9-9-08

9-9-08

Time is relative on the Bering. There is no reason to count days. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday have no meaning out here. Saturday and Sunday just means that there is no one in Seattle to return emails. Time is counted in hours and minutes. There is no change of day, just change of shifts. This is a 24 hour a day operation with one of the shifts changing every 6 hours. Time is also counted by pounds of fish caught. When the quota is finished, so is time on the boat. There is a count down of fish available rather than days left. The trip could be a week long, it could be a month long. The more fish this boat catches of the quota, the more money the crew makes. The time at sea = potential money made. Pounds of fish caught = money made. So therefore, time equals pounds of fish caught.

I've made friends with the most important person on the boat. The only person you do not want to piss off, The Cook. Terri is her name, she's my room mate as well. She is a couple years from retirement and has been working as a cook for fishing boats on and off for years. She is defiant and callus to those on the boat that have made her mad and treat her more like help rather than a co-worker. We've sat and had some heart to hearts in galley while everyone else is working and I'm on a break. It was the best move I didn't even know I was making. All of sudden there is ice cream waiting for me when I get done with my paper work, she wakes me up for meals if I'm sleeping in between times I have to be on deck. She is also willing to work with some of my cravings. I was in dire need of a cheeseburger for some reason. The next night guess what was on the menu. I am eating much better than I ever thought I would out at sea. Some of it has to do with me making friends with the right people, but also these crew members do eat well. 4 meals of home cooking a day. I thought I would be losing weight while I was out at sea, not with Terri making sure that I am never hungry. Oh, she made me cheesecake on my birthday too. Awesome.

- Casey