June 12: Rich in opportunities to find solutions

Roger, Jeff, and I went through the nets this morning at 6 and came up... empty. Before getting ready, I always go the the edge of the cliff to see how the world looks there. This morning, I got to see this juvenile eagle perched on the top of the stairs. That aluminum pipe it is perched on is about 5" in diameter.

It seemed pretty astounding and I thought it might show how huge they are. I went back to get my camera and of course, as I came closer, the eagle started to shift and prepared to take off.

I hoped I could catch it beginning to take off; the wing span is greater than the width of the stairs. But it flew downward and I wasn't fast enough. As I got the the edge of the cliff, though, I glanced over and saw this one.

Instead of going back to bed after finishing the tide, we went right into town to try to get the Ambi ready to launch. David, Jake, and AJ were planning to get it launched last night at midnight when the tide would be right again, but the processor's sleepers don't appreciate our noisy efforts during their sleep time, so we cancelled until today, putting the task on my crew's time. We were pretty sure we'd get it in the water today, though accepted that we might have to pull it right out again if it lost power as it did at the end of last season.

Roy and Jerry had heroically and competently cleaned up the old steering cable and installed it. Between that and the other changes in the steering equipment, the outboard does turn much more easily than it did at the end of last season... or at the beginning of last season. After we arrived this morning, Roy also did quite a bit of work chasing water out of the engine, changing the filters and cleaning out hoses. I got an excellent education in fuel management today. We really do have to pitch ourselves against the onslaught of rain and tide that seeks its way... everywhere, to not let it find its way into our fuel containers and then into our gas-powered devices. Those devices, though, deserve credit for valor. When Jeff and Roger siphoned the fuel from the fuel tank they found much dirt and water. This would have been sucked into, and possibly past, the filters. The internal and external filters were both filled with water. The o-ring on the connector that attaches to the gas tank was broken, the bulb on the fuel line did not maintain pressure, and the fuel pumps were pitted and corroded internally, preventing proper functioning of the valves... and yet, the engine started and ran. It didn't sound great, but it sounded game. This is not to say that those problems were not significant, but that the engine is valiant. It makes me think of the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, "It's just a flesh wound!"

It took until 2:30 today before we finally resigned our hope of getting in the water today, coinciding with the diagnosis of the malfunctioning fuel pumps. No one in town carries these parts - they must be orders and mailed in. Groan. But wait! Rohan was leaving at 7:30 pm that very same day... and it was only 3:30 in Seattle then. Maybe he has time to get the replacement parts. When I called, Sarah was taking him to the airport, but I asked anyway. Rohan tried to find a way to do it, but Sarah, much more reasonable and realistic than either Rohan or me, declared us both insane and continued straight to the airport.

Harry is coming in on Saturday afternoon, so I called him, having already sent him a request to look for the Yamaha parts in Anchorage. He is such a great brother. He found the Honda fuel pumps at Alaska Mining and Diving Supply - and his son will pick them up on Friday so they can bring them to King Salmon on Saturday. The Yamaha parts were harder - as Roy predicted. Harry gave me some leads to call and I ended up talking to a really helpful guy at Dewey's Cook Inlet in Anchorage. As we talked, he looked up the parts - they had two of the three we needed in stock; the third would have to be ordered. He was looking for it as we talked and told me that there is one in the United States, hurrying me off the phone so he could call them and get it coming. Then he called me back to say it would be in on Saturday. I mentioned that Harry is flying out of Anchorage into Naknek at 4 on Saturday, so maybe he could get it. Here is another great example of Steve's outstanding customer service: he said, "We'll probably have find a place to meet because we're closed then." I think this is specific to Alaska. People think more about how to help and how to accomplish a goal than about whether it's past quitting time and I really appreciate that.

I am not positive that the shipment will arrive in time for Harry to bring it, but even if it doesn't, I believe Steve will expedite it out to us, so I am much relieved.

And I think I forgot to mention that Jake made a friend on the plane yesterday. The friend's name is David Duke, from Hawaii. He is a PE teacher for elementary kids and he just decided to come to Alaska for the summer to see about working on a fishing boat. Jake liked him... and Jake is a good judge of character, so we offered David a place to stay and to help him find a deckhand job. To get started, we bummed some paper from Pen Air and Carbon (who came by to visit and help get Harry's boat prepped for painting) helped him create some signs, advising him on what to write and showing him where to put them up. When we got back to AGS, I introduced David to one of the captains I know, asking if he knew of anyone looking for a deckhand. He did, and he pointed David in the right direction so that after being in town for a few hours, David secured a deckhand job on a good boat with a good (honest, fair, competent, and nice) captain who is also local. David lucked out (and I think maybe Ralph did too) and I was really glad for them both.

We also had good news about the ranger. It is ready and doesn't seem to have any kind of problem with the clutch. Yay!

Tomorrow, Rohan arrives and we will have a little bonfire with Phil and Tom, and some of their friends, along with my delightful crew that is almost all here, except for missing Sarah - who will be here soon.