Guest Testimonials

What an awesome day on the water! The day started out cloudy and cold, but we were lucky enough to have the sun come out for a great bit of our trip. Our first sighting was of a mom and baby whale. The baby even breached for us!
 
We continued on our way until we came across a couple more whales, and then a whole pod of them.  It was very exciting watching them breach and slap the water with their fins.  They put on quite an audio performance too.  I had no idea whales sounded like that.  I think of the sound they make as a cross between an elephant and a dinosaur.  They took my breath away!

After that pod swam away, another pod swam up very close behind us!  What a show!
 
We spent the entire day out on the water, spotting whales and eagles.  We hoped to see a bear but didn’t get quite that lucky.  Shawn was a great captain – very informative, knowledgeable, and friendly.  His wife Teresa, who picked us up at the ship dock and drove us to the boat, was also friendly and welcoming.
 
If you’re considering a whale watching trip in Icy Strait Point, I highly recommend Glacier Wind!
 
                                                                                                        ---Angela
My wife and I have been halibut and salmon fishing (and whale/wildlife watching) with Captain Shawn for over 10 years.
All of our trips have been very productive (lots of fish and whales).  In contrast with some other charter  captains, Captain Shawn doesn't scrimp on the time on the water.   He really knows how to take care of his guests and Teresa always packs a great lunch.  Even when the weather is not the best we always have a great time.  Over the years we have taken several of our landlubber relatives with us and they have had a uniformly wonderful time.  We'll continue to look forward to our annual trips to Hoonah because of Shawn and Teresa.
                                                                                                        --- the Petersons


Phantastic...What a friendly service...lots of wildlife and a Captain we can highly recommend! PS: Teresa makes a wonderful salmon dip...
                                                                                                        --- Axel an Jeri

Hi Shawn!
 
We want to say a big thank you for taking us out whale watching a few weeks back. It really was a fantastic day excellent weather, beautiful scenery and lots of whales. If you ever want to use us as a reference, we are happy to oblige. You are a great person to spend a day with. We enjoyed your commentary and superb seamanship. Whale watching and seeing the Hubbard Glacier from the ship (another great day) were the highlights of our trip.
 
Thanks again.
                                                                                                                        ---John & Andrea

Capt. Shawn and Mrs. McConnell,
 Our fishing experience with you on Sunday June 17, 07 was the very best of my life.  Please, know that you are making memories for a lot of people that will last the rest of our lives.
             Thank you for a great great experience.  I'll have fun for a long time showing the pictures and talking about your boat.
             My wife and I would really like to come back and fish a few days with you after I retire!!
             I'm the cold natured guy that wore the black hood over my cap all day.
             Thank you again for a wonderful time!! 
                                                                                    --- David E. A
Hi Shawn,
 
We had a wonderful time on our fishing trip with you and I wanted to be sure and thank you for the experience.
The halibut arrived (it's alot of fish!!!) last week and we enjoyed it for dinner Saturday night.
The day we spent with you was one of our favorites of the trip. We enjoyed meeting your wife and seeing the town.
 
                                                                                --- Sincerely,  Gail
Captain Shawn
 
Eighteen pounds of halibut arrived this morning, still frozen and nicely packaged, the perfect end to a wonderful fishing trip. Thank you so much for making it possible. This was Jan's first ocean fishing trip, and she is hooked. We hope we will be able to see you next summer for a longer trip.
 
                                                                                                                                                --- Rich

Hello Shawn,
Our fish arrived today. They did a fine job portioning, packing, and shipping it for us. We are going to share and enjoy every bit of it.
Thank you again for the fine day.
Best Regards,
        
                                                                                                                                            ---- Mark  A

Hello,

Hope you are continuing to have a good summer.  I wanted to thank you for the great time we had whale watching, by far the most whales we saw at any one time.  It has taken us a good week to recover from the time difference and seeing darkness at night.  Our 2 weeks in Alaska was great.  We are already thinking of 2010 for another possible visit.

                                                                                                                             ---- Very Respectfully,  Jeanette 

Hi Capt Shawn,
 
I want to thank you for such a great fishing trip.  It was just awesome to see the
wildlife and the mountains and to catch fish was even better!!  Your boat
is very well maintained and it certainly was a pleasure to visit with you and your wife.
You guys are great!!  

                                                                                                                        ---. Thanks again.  Donald H.

Shawn:

Just wanted to take a minute an tell you what an excellent adventure I had in Hoonah.  The ratio of fishing to story telling was just about perfect.  The food and guest cottage were incredible.

And - it was great to see not just Hoonah, but to spend time with you in your home.  Your comfort with the ocean and familiarity with all the ins and outs of where you grew up added quality and perspective to every boat ride.

Plus - being spoiled by Teresa, how could it get any better?

We've had halibut 2-3 times since getting back, so I get to repeat fishing stories once a week.

Again, thanks to both of you for opening your home and boat to us.

                                                                                                                                                                                ---Bob

Shawn,

Laura, Matthew, Allie and me all wanted to thank you again for the AWESOME day we had with you in Icy Straight Point last week.  The halibut got delivered Tuesday..cant wait to grill it up!   You made the day truly enjoyable....we hope to get back there some time and
do it again!

                                                                                                                                                    ---Bruce K
We had a absolutely amazing day today!  Floating out there quietly was  fantastic.  As was you and Teresa's hospitality. Thanks VERY much.   The Office treated us really well.  After we got what we thought was plenty of crab, they brought 2 additional crabs because they said the first ones were too small!  All thought it was the best crab we'd ever had.  That wasn't the end of the day.  We had dinner tonight in the ship's steakhouse (so we had a starboard window table).  Leaving  Hoonah, just before we reach the main channel, a whale breeched.  Not once, but 10 times!  Amazing!  Thanks for a perfect day!

                                                                                                                                        ---Frank and Marianne
Thanks again for a wonderful fishing trip.  Kim, Jeff and I hope to see you again soon!
 
                                                                                                                            --- All my best,John

Teresa,

Thanks again for an awesome day - i think it was our favorite. You will love the pics. I was impressed with them myself.

                                                                                                                                                                    --- roger

Hoonah was the best.
 
 The seven hours in Hoonah was the best time spent in a seven-day cruise to Alaska. 
 Hoonah is the closest we got to authentic Alaska.
 It would have been perfect, but we missed the first day of crab at The Office by one day.


Hoonah is the authentic Alaska...and Glacier Wind Tours provided us a perfect, whale-filled day.
                                                                                                                        --- James and Michelle....Denver, Colorado

"At our stop in Icy Strait , we took a private whale watching tour with Glacier Wind Charters.  We had the whole day and boat to six of us.  There were numerous viewings of humpback whales and it was painful to leave so that we had a bit of time back at the port prior to the ship departing.  Also saw lots of bald eagles, sea lions, porpoises and a grizzly bear.  I would strongly recommend this excursion rather than the ship’s tours…it is much more personal and cheaper.

                                                                                                                                --- Tim 

Our family of 5 was fortunate enough to spend a beautiful, sunny day whale and wildlife watching with Captain Shawn.  During our excursion, we spotted many whales, sea lions, a brown bear and a lot of eagles surrounded by beautiful scenery. The highlight for us was not only seeing the incredible whales but being able to hear their amazing sounds when Capt. Shawn dropped the hydrophone into the water.  He is very knowledgeable about the area and knew exactly where to find the wildlife.  We appreciate the personal, friendly service we received from both Teresa and Shawn. I’m glad we chose to tour on their charter boat instead of a large, impersonal tour boat. Thanks for a very memorable trip for myself, husband and our three daughters.

                                                                                                                                                               ---- Jackie
Captain Shawn knows where the fish are!!  With only a half day off our cruise, we were catching halibut and cod for a full 3 hours.  All four of us had our limit.  See Norma's 50th Wedding Anniversay catch of a 109# Halibut which Captain Shawn is holding.  He and Teresa took wonderful care of us with refreshments, good equipment, fish packing arrangements, and transportation.  We've fished a number of famous places around the world--this is TOPS!!                  

                                                                                                                                                             ------ RICK and NORMA, Florida"