June 30: Rough weather with photos

More brevity.

We are about to go out again for the ebb pick. It looks like we have moved into around-the-clock fishing... just when the weather really picked up. We have a big boat for a skiff - 21' long and a 10' beam with a wide flare. And in this weather, we have to be careful how we load our fish and we have to watch how much water we're taking on. Roger had to stop picking to go bail for the last half of the net and in the Bathtub, they had a full time bailer. The seas are very high. It looked like at least 6' from trough to crest, maybe more. I think the wind is blowing at least 30.

Sarah took this series of photos. Here is Josh holding the Bathtub while they are in shore. They probably needed to get a can of gas. Alex once called him A Beast because he does seem to have inhuman strength and what seems to be an inexhaustible willingness to work... and patience. It isn't as rough onshore as it is out in deeper water because the wind is blowing off shore and near the beach here we are in the lee of the cliff. However, it is still plenty rough so that we throw our anchor when we're coming in to deliver. If you squint, you can see that in the background.

This photo shows the Ambi either trying to stay on the beach to deliver or trying to get off the beach after delivery. Even though the cliff is somewhat protective, the wind is still strong and when it catches that big bow, it is very hard for us puny people to control this boat. And we can't just jump in, start the outboard and go because when the wave picks up the bow like it is doing in this photo, it pushes down the stern, which means it drives the outboard into the mud and sand (if we're lucky) or the rocks (if we're not). I knocked a blade clear off one prop and I didn't even feel it happen. So we try to get out in deep water before we lower the outboard, but by then, we are hopelessly out of control of where the bow is.

Some years, the fish come all on the flood or all on the ebb. It's nice to have them spread out a bit, it's easier when they're on the flood (like this year), and it's really hard when they're all on the ebb. Because they've been mostly flood fish so far, we'll come in for about an hour at high water to warm up, especially when the water is rough, the weather is cold, and we don't see fish coming into the net. We don't usually want to take the risk of beaching either of the boats we use to go through the nets, so we'll often use the Grayling as a shore runner. The yellow figure is Josh, having learned how to take a wave (let it hit The Hat), with Sarah, David, and Jeff too.

Here they are again, coming up to us to pick us up. David really does handle the skiffs well. I sort of poke along... driving like an old lady. I can't always afford to do that, though, because of one of the ways that driving a skiff is different from driving a car. In a car, when it's a dicey situation, it's usually a good idea to slow down or even stop. The road won't come up to move you. In a boat, that strategy isn't as reliable because when you slow down, the current or the wind may come up and move you and put you right where you didn't want to be and what you were slowing down to avoid. You might wonder how this is so clear to me. Ahem.

We went back out for another pick. I think Sarah's photo of Jeff trying to protect himself from the wind and rain gives an idea of our conditions. It was cold and wet. It has been for a few days. My water barrel is back in business. And I'm not sure how, but my life jacket, which I wear inside my waders and under my closed raincoat, remains wet.

At the end of the tide, we had quite a bit of fish in the Bathtub and in the Ambi. So when my crew finished with our nets (in alarmingly shallow water), Luka and Rohan jumped out to pick out the strikes that hit after we went through. Roger and I planned to push the Ambi in as far as we could and then go for the ranger, but that wasn't very far because of the powerful wind that was pushing against us and the 2000 lbs of salmon in the boat. So we made it to our inside buoy and went for the rangers. They were still parked as we had left them the night before when Josh tried to go vertical on the cliff with the Friendly Ranger. David and Josh were coming in from the other boat at the same time and together we got the Friendly Ranger down and in service. Here is Josh driving it out with David and Roger in the box.

And this is them towing the Bathtub toward the Ambi. I think they had to take two trips. I stayed in shore and tried to get our wash down system back up and running. I plugged in the bilge pump to a generator and... nothing. So I walked back to the lake, trying to listen to the water pipe on the way and couldn't hear anything for the pounding of rain on my rain hood. Once out there, I found the bilge pump completely silent. So for now, we don't have a wash down.

Our plans for Alex's anniversary were partially fulfilled - we lit our candles and so did many other people across the country and even some in other parts of the world. Many of us picked our disfavored quality to befriend. But we couldn't light the fireworks, send up the sky lanterns, or send out his ashes in little paper boats with sparklers attached because of the weather. We will do that when it calms down.

We also have some photos that we'll post later when we have the time, camera, and computer all in one place at the same time. But meanwhile, just know that except for assorted aches and pains, bruised tailbones, and one missing fingernail, all is well. We are fishing hard, and taking good care of each other and the fish. This is a wonderful crew. I am so grateful for them.