Start of Boat #2

9-27-08

Day one on boat number deuce.

Today was the first day of fishing. The crew was fighting cabin fever after being stuck in town for the last week from a multitude of problems with this old vessel. This girl is older then the last boat I was on. She was used in the WWI and WWII as a fueling vessel. I've found out most of these fishing boats are hold overs and turn-arounds from war time marvels of the industrial age in this country. She was turned into a fishing boat 25 years ago, and there isn't much new to her since then. This crew is much more experienced then the last group of cats. They are much more crass, tattooed, and consist of the personalties that I expected to work with. This type of fishing is much easier for me to do my job, but also consists of more concentration combined with less physical work. It's essential having a couple of funny crew members around to bust balls with that can break up the staleness of continuous counting for hours. I think I'll fit in well here. Then again it is day one of probably 30 . . .

The cook here is Latino from San Diego. It'll be 30 days of mexican food. Luckily for the crew members they had the for sight to put me in my own stateroom. He is a funny guy, and I'm too gullible, he will be making fun of me for awhile until I can figure out if he is messing with me.

It was such a beautiful day out today. The clearest sky I've seen since leaving Spokane. So beautiful. The boat was riding right towards an Island range with Mt. Pavlof staring at us down the bow of the boat. I got some good pictures of it. I have a port hole on the starboard side of the boat to watch and do my counting, and the Island was on my horizon for most of the day. Found it hard to work and not stare. Thats the type of views I expected to see coming out here. Incredible. I don't own a camera to do it justice, its sad. But there is going to be a great sun set, and maybe a clear night for the stars. This boat also prints of the Washington Post and the NYC Times every morning. This little port hole into the world that is passing us by as we are out here hunting fish may keep my anxiety of having the election, bail out, and collapse of the treasury pass me by. I get to drink coffee and read the news every day. That is such a welcoming thought.


- Casey