"
6
ALLEN MARINE TOURS
VISIT SITKA MAGAZINE
We don’t
call them customers or passengers. They are our guests, and that’s really
just Alaskan hospitality."
ACTIVITIES
ALLEN MARINE TOURS
ALLEN MARINE TOURS
When Bob and Betty Allen’s shipyard business naturally slowed in the summer fishing season, they did what they had always done. They gathered their five children and rolled up their sleeves. With some demanding physical work and a little creativity, they breathed new life into an old sunken yacht. Starting in 1970, they offered wildlife tours to Sitka’s visitors to the end of neighboring Silver Bay and back.
“I was the captain. Betty was the first mate,” says Bob. “[The kids] were all the deckhands from the time they were six years old until they were old enough to run a boat themselves.”
Those original tours only traveled nine miles or so from the heart of town. Even though they didn’t journey
far, guests were enchanted with stories of local native history and the wildlife they spotted outside the stout cabin windows in the breathtaking landscape. No doubt they were also charmed by Betty’s cooking, tales from Bob’s adventurous life and the Alaskan kids who ran around the boat, helping their parents.
“The Allen family’s business is based on true Alaskan hospitality,” says Zak Kirkpatrick, Director of Marketing and PR. “They are an authentic Alaskan family whose priority was safety, but also amazing guest services and knowledge of Alaska.”
A second company—Alaskan Dream Cruises—has been formed to meet the needs of those who want a more in-depth, off-the-grid, small ship experience. Guests enjoy opportunities for hiking, kayaking and exploring raw, remote bays and coves. Coupled with port calls in native villages and other small towns, guests experience a true mix of what Southeast Alaska has to offer.
Alaskan Dream Cruises and Allen Marine Tours are conducted on Allen Marine-built vessels, aluminum boats designed and crafted in Sitka to provide the best and safest viewing platform. The over 30 expedition vessels in the fleet continue the Allens' boat-building heritage.
“Our Tlingít ancestors were boat builders who carved canoes for trade and harvest,” says Zaide Allen, granddaughter of Bob and Betty and current Alaskan Dream Cruises Manager. “My grandparents carried
on this legacy when they opened up their shipyard
in Sitka 50 years ago.”
Zaide’s cousin Jamey, who currently serves as the company’s Senior Vice President, remembers his grandfather’s ingenuity in the company’s earlier years and subsequent growth with Bob’s innovative boat designs and willingness to try new ideas that ultimately lead to national recognition and several industry firsts.
“We have a can-do attitude. When people say something can’t be done, we take it as a challenge. And just because it hasn’t been done, doesn’t mean it can’t be done,” says Jamey.
“I was a full-time deck hand at age 10. My grandpa was the captain. I was the crew member. That was it. Every summer, I would spend on these boats, and literally, we’d be getting done with our first tour at 9 a.m., having been at work since 5:30. My grandpa would say, ‘You just did more work before 9 a.m. than most of your classmates do all summer.’” Jamey laughs. “And that’s just what you knew—what you did.”
ALLEN MARINE TOURS
Be Our Guest
Where the ocean meets the mountains, a whale breeches as an eagle swoops down to snag its meal of fresh salmon, and you have a front row seat from the top deck of an Allen Marine Tours boat. The sounds of wildlife, the smell of the salty ocean, and the feeling that you’re among greatness—this is why you’ve come to Alaska. This is the experience Allen Marine Tours aims to provide its guests. A tour with Allen Marine means fresh air, excitement, and knowledge of Alaska provided by guides who treat you like family.
VISIT SITKA MAGAZINE
16