A vintage tugboat voyage around the nooks and crannies of Alaska’s Inside Passage

Tootling, as Captain Robert Oakes would have it, is more than just the speed of a vessel. It’s his slow-paced ambling philosophy of how to explore the tidal sounds of south-east Alaska’s Inside Passage. 

And what better vessel to tootle in than MV Swell, her cruises fashioned by nature and nurture. The nature: whales, grizzlies and bald eagles galore, and the captain’s desire to drop anchor frequently to marvel at all creatures great and small. The nurture: well, she’s a 1912 tugboat. Her top speed is eight knots per hour – somewhat slower than an Olympic rowing eight. 

In a previous incarnation she hauled log booms a mile long around British Columbia for the Victoria Tug Company of Vancouver….