Alaska boat hit rock after angling for bear view

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The captain of a sightseeing vessel that apparently struck a rock at Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve had been trying to get the vessel nearer shore to see brown bears, an official with the boat’s owner said Monday.

John Dunlap, a vice president with Allen Marine Tours, said the captain, after trying to maneuver closer to shore so passengers could see the one or more bears that had been spotted, at some point realized he was in shallower water and started to back up. But Dunlap said it was along a different track than the boat came in on, and the Baranof Wind apparently hit a rock.