep snow, most hunters are maxing out their limits now. I just got back from Montague on December 1st with a group that limited out. They were there for our first big pineapple express of the winter. Arriving there, the snow was just over knee deep but by the time I picked them up over half of it had melted. With the fickle weather at this time of year, we often have to move the departure and pick up times to fit the weather. Most experienced Alaskan hunters are very familiar with bad weather holding up hunts - that is just the way it is. You have to have a plan B and many hunters seem to have employers who will let them be flexible with their days to make it work out. Some are not so fortunate and have to cancel out or reschedule. Whittier Water Taxi does not keep your deposit for weather cancelations. When the weather turns bad and trips are backed up, the groups returning from the field have priority over those deploying to the field. For more info, check out our website www.princewilliamsoundhunting.com  We post  our round trip rates to the most popular drop off spots on our web site. All rates posted are round trip, per person, all taxes and fees included NO HIDDEN FEES.