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Conservation in Focus
Cloud Ridge’s Conservation in Focus voyages
embody the true spirit of expeditionary discovery.
Our naturalists have dedicated their professional
work to portraying the inherent beauty and
complexity of the natural world as well as the 22
environmental dramas that threaten the fragile
fabric of life. If you wish to share your trip experiences
with images, our photographic leader can
help you master or refine those skills. After each
of our trips we create a book—a visual memoir
that weaves together the group’s best images of
our shared explorations.
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COME ABOARD THE M/V Westward
.jpg) Pacific Catalyst’s M/V Westward serves as our
“classroom afloat” for our voyages in the North
Pacific and in the Sea of Cortez. This Ted Gearydesigned,
86-foot cruising yacht is a wooden
work of art with a history to match! She was
launched in 1924 as the flagship for the Alaska
Coast Hunting and Cruising Co. For 20 years,
Westward pioneered Alaska adventure travel and
is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places for her maritime contributions. In her
earliest years, she hosted a note-worthy clientele
of celebrities that included George Eastman,
founder of Eastman Kodak, and Walt Disney, the
legendary film producer. The men’s shared travel
experiences aboard Westward are thought to have
provided the inspiration for Disney’s launch into
nature programming. Westward is also an accomplished
world traveler, having logged a 47,000-
mile circumnavigation of the globe in the 1970s
and an equally impressive circumnavigation of
the Pacific in 2007-2008. Elegant and supremely
seaworthy, Westward is still powered by her
original 1923 Atlas Imperial diesel engine and is
equipped with stabilizers for rough seas. She
recently underwent a major restoration and the
period-perfect transformation of her 4 staterooms
(with en suite heads) by a master craftsman.
Westward accommodates 8-12 passengers and a
4-person crew, which includes her owner/captain,
Bill Bailey, an engineer, a chef, and a naturalist/
kayak guide. Although the heart of this historic
vessel is her venerable engine, her soul is revealed
in the magical alchemy of flavors that emerges
from the galley thanks to Chef Traci Triolo.
Westward has a full complement of sea kayaks, a
motorized skiff and a passion for exploring.
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