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Sumdum
There are many ways to see Southeast Alaska.
The way to experience Southeast Alaska is by chartering
the right yacht and planning your own itinerary. The
Sumdum means the difference between observing Alaska or
becoming totally involved.
 The unusual name, Sumdum, has intriguing origins in
one of Southeast Alaska’s most beautiful, rarely
visited regions, Endicott Arm, site of the abandoned
Tlingit village of Sumdum. One hundred years ago, John
Muir visited this village on a trip that resulted in the
discovery of Glacier Bay. Awed by a grandeur that
silenced even the Indians of the region, Muir wrote
eloquently about the several “first-class glaciers,”
the luxurious vegetation, purest blue icebergs, numerous
chamois, and greatest array of sheer cliffs and
waterfalls he had ever beheld in Alaska. Unlike many
once remarkable areas, the magnificence of the Sumdum
region has endured. John Muir’s journal could have
been written yesterday.
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Equipment and Safety Features
Engineered for comfort and for the negotiation of the
demanding waters in this region. The Sumdum is designed
to offer you an incredible experience: action, solitude,
luxury. An experience totally unlike those offered by
cruise liners.
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Communications
Satellite telephone enables contact with the outside
world for emergency or business purposes.
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Accommodations
Eight guests with four staterooms and two full guest
baths. Custom itineraries are expected and every effort
is made to accommodate individual requests. Each night a
new anchorage is selected in a quiet bay with other
boats rarely in sight to disturb the overwhelming
wilderness of Alaska.
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Guest Services
An on-board large screen projection television.
Central hot water heat creates a thermostatic controlled
temperature for comfort in all living areas. A hot tub
in the after deck provides a remarkable experience
during quiet cove anchorages surrounded by snow-capped
peaks.
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Dining
Along with fresh provisions stocked for every
excursion, meals are planned around the catch of the
day. Wine selected in the Napa Valley has been sent to
Alaska as the ship’s private label; a well-stocked bar
offers a range of beverage choices. The evening fare is
delectable. Imagine the catch-of-the-day served in the
ambiance of a long Alaskan sunset.
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Activities
A jet boat is provided for running up wilderness
rivers, exploring remote fjords, water skiing or as a
shuttle to perfect flycasting streams.
Or stay aboard the Sumdum, troll for salmon and jig
for halibut or simply lower the crab and shrimp pots.
Deep sea and freshwater fishing is unsurpassed.
Native trout species are abundant. Five species of
salmon make their annual run to thousands of streams to
spawn: sockeye, chum, king, coho, and pink. Beaches and
near-shore waters offer harvests of Dungeness crab, king
crab, and jumbo Alaskan prawns.
Arrangements are easily made for seaplane rendezvous
and access to mountain lakes abundant with trout.
Villages with totems and Native American art and
artifacts are easily accessible. Early white settlements
are rich in history, or today’s logging and fishing
enterprises make worthy side trips.
A hike through virgin rain forests to a remote lake
or water skiing in glasslike coves.
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Wildlife
 High power binoculars on board for watching wildlife:
eagles, often whales, and always marine mammals on ocean
islands. The greatest concentration of bald eagles in
the world can be seen along the Chilkat River. It is
commonplace to see bears feeding on salmon during early
fall. Wolves, mink, fox, goat and deer are abundant.
Marine mammals populate the ocean islands - seals,
otters, porpoises and sea lions. More whales feed in
these coastal waters during summer than in any other
area of the Northern Hempisphere.
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Historical Interest
The lightly populated Southeast Alaskan coastal
waterways are diverse in culture and history. Abandoned
native villages and turn-of-the-century fish canneries
invite investigation. The culture of the first tribal
inhabitants, the intrigue of early explorations,
provincial domination, and the excesses of frontierism
all contribute to a fascinating historic tapestry.
Petroglyphs, the stone enigmas of the earliest people;
totems, the icons of nearly all coastal tribes; wooden
helmets and masks, all are symbols of the original
people. From the earliest Spanish explorations and
Russian settlements to the 19th century
frenzy for gold, the legacy of Alaska is portrayed in
building remnants, ship wrecks, paintings, writings, and
crumbling grave stones in dozens of cemeteries.
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Boarding
 The motor yacht Sumdum is home based in Ketchikan, an
ideal starting point for an Alaskan adventure and only
two hours by plane from Seattle on scheduled airlines.
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Specifications
Twin 460HP CAT engines give top speed of 16 knots;
trolling valves enable the optimum speed for salmon
fishing. |
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