Grassroots meets high finance in Sitka Community Boatyard proposal
Posted by Robert Woolsey, KCAW | May 18, 2021
The map accompanying the Sitka Community Boatyard proposal. If approved, most of the remaining available lots (shown in yellow) eventually could be leased for the project.
The board of Sitka’s industrial park has determined that a grassroots proposal for a new marine haulout facility is worth pursuing further but wants to hammer out a few details before sending the deal to the assembly.
Find the complete Sitka Community Boatyard proposal, and the Gary Paxton Industrial Park request for proposals, in the May 12, 2021 board packet.
Wed, 03/03/2021 - 6:11am
A group prepares to board a whale watching vessel in Sitka during the 2017 Alaska Chamber annual conference. Sitka-based tour provider Alaska Dream Cruises has seen an “uptick” in bookings of late for cruises this spring and summer and broader reservation inquiries are getting back to pre-pandemic levels for the company. (Photo/Andrew Jensen/AJOC)
The fate of the 2021 Alaska tourism season is still very much an unknown for the large international cruise lines that operate vessels with thousands of passengers, but small vessel operators are preparing to get back to touring the Inside Passage.
Alaska Dream Cruises is one of those companies in the unique position of falling outside of strict guidelines imposed on the large cruise companies.
Small cruise operators are still planning to sail Alaska waters in 2021 adn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from adn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention s
Framework for Conditional Sailing Order currently a stumbling block for big ship lines in their restart efforts as the CDC has yet to provide all details needed.
But while Alaskan Dream Cruises will operate a full schedule of 2021 Alaska voyages this year,
Zakary Kirkpatrick, the line s corporate director of marketing and PR, also expressed the line’s strong support for a PVSA exemption for larger ships as well as efforts to sway Canada to allow big-ship technical stops.
The goal, he told reporters and travel advisors during a Friday briefing, is to avoid a devastating impact on Alaska s businesses, jobs and economy.
For Sitka tourism businesses, the 2021 season is fraught with uncertainty
Posted by Erin McKinstry, KCAW | Feb 4, 2021
Serena Wild co-owns the tour boat company Takeena Adventures with her boyfriend Chris Lillehoff. Lillehoff was supposed to quit working construction and devote himself full-time to the business this, but then the pandemic hit. “After last season, it might be a few more years,” Wild said. (Photo by Erin McKinstry/KCAW)
Editor’s note: Since this story
Sitka businesses are feeling cautiously optimistic while others are worried about the future.
Preparations for the 2021 season are already underway on the 68-foot Takeena, says co-owner of Takeena Adventures Serena Wild. Extension cords and tools litter the main room.