This job, while very rewarding, presents many challenges. My
first trip went very smoothly. The seas were calm, the sun was out much of the
time, and I eased into sampling with relatively little headache. The second
trip, however, went a little differently. Living on a boat is like living in a
dorm with respect to germ transmission. There are 17 people on my vessel living
and working in very close proximity for months at a time. If one person gets
sick, he generally isn’t the only one. I picked up a nasty bug the second to
last day of the 1st trip which unfortunately carried over into the 2nd
trip. Steaming out to the fishing grounds took about a day and a half, and we
encountered 15 foot ocean swells for much of the time. Although I have spent much
time on the water, this was unlike anything I have ever been in, and was enough
to get me fairly seasick. Being sick and seasick simultaneously is not fun. The
best way for me to get over being seasick is to be outside working, but that
was not possible, as we had not yet reached the grounds. Even when we did, the
conditions were still not conducive to sampling. Sampling, while easing my
seasickness, was also at the risk of exacerbating my cold/flu/whatever it was.
This took a couple of days to work its way out at the expense of a couple
hauls.
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| Beard evolution. |
I have not been around these boats for very long, and they
make a wide assortment of noises- unfortunately especially in heavier seas.
Trying to sleep during 15 foot swells (which isn’t even THAT big up here) was difficult.
I haven’t yet figured out which sounds are normal, and which sounds are worthy
of getting out of my bunk and going up to the wheelhouse to make sure we aren’t
sinking (slightly dramatized). The boat flexes which causes many different
creaking sounds; there are big stabilizer booms on the port and starboard side
on hinges that are held horizontal by a chain. They occasionally flap up and
down which is a very loud. And just the waves slapping up against the side of
the hull sounds like metal on metal, and can be very alarming. My bunk is
perpendicular to the length of the boat, which seems to promote rolling around
a lot. I have to learn to brace myself to prevent too much movement. I am on
the top bunk. There is an art to getting in and out of my bunk in rough seas
somewhat gracefully- there is no ladder. Just when I think I have gotten the
hang of it, I hit my head on the ceiling on the way down. All just part of it I
guess.
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| Beautiful Kodiak Harbor. The Golden Fleece on the bottom right |
The days tend to blend together when you are at sea. It is
an odd phenomenon- especially when you are working at odd hours. If I don’t
check my phone or calendar, I quickly forget what day it is, and given how long
the sun is in the sky, sometimes lose track of the time as well. We have to
keep a daily logbook for my job. I see now why the stress the importance of
filling it in EVERY DAY and to not procrastinate a couple of days. It is easy
to forget what happened.
I get a fair amount of upperbody workout on the boat; my
sampling requires me to collect 9 40kg baskets full of fish each sample haul.
They get very heavy after a while. However, I do not get much cardio or leg
workout in. I try to make up for it when I get to port as much as possible.
Last time I was in port, I walked about 12 miles between shopping in town and
hiking. Yesterday, I did some more hiking with another friend from training on
a nearby island aptly named “Near Island”. Yes, very original, I know. There
are a couple more photographs in the photographs tab on the map where I took
them.
