Back in Wa

I made it back to Seattle mid April and took about a week to wrap up my debriefing responsibilities. After spending around a week and a half at home in Pasco, I'm now back up in Seattle for what I'm planning to be my final assignment. There was a 3-day training session this last week I attended for the Pacific Hake fishery. I'm now waiting to embark on my boat which is due to leave Seattle on the 19th. Hake is a fish with a similar appearance and similar uses to pollock - white fish filets, fish sticks, imitation crab etc. All of the fishing takes place off of the Washington and Oregon coast and the entire season is only supposed to last around 2 weeks. This will likely be the largest and nicest boat that I've been on and rumor is that each room has wireless internet and cable tv - weird.

Life at a Plant

After the frigid Sunset Bay, I had another couple days off in Dutch which included a racquetball tournament and more snowboarding. Following this short reprieve I was assigned to a processing plant in town. As an observer this is a coveted position because you remain on land and have a fairly light work load. I had the 4 pm to 4 am shift and shared an apartment at the plant with the lead plant observer. Our main duties as plant observers was to give breaks to boat observer monitoring there delivery and to sample deliveries made by boats without observers. We also had some paperwork regarding daily deliveries to complete. While most of the boats had upwards of 15 hour offloads of pollock there were a few small boats towards the end that were delivering live sablefish (also known as black cod). The first black cod delivery was quite a challenge as the other observer and I learned how to knock the fish out (so they would stop flopping around) and make the correct decapitating cut in order to best preserve product. Retrieving black cod otoliths(ear bones) was also a bit tricky because they are tiny compared to other species. I was able to finish out the last couple weeks of my contract at the plant and felt quite spoiled compared to vessel observing. In spite of catching a fever for a week, I was able to get in time at the rec center, a few hikes, and a lot of roller hockey. A young couple originally from Minnesota were my ride each Tuesday and Saturday to hockey and patiently coached me along until I felt as though I was actually a part of the game instead of just skating in circles.

Sunset Bay

I finished up my time on boat #2 just before St. Patrick's day and was able to get a few land days. There was a cold front coming through Dutch with fresh snow and I had the chance to go snowboarding with a friend who lives on the island. Amidst single digit temps (-20's w/ windshield) we hiked for about an hour up the ski hill. The final couple hundred yards of the ascent, due to the steep incline, high winds and a considerably low level of personal fitness I was reduced to a stuttering crawl. It was quite the experience. Staying as low as possible, I devised a system by which I used the edge of my board and the toe cleats of my crampons to make short bursts forward. My goal was usually to get in 10-20 steps before laying down face first in the snow for a couple minutes to catch my breath. It was tough but in the end worth the 10 minute run down the untouched snow.
I boarded my 3rd boat, the Sunset Bay the day after St. Patty's and took a short 4 day P.Cod trip. By the name of the boat I was led to believe it would be like a tropical cruise with sunbathing and mai tais. Yeah... not so much. It was probably the coldest 4 days of my life. Spray from the waves encased much of the boat in ice which had to be regularly broken off by the crew. The water on the fish in my samples that generally passes through my baskets formed an increasing layer of slush and my many layered gloved hands were perpetually numb. The captain and crew were great though - friendly and helpful - which made for (other than the weather) a good trip.