Debriefing in Seattle

Upon disembarking from my last boat the Fierce Allegiance on the 15th I remained in Dutch Harbor awaiting another assignment. Longing for physical activity after being on the boat for a couple months, I was able to fit a lot into the week I was there. The first weekend in town, there was an annual half marathon run that looped around the island. There was also an observer ultimate frisbee game, a day of fishing and berry picking around a place called Humpy's Cove, and a substantial hike up Pyramid trail (which would've provided an amazing view of the island if it hadn't been foggy). Eventually my company decided not to put me on another boat and instead to fly me to Seattle for debriefing. Arriving in the University District of Seattle from Dutch Harbor was a drastic change of environment and I had a little culture shock the first few days. Reviewing and correcting data took a couple days at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) campus, and now I'm free until re-briefing next Thursday.

Smooth water, Marine Mammals, Betty Crocker?

Welp...Hello August. The last month flew by. I've just completed trip 7 with my current boat and am looking at a couple more trips before switching boats or possibly heading in for debriefing. All in all this deployment is going smoothly - fishing has picked up and the need for repairs in town have been minimal so we've been rolling right along. The weather has been phenomenal, and for a couple of weeks the sea was so calm it felt like we were out on a lake of glass. The first day or two it really weirded me out, I think because I've always equated the ocean with waves. While the samples I take are 99.9% pollock the highlights of the job over the last month have been sharks and marine mammal sightings. Twice, while collecting fish pouring from the net a substantially sized shark has flopped out next to me. It undesirable to have a large shark fall into a holding tank and be a chore to later remove so the crew moves quickly to rope it by the tail so it can be craned out of the way. During the days steaming out to fishing grounds I've gotten watch pods of porpoises swim alongside the boat. This last trip a sea lion stayed with us (just yards from the side of the boat) for a good 2 or 3 hours begging loudly for some fish. She definitely knew that a fishing boat's discards would make for an easy meal.
With considerable time to fill to and from the fishing grounds I've taken up crosswording, am developing a workout plan for the fishing vessel constrained observer, am making a movie, and have been baking a lot from the boat's cookbook.