After a long year of empty boat stalls and a diminished tourism industry, 2021 is motoring in the direction of normalcy for many Southeast communities, with several towns - Wrangell included - reporting an increase in yacht traffic.
Wrangell saw only a dozen yachts in 2020, estimated Harbormaster Steve Miller, but already this year 18 or 19 have called on town as of July 2. Looking ahead, the months of July and August are the busiest for bear viewing at Anan Creek, the community's prime summer attraction. It is also a busy time of year for trips up the Stikine River, to LeConte Glacier and other attractions in and around Wrangell.
Miller said everyone he has spoken with is thrilled to be traveling again and excited to visit Wrangell.
According to a 2020 economic report prepared for the borough by Rain Coast Data, Wrangell saw 605 yacht arrivals in 2018, up from 489 in 2017. The yachts brought in a reported 1,618 visitors, about 8% of all summer travelers that year.
But they spent more per person than other summer tourists. Yacht traffic in 2018 brought in an estimated $560,000 in tourist spending, about 11% of an estimated $5.1 million from all summer visitor spending in 2018, the May 2020 report said.
With the exception of a miserable 2020, yacht traffic to Wrangell has been trending upward in recent years.
"I'd imagine all of Southeast has seen more yacht traffic," Miller said of this summer.
Miller's imagination would be correct, according to the harbor departments of Petersburg and Juneau. Glo Wollen, harbormaster for Petersburg, said 2020 was a tough year for them in yacht traffic. There were hardly any visitors, but this season is looking much better.
She did not have specific numbers - those are calculated near the end of the year - but she said they are seeing even more traffic than in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are having a considerable increase in all sizes (of ships), but the ones that stand out are the larger boats," Wollen said.
Matthew Creswell, Juneau's harbormaster, said that by a rough guess his city is seeing 50% more traffic than in previous years. The reserve moorage where yachts are usually docked is full, and from what he's heard it is the same story in many other Southeast towns.
"It's crazy around here," he said. "It is 110% the exact same story, it's through the roof."
Based on what he's heard from visitors, Creswell said a lot of yachters are visiting Southeast this year because Canada's borders are still closed in response to the pandemic. Since they can't sail around and visit British Columbia ports, they are spending their time in Southeast Alaska.
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