Many of you already know how different Sanctuary Cruises is:
We respect our passengers and make sure they're cohorts in adventure.
We have a long history protecting whales and never crowd them.
Sanctuary is sparkling clean, comfortable & she smells great.
We rent Relief Bands, wonderful & effective electronic devices to prevent seasickness.
We have always run non-smoking cruises.
Kids get to take a turn at the wheel (conditions permitting).
National Geographic featured us in a documentary which recreated our Mother's Day 2004 whale watching cruise ("Whale Attack").
Read the incredible comments from our customers (below and on Talk To Us) to learn more about what sets us apart.
Received 12/13/2009~posted on Yelp reviews: "My husband and I are originally from Toronto, ON Canada and have just recently moved to San Francisco, California. This was our first Thanksgiving here and since we didn't know many people we decided to spend Thanksgiving 
in Monterey. While researching the area I discovered the website for Sanctuary Cruises. There were many rave reviews and lots of fantastic photos. We immediately decided that we had to book!
Greeted by crew who were friendly, professional and very informative. The waters were quite calm and it didn't take long for Kate to spot activity in the water. Our first sighting was Risso's Dolphins. Fabulous and incredible is the only way to describe the scene of Dolphins swimming beside and all around us.
From there another sighting! Orcas!!! After the Orcas became increasingly elusive there was a call on the radio that Humpback whales were spotted. The captain put the boat in gear and sure enough there were two Humpback whales a short distance away.
Overall a fabulous time and we couldn't believe everything we saw. This included jellies, sea lions and a sea otter. It was completely surreal and glorious. It was a fantastic day, clean boat and with the number of people that are allowed onboard it makes it very easy to move around and get that perfect shot.
We would recommend Sanctuary and we will definitely be back!" Jenn and Dave Ko/San Francisco, CA (This is Jenn's sea otter shot at left)
11/28/2009: Thank you for the cruise on Nov.22 it was terrific. I was so happy to spend the day looking at about 26 humpbacks I think I counted and thousands of jellies. The water was perfect and the sky was blue. We had a great captain and Shawn had an eye like an eagle. I can't wait to bring my grandchildren down for a cruise around the bay. Thanks again for such a nice day. Mary Rocha
11/16/2009: From Yelp: 5 star rating: "Sanctuary Cruises took my husband and I on our first whale watching cruise and it's most likely the best whale watching experience we'll ever have!
First of all, I did a lot of research on the different companies offering cruises and I chose Sanctuary Cruises because of cleanliness, experience/record, and most of all because they only fill their boat to 75% of its capacity. There were only 8 of us on the cruise and it was more than comfortable. Regardless of the size of the boat, you have to think of how many heads will be in your way when you're trying to get "that shot"!
I'd also like to mention how accommodating Steph and Heidi were! We weren't able to go during their regularly scheduled runs, but thankfully, they advertised for a trip based on our availability and enough people signed up! Thanks again, Heidi and Steph.
The crew did an awesome job! On our trip we saw a pod of about 6 or 7 orcas, hunting, killing and eating a sea lion. .. from start to finish! It was just like watching National Geographic - but better!
The captain was carefully keeping his distance from the whales, when suddenly two jumped out of the water, about 1:00, and swam side-by-side right towards the boat! The captain quickly threw the boat in neutral. I didn't have enought time to zoom "in" my camera and I actually had to look over the railing, down at the whale as it swam along the side of the boat and its partner beside it, but underneath the boat. Amazing!
While in California, we shared and compared our experience with others and we feel we truly had the best experience. If you are looking to go whale watching, look no further!" Melissa Phelan/ Andover, MN
[As many of you know, we have two businesses: Sanctuary Cruises on the Monterey Bay, and the Trinity River Adventure Inn river cabins in the north part of the state. This holiday newsletter covers both.]
Hi everyone,
You know how it feels when you get the sensation that all's well with the world? That feeling has settled over our cabin as I write this.
Heidi and I have just gotten back from working several hours at our Steel Bridge cabins. We've got different sets of guests coming in on Christmas Day and the day after and although they didn't request holiday decorations, we just couldn't help ourselves. Heidi just asked if the folks who will be spending several nights in the Miner's cabin requested a romantic place. They didn't, but she put tiny blue icicle lights in the rustic loft, wound a larger string of traditional (but LED, of course) lights on the porch handrail overlooking the river, and arranged three lighted twigs on the path to the front door. It looks great; if we were going somewhere cool for the holidays, it's what we'd want!
Heidi spent her time putting her typically artistic touch on Alpen Glow as well as the Miner's; lights, ribbons, Santas. I busied myself underneath the Miner's cabin, finishing up the insulation and plumbing jobs I started with the last cold snap. (You can read more about that in the next section. Never romanticize the lives of innkeepers.) While Scupper patrolled for squirrels, Bisco visited me about every 5 minutes; I'm not sure if it was to keep me company or to make sure I wasn't slacking off. The river sang its magical tune and reflected the cold, clear sky as we worked. Pretty darn close to perfect.
This year has been a roller coaster ride for lots of folks, us included. Our business on the Trinity has done very well in spite of tough economic times. For this we're so thankful to our many friends and guests.
Winter fishing has been good and we've got bookings throughout January. That's how to start a new year! We consider February to Memorial Day our off season and offer some great lodging discounts, so if you'd like to come up for some quiet time, consider that period.
Getting Sanctuary Cruises back has been another adventure, one that we've met with the help and good wishes of so many of you. The response has been gratifying and heartwarming. Based on that, we've just given a nice Christmas present to the John Deere Company, ordering a pair of brand new (and super fuel-efficient) engines and gear boxes, totaling around $84,000 (the Monterey Peninsula Air Quality Board has provided a grant for about half of the cost of this mandatory re-power, so we can only cry into half a beer rather than a full one; lucky us). And to think we thought we were spending a lot of money in the old days buying biodiesel! However, the new engines will serve us, the Monterey Bay, Sanctuary and you splendidly for many years to come.
Speaking of biodiesel, it's a good time to reflect not only on this past year, but our legacy out there. We were the first company to run a non-smoking boat. We were the first to consistently pick up trash on the water. We were the first to use biodiesel and continued to do so until we lost our supplier. We take immense pride in the appearance of our vessel and how well we take care of our passengers. The past blends seamlessly into the present and while we blink, becomes the future. We hope we can remain your favored whale watch company for many years to come.
I can't tell you how wonderful it feels when callers say, "We're so glad Sanctuary Cruises is back!" It may not be easy to get the word out, but it is happening.
Gray whales are on their way by and our crew is anxious to take you out to greet them again this year. If you're jonesin' for some cool, although unedited whale footage, check the YouTube videos that Kate has posted recently. If you weren't on the boat when this was shot, you will definitely be envious! Here are the links:
Humpbacks & Orcas on Monterey Bay
Friendy Humpbacks at Sanctuary
This season has brought us something really wonderful. It started badly, however, with an accident on a sidewalk in Monterey. A.J. Young is a captain on the Little Mermaid, a tour boat working the inner harbor of Monterey. He's also the lead deckhand on Princess Monterey, operated by one of our competitors. He's quite a buddy of ours. Last week, A.J. was involved in a bicycle accident that could have cost him his life. But he's on the mend and for that we're so grateful.
Hey A.J., put a bike helmet on your wish list for Santa. If you don't wear it, I am afraid Heidi will drive down and put you back in the hospital.
Our wish for 2010 is for all of you to be healthy and happily engaged in whatever it is that feeds your soul. We hope to see you either here on the Trinity River, or out there on the Monterey Bay; we'll compare notes!
Bless you all this holiday season. Peace and the warmest of wishes, Steph (and Heidi, Bisco, Scupper, Chigger, Possum, Boy-Boy, Squid and Alvin Coolidge)
Winter Wonderland~The Other Side of Cold...and the Nutcracker Twice!
We've just been through a real cold snap up here and then had a few inches of snow. It makes Christmas seem all the more real and immediate. Our little neighborhood really turns out for the holidays. One of my big jobs of the season is to help our neighbor Dottie get her outside Christmas decorations up. Dotty lost her husband several years ago and I think this makes the fourth year that I've helped her out. What a kick she is!
The work begins around Thanksgiving and takes several hours, so I try to get an early start. It's really the start of the holiday season for me and I love it. Not one to have ever seen the inside of a health food store, Dottie offers me a variety of her favorite foods at 8 in the morning: Twinkies, Pepsi, Ho-Hos, Ding Dongs...you get the idea. This year she wanted me to come up with the "theme" for her display. "Theme!" I exclaimed. "It's Christmas. Shouldn't that be your theme?"
I'm not sure if the work I do for her is to help her further the neighborhood holiday spirit or just to keep her from burning her house down. I can't remember how many times that first year, looking at the tangle of frayed, jumbled wiring that I said, "Dottie, you just can't do this." So I re-work the electrical side and get the maximum amount of bangs for Dottie's buck, sans fire department.
The down side of a cold snap is the work it can produce at unwelcome hours. One of the real joys Heidi and I share is having coffee together in the morning, surrounded by our pets. Just as I was about to take her the first cup, after taking a propane torch to our pump to free the ice and get water flowing, we got a call from Alpen Glow. Mike Balog and his friends, here for their second visit, reported they had no water. He said it was the same for the Moys staying in the Carriage House. Here you can insert any and all foul words you've ever spoken. I said them all.
Keeping great, well-functioning cabins is really important to us. We understand how precious both time and money are these days. We tell guests that they can call us day or night if they encounter any problems, although our aim is to not provide them any reason to call other than to say hi.
I loaded my plumbing supplies and tools in the pickup and headed over. Mike and his group were gracious about it, one of them saying, "If we had the choice between heat and water, we'd go for heat." Still, water is gold. If it flows, you're a hero. If not, you're a zero. Imagine a day spent fishing on the Trinity, cold enough to freeze snot on a door knob, and you come home to no hot shower. Sub-zero points.
I trudged down to the pump house, which pumps from a cistern fed by a spring. The cistern was full, so the next most likely suspects were either the pump or the piping leading to the pumphouse. Realizing I'd need reinforcements, I drove home to roust Heidi. So much for that morning coffee.
I owe a huge debt to Rick Allan. He was our mechanic when we first ran Sanctuary Cruises and remains a great friend. Living in Cambria, several hours from the Monterey Bay, he couldn't often get away to help me with the problems that crop up on boats. I spent hours with him on the phone in the evening talking over how to attack them. Rick taught me to think in terms of systems, not just isolated problems. I came to refer to him as "The Master." I used Rick's system-wide approach, with Heidi's input, to get the water flowing again.
After a few very cold hours spent cutting back blackberries outside the pumphouse, digging up buried lines, slithering in contortions worthy of a gymnast on the wet floor inside the pumphouse and wrapping new heat tape along the frozen lines, then insulating them and the interior walls far better than before, we were back in action. Heidi and I both breathed contented yet frosty sighs of relief.
Heidi went home to make cookies and her famous pecan tarts to bring back to the folks who'd been inconvenienced. I stuck around cleaning up the mess I always make with any project.
[From Heidi: This is complete fabrication. Steph never cleans up his messes, which explains why much of my time was spent hauling out old water filters, wrappers, hose segments, ruined tape, cardboard boxes and more before we could get started in the pumphouse. I'm pretty sure Steph hung around over there to catch the fish stories and a stray beer.]
We attended two performances of the Nutcracker this year in Redding. The first was put on by a traveling troupe from the Moscow Ballet. The second was the 13th annual production by the Redding City Ballet and it just knocked us out. Who would have thought that an area this far away from a major population center could attract so much talent? This production featureda woman in the role of Mouse King, Rosannah Riess. She also trained in the SF Circus Center. She climbed a thick rope hanging down to the stage and blew everyone away with what she did.
I don't know how, but she appeared to walk up it, then twisted herself in it and hung upside down, then contorted herself and slid down, head first; then back up...
Then she wrapped her feet--all of this quickly and seemingly with no effort--and hung upside down in place at times, moving at others, spinning, then climbing... for what seemed to be 10 minutes, maybe more.
All this while a battle was being fought between her and the prince, then Clara. We couldn't watch anything but the Mouse King. Don't have a clue what else happened on stage. Simply amazing. Who could guess Redding City Ballet could trump Moscow's Nutcracker?! Check out her web site. On the home page, you can watch a YouTube of her aerial training. Stunning.
For you fishers, we're now finally getting some rain and according to the experts, that will get the steelhead on the move. Our Monterey neighbor Neal was just here and he caught a dandy steelhead. We have good availability the rest of this month and January. For those of you who don't fish, great back-country skiing is just a short drive away. A day trip to Redding to walk across the Sundial Bridge and maybe take your dogs for a hike on the wonderful trails on the other side of the Sacramento River is highly recommended.
If you just want to hang, who can resist the charm of sitting in a well-heated cabin, looking out at the river, having a glass of water anytime you want because it's flowing again!?
Gray Whale by Ed Hughes
