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| Walter N Rockfish Boat |
It has been about a month since I last observed on a boat,
but I think the last one was as noteworthy as any, as it was something new and
different. My first two boats were factory boats fishing for flatfish and cod
out of Kodiak and Dutch Harbor, respectively. My last one was a much smaller; less
than 100 feet, with only three crew members, and fished for rockfish out of
Kodiak- which is what I initially thought I was going to do straight out of
training, as my peers had done. It is a very different experience than what I had
come from. Food was much more “fend for yourself” than the other boats which
had a designated cook that supplied you with 4 meals a day. Fishing trips were
much shorter, as the boat could fill up after 3 full nets. They didn’t fish in
weather and would stay much closer to shore, about half a day away and as a
result, we were expected to sample everything. This gave me an opportunity to
make good use of my time and do some hiking and fishing with some friends. I
hiked to the top of Kashevaroff Mountain overlooking Kodiak. It was one hell of
a day hike, and reminded my how out of shape I am with respect to cardio. It
was well worth it in the end, though. It was so incredibly windy on the North
Western side of the peak, that I could lean over, and it would hold me up. But
if you walk 10 feet to the other sheltered side of the peak, it was dead calm.
Also went fishing with my good friend Bryan and caught my first Kodiak salmon-
a nice sized Silver. |
| Top of Mount Kashevaroff |
I had planned to stay in Alaska until just before Christmas
on a longliner, which is notoriously difficult. But the unexpected death of my
aunt brought me home early, as soon as my short time on this boat ended. In a
way, I am glad I came home early, as I was already tired and this boat was much
more laid back than what I had come from. It was a good place to end my first length
of time in Alaska.
Debriefing in Seattle was the first time I had been at such low latitude since my training, and it was nice to hang out with some friends for a while. But I really just needed to get debriefing done as quickly as possible so I could get home. Luckily I had very little data to go over, so they were very accommodating. I write this entry from the same comfortable chair as I wrote my very first, thinking back on all the places I have written from in the interim. This job has in only 8 months, provided me with some incredible experiences both at sea and on land. I will be likely returning to Alaska in February, but am also thinking about adventures elsewhere…
