After a refreshing extended Christmas break, I've returned to Dutch Harbor for another contract as a fisheries observer. I arrived in town on the 24th of January after a 4 day "re-briefing" in Seattle which included a fish id exam and a jump into Lake Washington (to complete an abandon ship drill). Though I was assigned to a boat right away upon arriving in Dutch we didn’t actually leave until Groundhog’s Day due to reports of poor fishing and high numbers of prohibited species (halibut and salmon) being caught by other boats. While waiting on my boat to leave, I was able to take advantage of a rare warm sunny day and hike Mt. Ballyhoo (on a rare warm, sunny day), swim at the rec. center, play some pick-up basketball, and even catch the Super Bowl. My boat’s a small (120ft) Pollock catcher boat [much like the vessel I was assigned to over the summer] with a crew of Scots and Oregonians. Our first trip went surprisingly well considering the rocky start to the season everyone is experiencing.
While I was fully anticipating rough, cold, and dark conditions so far it’s been much more calm warm, and light than I thought it would be. Daylight hours are 10am-ish to 7pm-ish, the seas have been a little stormy and most days have been warmer than it was in Seattle when I left.
I'm glad to be back to work, though missing those I was able to spend time with over the holidays. Well, better be heading back to the boat – supposed to be heading back out in the morning.
Friday, February 6, 2009
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