By Boat to Alaska

A mother bear and her cubs cup the air in their paws, warily sniffing the scent of a passing boat. Schools of porpoises and killer whales gambol in the offshore depths. From dense, wet cedar trees comes the heavy smell of primeval forest as the boat moves past the maze of islands, deep-cut fjords and ice-hung mountains that make up British Columbia's spectacular coastline. Last week, with the inauguration of the new $7,000,000 Queen of Prince Rupert car ferry, the whole coastline became readily accessible for the first time to U.S. tourists bound for Alaska.

There was no question but what the new ferry was welcome. Already, more than 17,000 reservations have been booked by northbound tourists for this season, another 1,500 for next year. Not only does the new service open up the 330-mile inside passage from Kelsey Bay on Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert, B.C.'s largest northern port, but the ship's 20-hour run also eliminates 800 miles of driving to get to the panhandle of Alaska. In fact, by continuing northward from Prince Rupert on the three-year-old Alaska Ferry Service, the motorist can escape all but 600 miles of the arduous 2,200-mile drive from the Washington State border to Fairbanks.

The new Queen of Prince Rupert accommodates 282 persons in staterooms for $30 apiece one-way, another 148 passengers in berths ranging from $4.50 to $11.50 in price, and 80 cars ($60 one-way, $114 round-trip). The man most responsible for her is William Andrew Cecil Bennett, 65, the ebullient premier of British Columbia, who has opened up his province with roads, bridges and railways. Bennett got into the ferry business six years ago, has since then built B.C. Ferries into the world's largest car-ferry system, with 23 ships, 19 terminals and annual revenues of $15 million. With business booming, Bennett intends to add another ship to the run. Alaskans, who estimate that at least half the passengers will continue on to their state, are already planning to put local Chamber of Commerce bureaus on 24-hour duty to help find accommodations for the new surge of tourists.

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