Seymour Narrows?

[karenkr]

When we cruised the inside passage about 5 years ago, someone told us that we should stay up the first night out of Vancouver to see an area where the channel was so narrow it seemed like you could touch the shore on either side of the ship.

 

We are cruising the passage again and would like to see this, but can't remember what the name is so we can be on deck when we pass through.

 

I wondered if it might be Seymour Narrows, but can anyone tell me if that's right? If not, I'd appreciate either the name of the place or an approximate time or distance from Vancouver.

 

 

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Budget Queen]

Yes it is Seymour Narrows, if you have a gps, easy to determine where you are. Otherwise put in a call to the bridge via the purser's desk, and HOPE for an accurate answer. If your ship has a naturalist, this is your best source.

[HALOnlyCruiser]

Hi Karen,

Seymour Narrows is more or less 5 hours out of Vancouver. Since ships can only navigate it at slack water (about an hour when the tide is neither coming in or going out) ships will vary their speed out of Vancouver so that the Narrows is reached at the right time. Right before you get to the Narrows, Campbell River, a pretty good-sized town spewing lot of "stuff" out of smokestacks, will be on the port side of the ship. Once you pass Campbell River, get out on deck and watch through the Narrows. There is a lot of information about the Narrows and the tall submerged rock right in the middle of the channel that had to be blasted away so larger ships could transit. One good source (for the whole cruise through the Inside Passage) is "The Alaska Cruise Companion: A Mile By Mile Guide" by Joe Upton. It's available on Amazon, and I highly recommend it. Happy sailing!

[Cruisechick82]

I think the Alaska by Cruise Ship book also tells about the narrows, I remember reading the part about blasting the rock out. I plan to sit on deck with my book and look for all the different sights pointed out in the book along the inside passage.

[Joy2Day]

Last year, as we sailed through Seymour Narrows, Joe Upton was on the bridge with our naturalist. Very interesting. As he explained it, the northbound ships generally have right-of-way through the narrows since they have farther to travel to their next port. A southbound ship can wait for the next slack tide and still get to Vancouver in time to disembark.

[karenkr]

Thanks again to you all! You're suggestions are all really helpful!

 

Budget Queen, I have just spent the evening shopping on line for a GPS. I LOVE that idea. How fun to be able to map out exactly where you've been.

 

We plan on spending more time on deck this trip. I think we were so in love with our ship (Radiance of the Sea) that we failed to take notice of the stunning scenery. If anyone has any other suggestions of should see areas in the passage, I would love to hear them.