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