June 22: Slow, hot day

The thermometer said it was in the low 70s outside (in the shade) and in the high 70s inside. What a surprise!

We are now in the waiting phase of fishing. Harry tells us that the test catches of fish coming through False Pass are building, but that the water is colder than it has been in nearly 30 years. I've heard the idea that the cold winter and late thaw is the reason that the beach is so treacherous: the ice is much later in melting so the ground under the gravel remains soggy. Harry says that he is hearing from the scientists that the cold water is causing the fish to behave in unusual ways. As a setnetter who fishes near the shore, I hope that means they will favor the beach, where the water will be warmer. But honestly, as a setnetter whose net will be in roughly the same spot no matter what the fish do, I just wait and find out what the fish do. We have to be ready, though.

It becomes tiring to get out to fish the flood of every tide as well as the ebb. We start to get ready about 3 hours before high water instead of at or after high water like some crews do (and like we used to before we had skiffs and knew how to use them). Because of the way we fish now, though, with the leadlines tied down creating a basket, if we don't clear the nets before the tide turns, we're wasting whatever has been caught in the basket. When we were getting only 5 or fewer fish in a tide, I felt OK about missing those floods. Usually night tides are slow and usually tides early in the season are slow. Any other tide during the season, though, and I want us to be out there are ready for the arrival of a mass of salmon. When we have masses of salmon every tide, we get tired, but the excitement and activity of handling all those salmon contribute to our energy. It takes a more disciplined type of strength to wait out a slowly building season. We cannot let a disappointing showing on the previous tide affect how we approach the next one, because they may arrive on the next one.

Today, though, we spent much of the time relaxing. I cleaned my cabin, the crew organized the tools in the crew cabin, sun bathing occurred. I consulted with the engineer-minded crew members about how to reduce our misery when the fish do hit and the tides are high enough to soak the trough in front of the stairs, creating a skating rink of mud. They decided to carry up tubs of gravel from farther down the beach to create a gravel path and landing. It looks good.

We had visitors - the parents of Pat Patterson, my oldest friend who found the steak-sized agate. His dad, Pat Sr. told me that he has been working since he was five. He lived with his family up the Kvichak river. At five, his dad, an Irishman, told him that he needed to start working around the place and his job would be to load up the wood baskets. He said that after a couple of days, he didn't want to do it any more so he told his dad that he was going to quit. "Well, OK," said his dad, "But you should know that you have to work to eat." Pat didn't take much notice of that piece of advice until that night at dinner when he came to the table and saw that no place was set for him. When he asked, his father repeated that he has to work to be able to eat. Pat went to bed hungry that night and the next morning, he had all the wood packed before his dad woke up. "I see you're catching on," his dad commented. He continues to work hard into his 80s.

We were able to pick up the fixed power roller today - the replacement bolts that hold the pull cord mechanism to the side of the powerpack were too long and were interfering with the flywheel. Roy shortened the bolts for us and put us back in business. I do understand his frustration. He said, "When I gave it to you it was running like a watch, and just a day and a half later, you bring it back to me, broken." He is trying to keep the whole plant running, as well as the trucks and Gehl forklifts that pick up our fish, a growing number of boats, and now, a growing number of tenders. Even though he is part mechanic, part magician, it's an enormously big job, even for him.

So the other thing I had the chance to do today was bake him a batch of cookies - and not just any cookies. These are healthy cookies - with white beans as the main ingredient, followed by oatmeal, and relatively small amounts of butter (which I think I'll try replacing with peanut butter in the next batch), white flour, and sugar. He told me that he gets up just before he is expected to start his work day, skipping breakfast and having a bagel at 10 o'clock mug-up. That's a high glycemic, low nutrition way to start the day, so I am trying to provide an alternative. I don't know how to fix a power roller, but I do know how to bake and I have an idea of what makes food nourishing.

On a similar note, another friend up here has been diagnosed recently with kidney disease and advised to avoid salts, and reduce protein and carbohydrates. The institutional food available to him is pretty much an anti-kidney diet. I'd like to find something I can make for him - or at least ideas that he can implement in this setting. If anyone has advice in this regard, I'd be happy to hear it.

Tomorrow: the Blessing of the Fleet, with Harry giving the blessing.