by Scott Laird
Last updated: 12:35 AM ET, Thu September 20, 2018
When most of us picture a ship launch, it's a similar vision: dignitaries gather at a large shipbuilder in France or Italy to watch a megaship slip down the ways.
At Nichols Brothers on Washington's Whidbey Island, it's an entirely different affair. The 1300 ton National Geographic Venture is jacked up on a hydraulic rail that slowly inches it across a two-lane road and down the beach into the sound at low tide. (Video) She's due to enter service with Lindblad Expeditions later this fall.
Once the tide comes in, the stays give way as the ship begins to float in the water for the first time. After that, it's off to Everett for "fitting out". Nichols Brothers has also built tugboats, dinner cruise boats, catamarans, and car ferries that are in service along the U.S. Pacific Coast, in Hawai'i and Alaska.
It's an understated, very Washington State way to go about a ship launch: no pomp and circumstance, just quiet pride in one's own craftsmanship.
Unlike most mega cruise vessels or luxury yachts, the National Geographic Venture (who joins sister ship National Geographic Quest, already in service) was conceived and constructed as an expedition ship.
The shallow draft allows the ship to sail much closer to shore and in more intimate waters than even slightly larger cruise vessels, where guests will appreciate the step out balconies that are available on a large number of the ship's staterooms.
When it comes time to explore, passengers can transfer quickly onboard zodiac boats; for individual exploring directly from the ship, there are kayaks for guests to use at designated points. Remotely operated vehicles can dive up to a thousand feet below the ship (beyond the reach of scuba divers) to take high definition film, which is supplemented by an onboard specialist who dives frequently during voyages to the same end.
Hydro phonic equipment can transmit the vocalizations of marine mammals spotted during the voyage over the ship's PA system, and passengers curious about the ship's operation and navigation are free to visit the open bridge at almost any time.
National Geographic Venture's inaugural voyage, a California Coast itinerary, departs from San Francisco in November 2018. Upcoming itineraries for the ship include exploration voyages in the Northwest, Baja California, and Alaska's Inside Passage. Inside Passage itineraries include ports like Petersburg which are uniquely accessible to smaller ships.
Lindblad Expeditions was founded in 1966 by Lars-Eric Lindblad, with a citizen expedition to Antartica. He believed that if educated people could travel to places previously only scientists had gone to and see them with their own eyes, they would be a force for the preservation of those places.
The company has 13 chartered and owned vessels and has operated in partnership with National Geographic since 2004.
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