Allen Marine Training

Well, sometimes you start a new job and the biggest thing for most work places, that one does not look forward to, is training. Am I right? I started my training with Allen Marine Tours yesterday and I have to say, this is going to be an awesome place to work. When I started my job hunting, my only requirement was, this has got to be fun. Well it's not hard to tell after only two days that I have found my nitch. I know it will be hard work also, but doing something you love makes all the difference. Everyone is very friendly and when was the last time you got to go out for a boat ride for training? Not me! We saw an Otter and a whale today and the weather was spectacular. Mike, our Captain , did a great job entertaining us, as did our Naturalist's, Bill and Mary. All in all, not bad for my second day on the job. Anyone out there in cyber space that may be planning a trip this way and may want to go on a nice sight seeing tour, you can contact Allen Marine Tours at 1-888-747-8101. Just a little plug there. LOL
Going to be an awesome summer in Sitka!

Beautiful day for a training ride

Bill, one of our naturalist's

Jamie showing how to use the life jackets

Mary, another naturalist, and our neighbor downstairs

Devin, guest services on the St. Tatiana

Capt Greg 

Sea Otter we found cruising

Having some lunch

Capt Mike at the wheel with Clay our deck hand

Heading back to town

This is our gift shop and galley on the St. Michael, my boat

Keturah, our naturalist

Trish and I are Guest service

Caught sight of a whale on our way back to town

Buh Bye now  heehee

Getting back to town

Our first trolling expedition

Michael and I ran into an acquaintance at the Baranof Brewery after our day at our first attempt at trolling for Salmon. After we told him we had lost both of our weights, clips, and down rigger line from our first attempt at trolling he told us, wow, you two really fit in here! One of the gentleman, Dave is a Marine Biologist for fish and game and the other, Ron runs a local Collision repair shop. Both have been in Sitka for a very long time and are more than willing to share their fishing advice. Ron told us his story of a woman that wanted him to take her out to learn how to use her down riggers to troll. She ended up getting caught on the bottom, as we did, but she lost her down rigger, pole, and part of her boat got damaged. Michael snipped us loose before that happened but we still donated about $100 worth of gear to the bottom of the ocean. I think he told us this story so we would drink our beer and not cry in it. LOL
We also put out another long line and left it out over night. Baited 20 hooks with chicken hearts. Yummy
Went and pulled it up today and all we got was 2 huge sun stars.:(  So we are have fajitas for dinner and will try our luck another day. We are not quitters! haha

Beautiful day for trolling

Waiting and more waiting

Trolling towards Mt Edgecome

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This is what we caught 2 of on our long line. Creepy!

Rock fish

This is the fish Michael pulled off of our long-line after it leaving in the water over night. Ugliest fish I've ever seen but Michael cleaned it and cooked it whole today for lunch. I was a bit skeptical but I have to admit it was pretty darn good. Very mild flavor with a halibut type texture. So now we know these are a keeper if it's the right size. The rock fish I have had in town, that I thought was gross, I think now it was just not fresh. We got fish and chips once at the Pub and I could smell it coming. Couldn't even put it in my mouth. lol
Here's to more fishing!

Way creepy eyeballs   They were popping out! Female, full of roe.  Scales are brutal to remove as were the fins. 

Our first long line fishing

So with our SHARC cards in hand we decided to try our hands at long line fishing. With this card we can put down 2 lines with 20 hooks on each. We can each catch 20 halibut a day with our cards as it is considered substance fishing. I like it! The idea is, our rope is leaded so it sinks with a weight attached at one end. We put an 8 pound anchor on ours.  We trolled our line out until we had all our hooks out, then a second weight goes down attached to another rope. Throw a buoy on the end of that one and when all your rope is out, throw out your buoy. Wala, long line fishing. We baited ours with herring and left it for about 4 hours. We went and found a nice cove to spend the afternoon and had lunch. We decided it would be a good idea to test us getting our Zodiak from the top of the boat to the water, then back. Actually wasn't as hard as I thought it might be, but then again, I was not on the heavy side. lol Honey you did a great job! It was a beautiful day! Our long line caught a  Rock fish which are pretty prehistoric looking. I don't care to eat them but Michael was a trooper and cleaned it up from which he got 2 small pieces of fish to eat. I did take one bite after he cooked it and have to say it was not horrible. Fresh is definitely better. So we put the line out again and left it over night. Michael took a friend with him to retrieve our line today and since I have not heard from him I'm guessing it did not go well. haha Try try again!

Hooks are baited out goes the long line, we just put one out this time

Down comes the Zodiak for a test run

Yay, it floats

With out the seat in

WEEEEEE!

Trying out the seat, we don't think we will both fit with the seat

Bye Honey! :)

Getting it back on board. Took it to the swim step then pulled it up and over. 

Success!

Our ugly rock fish. They have pointy fins that come out and if they poke you it really hurts!

Michael clubbed him to kill him then gutted him to make sure he was dead haha

I loved the reflection of the Mtns as we came back in to the harbor. Beautiful day!

Final Herring Run of the Season

Well they did it. It's over for the season. They took about 16,333 tons of herring this year. The females get taken for their roe  to send to Japan to make sushi I am told. The males are used for bait. Some people eat the fish, an average size is 180 grams. Some fishermen put spruce branches out in the water and the herring spawn in the branches so the eggs can be captured to eat. Not me! Yuck! After the processors are all done, all the boats that came from other places will go on to their next fishing adventure or home. Sitka will do a blessing of the fleet today. May everyone out there be safe.

Elementary school kids got a field trip to see the boats 

Spotter planes go up to scout out where the Herring are

On your mark

Get set

GO!

Nets out

Then try not to run each other over! haha

Herring Run 2014

Took the boat out to do a bit of sightseeing. We have been trying to plot different things to go see, and places to put our long lines. Always looking for a new pretty place to stop and picnic. We headed north to Hayward Straight, which is between Kruzof and Krestof islands. Passed by Guide Island, which I presume guides you to something, like Hayward Straight? Saw a neat cave on Kruzof Island. Went and checked out Degroff Bay. Stopped in Nakwasina Sound for lunch. Pretty windy out there so we snugged up in a small cove and dropped anchor. It was really nice when you were out of the wind. Last time we were there the water was like glass. Not this time. lol

 Herring season came early this year. On our way back we went to watch the boats all angling for the best spot to harvest Herring. They opened it at 1:30 pm on the dot! Closed at 3:10 on the dot.  Fish and Game actually do a down to the last second count down for the start and the finish. The 1st day they harvested about 4600 tons. They had to hold off for 2 days so the fish processors could catch up. Probably be about the same for the second run and the total they are going for is around 16,000 tons. It was fun to just sit and watch them all. Really have to make sure not to get in their way. The whales were out in full force chowing down as were the Sea Lions.

Guide Island

Cave on Kruzof

Into Krestof  Sound

Nakwasina Passage

Nice spot for lunch

View from our picnic

Herring Fishing

Alaska Airliner coming in to land

We have hiked to the top of the snow covered peak up Harbor Mountain 

The birds going crazy as they pump out fish scrap at the processing plant

Crazy!

White carpet of birds on the water

Zoom by Zodiac Boat arrives

So, we have been having a great time on our boat. Went up through Salsbury Sound, Kakul Narrows, into Fish Bay and checked out the Piper Island forest service cabin. Went through our first crazy spinning water that happens when the sound meets other passages plus wind and if you're not on top of things it can spin your boat around and point you the opposite direction. Scared the crap out of me the first time but Michael was on it and kept us on tract. To enjoy all of this beauty we needed one more item to help us out there. You really need a raft so you can get to some of the cabins. Remember when I shared what BOAT stands for? Bring Out Another Thousand? It's true. Introducing our new addition to Belly Ache.Our new Zoom by Zodiac. It will sit on top of the cabin of the boat. Take us to places we have never been before! Go where no man has gone! See what no man has seen!The last frontier!  Oh sorry got a bit carried away there. Any who, now I think we now have all the safety equipment we need to have safe boating adventures.
Look M,C, no Martini this time! Hahaha

Air for one side

Air for the other side

Floor going in

More floor

Last piece of floor

Tadaa! Look no Martini this time!

Good job honey!