Meet Captain Jim:

Moved from Oregon to Alaska in 1976 because I’ve always wanted to live in a little “wilder” place. After various jobs including working on the North Slope operating heavy equipment I knew I wanted to be on saltwater.

I started a halibut charter business out of Valdez, Ak., and ran that for seven seasons. But In order to get to Valdez I had to drive 350 miles from my home in Fairbanks. That got old quickly!
A family-owned business in Fairbanks, Greatland River Tours, owns a 65’, 150 passenger stern-wheeler riverboat and needed a captain. I signed on and ran their boat, the Tanana Chief, for five seasons before moving to Juneau in 2008.

I signed on with Orca Enterprises that season and drove their jet whale watching boats for three seasons. They were great but I needed to have more trips so in 2011 I went to work driving the Voyager for Gastineau Guiding.
With the lack of work due to the Virus, I took that chance to spend much more time riding my Honda Goldwing motorcycle throughout many states in the lower 48!

I really miss taking folks to see not only the wildlife but the beauty of the Coastal Range, the Chilkats, the remote islands, and glaciers that we get to see every day from the front windows of our homes. And when you add in our whales, orcas, sea lions, harbor seals, occasional bears, and eagles, it just doesn’t get any better; anywhere I’ve ever been.

My home is a short nine miles out into Stephen’s Passage on, remote, Horse Island, and the view out our front window is the Coastal Range and the face of the Mendenhall Glacier. Postcard Alaska!

Note from Jayleen:
Jayleen & Jim met 14 years ago when Jayleen was working as a guide for her dad’s company. At that time Jim began working on the Juneau whale watching scene — quickly making a good name for himself in the industry; being an upbeat, experienced — all-around nice guy to be around! Having worked and lived in this area for so long he knows the Juneau area and the whales ‘like the back of his hand’! We are thrilled to have Jim join the Jayleen’s Alaska team!