July 14: Nets are back in the water

We did pretty well this tide (almost 8000 lbs), but because it was so ridiculously windy, it felt like 20,000. The common rollers were 4 1/2' to 5' (so estimated by John from Alaska Shore Fish of the DNR, who has much experience in bigger water - but maybe not trying to hold a boat still on it?) and the uncommon ones were more like 7'. And that was on the beach.

I think it was blowing more than 30 MPH - I just looked up the weather and it said 14 MPH with gusts to 30. Ha. Maybe 30 MPH, dropping to 14 when it's inhaling to give a really hard blow. We swamped the Ambi on both deliveries - filled 'er up with water - and the second time, with sand, too. I'm just grateful that the motor bits are up high - in the transom or on the transom. The Bathtub crew swamped once. Hugh got pretty sick today so we took him in and he slept most of the tide (now he's off on the town run, sealing and freezing the king, getting probably 25 gallons of gas for the skiffs and four-wheelers, and getting a new anchor line.) We're already thinking about how to give rest to crew - it's Josh's and Roger's turn to sleep out. David thought that if it's slow, we can let Chris come in too because he and Hugh usually take the tide off at the same time so they'll be able to catch up together. Sarah mentioned that Chris is our long-armed crew man. David said we could have MJ out of his boat. MJ? Mighty Jeff. I'll take him.

I believe Roger's arms are getting longer, so we may not need to rely as heavily on Chris. When it's windy like that, it's a real struggle to keep control of the boat under the net (or anyplace else). We're always pulling against something. Usually it's the people on the corks who have to keep the boat still while the people on the leads pick the fish. We had three people on the corks and their main job is to hold the crosspick open and prevent the wind from blowing the boat along down the net. Sometimes this is best accomplished by sitting on the corks. More than once, Roger found himself sliding toward the wrong side of the boat.

Chris and I both filled up our boots. Man, that was cold. I thought I had the dry suit mended enough. Naah. I found an enthusiastic leak in the seat of my dry suit which I mended last night. There, I thought. But it must not have worked because I took water down my backside from the spray that came into the boat when we weren't even swamping. Plus, I asked my zipping assistant not to close the zipper because it always splits for the last 8" or so and is really hard to unzip. So I figured I'd just leave it unzipped from where the zipper is injured (unless we were going to have to set in deeper water than Chris' waders. Then I'd get it zipped it all the way and be able to go deeper, almost waterproof. Didn't need to do that, though.) I didn't bank on taking buckets full of water down the open part of the zipper. But as we were swamping the second time, I was trying to hold the bow into the waves and wind, but the waves just laughed at us and filled up the boat, crashing over my head and down my back. I found myself gasping and at first I thought I was panicking because of swamping, but then I realized it was just because that water was so cold as it was washing down my body to settle into my boots.

I mentioned an anchor line earlier. We had a 1" soft line - sort of braided, but soft and easy to tie. We were filled with water and in addition to bailing, all I could think of was to get pulled out of the surf. That is one of the many ways the Brad and Tony - the drivers of the Gehl and deuce and a half help us. Horsepower. So we used the anchor line as a tow line... and broke it. Thinking it was just a weak spot on the line, we tied what was left of it and tried again... and broke it again. Brad hauled out his towing straps. This time they didn't break, and neither did the chain through the bow of the Ambi, but the truck couldn't pull it far. That water is heavy. But it was far enough to actually get ahead of the waves. I do wish for a tender that we could deliver to on the water. We'd have been beaten up out there too, but at least not beaten up and swamped.

When we're swamping, there's nothing to do but bail. Try to get out of the incoming water, and keep bailing. With as big a bucket as you can find. And don't give up even if more water comes in than we're bailing out. Evan, Roger, Sarah, and Chris were tireless bailers. Well, maybe not "tireless," but unceasing despite developing jelly-arms. It was a very long and exhausting tide.

We tried to push the Ambi back in the water after we de-swamped it using the propane/ boom truck. The shifting knob that shifts between 2 wd, 4 wd and 4 wd low range was just flopping around. It felt like it had become detached. I was told that the transfer case is broken. I think that puts the propane truck out of service for the season.

However, the ranger is back in service. David suggested not bringing it down the beach because we're in for another 25'+ tide, with a strong onshore wind behind it. Good call. So the four-wheelers are here and parked up high. Trucks and two of the rangers are off the beach on the wide spot of the access road.

In other equipment news, the Ambi's outboard stopped spitting out water, making us think that it might not be cooling properly now. (Though as cold as it is, it could probably run for half an hour without the water cooling it, but that's not a mechanic talking. And actually, my inner mechanic shuddered as I wrote that.) So in the midst of all this weather, we had to take the cowling off and try to unclog the tube. Chris did that with Sarah's help and a wire. I think it may have suffered somewhat but not irreparably during the second swamp.

Fishing was extended so we have two more tides of fishing without pulling our nets. Rhett might not get his birthday cake on his actual birthday. Or, maybe the wind will slow down. A nice 15 MPH SW breeze would be perfect.

Time to nap till 1:30 am to go back out at 2 am for the flood pick.

Trevor came back today. I guess the Italian Leprechaun is out of the water. He goes next Tuesday when Josh goes (Josh has to manage some issues related to his able-bodied seaman internship. I wish Trevor would stay and go to Katmai with us...). Sarah goes on Sunday (she had only three weeks from her job). Then we'll be down to 8.