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Monday, July 21, 2014

Just another day in paradise

The day was over at this point. Work had been done and we were all happy about it. Nothing left to do but celebrate the days success. Parker, Finn, and I jump off the barge and onto the Amber Anne with Steven, Hans, and John. We drive to Mite island just outside the cove and anchor up.

 

 
Beers come out, soon followed by shenanigans. It first starts with roman candles. Innocent you know? But before you know it we've skipped bottle rockets altogether and escalated to them big f***ers and then onto them 'how is this even legal' f***ers. It's 11'o'clock and not even full dark yet, but here we all are lightin' off these massive explosions in the sky.

 

 

 
And then we find out (by accident of course) that if you throw the fireworks on top of the water they just float there and explode on top!! And then we were entertained by that.

 

 
But oh my God the BOOM these things made. First you'd get the initial boom as it was launched from the tube and the rattling metal of the table under the tube. Then, 4 seconds later, there was the shell exploding with bursting color and you could feel it shake the boat. But that wasn't the good part. After that you could follow the sounds of the blast. It went into Mite cove and it'd take 3 seconds before you'd here the echo come back at you and a full 5 seconds after that before you hear the echo come back from the other side of the straight. And then you can follow that echo forever down the straight. Seriously, for 30 plus seconds you hear this booming echo rolling down the straight and you know 10 miles down the way in Pelican they're just like 'them f***ers are shootin' off fireworks again'

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There are a few moments in your life where you reach a completely blissful state. Each time it always comes around just a lil' differently than the last. Like you've been working all day. Seriously, all day. You were up at 7am and it's now 1am. Your shoulder feels like it's about to fall out of its socket and your wrists are danglin' at the end of your arms. You need some vitamin I for your joints. Part of you wants to shower, but that's too much work. Another part wants to eat, but again that is too much work. Then Amber throws down a beer to each of us and you realize that's actually all you wanted. And we all sit there drinking in the rain. You can finally just lean back on a tote and you look up. But it's not really a look, nor is it a glance. You're not throwing your head back either, it's more like you lift your chin up just enough so that if you stop all effort your head just collapses backwards leaving you staring up. And of course your eyes are closed as you do this and with a huge sigh you can let the tension shed out the rest of your body. It feels like you're solid sitting there on that tote. Gravity has such a strong hold on you that you're now a permanent fixture of the deck. And then you open your eyes and just see dark above. Pure blackness and then the little drops of rain fading in and out of the deck lights. And it's just blissful. 

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I suppose people wonder what it is that I actually do. I'll explain it shortly. I work between two different boats and a barge. Deer Harbor II, Amber Anne, and RS40 (the barge). We are tenders. They are all in Mite cove in Southeastern Alaska and the trolling fisherman of the area come to Mite cove to meet up with us. We then take fish from the fisherman, sort them by weight and type of fish, pack them in totes of ice, and then give the fisherman back ice so they can go out and start fishing again. 


The RS40 (where I live) 

We also give them groceries, water, and fuel. Then once we are full (we're significantly bigger than they) we take the fish to the processing plant in Sitka. It sounds pretty simple, but I swear it ain't. And I swear it ain't easy either. But there's more to it than just the heavy lifting, hard work, and long hours you put in. There's way more. There's the incredible people you work with. Amber, Max, and Parker were my friends way before I even went on any adventures. And they're still my friends now. Some of the more incredible people I know in my life. I mean, most of you probably know anyways, I brag about Amber as my friend and my boss all the damn time. She's all tatted up but the sweetest soul on the whole planet. She works like a haus and cooks like a five star chef. And then there's just freakin' Alaska and the pure wildness that's what Alaska really is. Honestly the weather is pretty shitty, but when it's good, oh when it's good, it's jaw dropping. Seriously. Like when you take those once a year vacations to some incredible place, it's like that here all the damn time! 

Evolution of the day: 






Parker (right) and Amber (left)



And then there's still the little adventures we take in the skiff. To go to the beach or wherever. And it all just feels so earned. It feels like you really deserve to have something this beautiful around you all the time because you work your ass off for it. 

You all be happy,

Beacon

There's whisky in my coffee

Okay! I think I've got it!! It's never for sure, but I'm on the Deer Harbor II/RS40/Amber Anne. Yeah, they're three different boats (well one's a barge). But that's how it'll probably be as far as I can tell. Also, this is kind of gonna be a long post since it'll be a while before I can even post it...
 
Now the other day I was on the Amber Anne. Helping to drive it up from Bellingham to Ketchikan. I was about to get some shut eye (it was 2300 and I was to wake up 0100 to drive), when, from out of the blue, Steven got a text saying I was flying to Juneau the next day. And that was all the info we got. No idea why or what for, but I was going. So okay, I was headed to Juneau then. It was totally unexpected which made me even more excited and I had something to ponder on my graveyard driving shift. Then , around 0300, when the sun was coming up there was this perfect window. Just freakin' prefect. And the sun was shining directly over the mountains to the East and into a small rain cloud to the West in order to create this vibrant 3am sunrise double rainbow. Now if that doesn't sound cool to you I don't know what would 'cause it was awesome. And this was the only time in my life where I have seen, up close, the end of a rainbow. 

 
3am sunrise double rainbow

 
And so my shift ended at like 0600. I wasn't paying a lot of attention to how close we were to Ketchikan because I was freakin' tired. So the skipper took my place at 0600 and I went down to bed. At 0615 Steven is waking me up. "Harry, get ready to dock, we're here." And I look at my watch and I'm like oh dear lord whyyyyyy. But we get all tied up and all is well. We still don't know when I'm headed to Juneau though and there're only 2 flights out per day. In order to make the first flight I would have to make the 0815 ferry so we were frantically trying to get word of when I needed to head out. We're sitting there just waiting for word. It's getting down to the line, and Bullet decides if we don't get word by 0800 it's not possible for me to make it there. So guess what happens. At exactly 0800 I get a text with a photo of my confirmation. Dammit, we don't know if I'll make it.... Everything whirls into gear instantly. Bullet is on the phone getting a cab here ASAP, Steven is helping me with my rain gear, I've got all my other shit, and we're all out the door instantly climbing the ladder up to the dock. 3 minutes later Bullet gives me $20 for the cab and the ferry and I'm gone with some hasty goodbyes and handshakes. I really enjoyed working with those two. Well then I'm speeding in a cab down all these side roads around the town to make it there in time. We're pulling up to the ferry terminal (if I miss this ferry I miss the flight) and the cabbie says "The gate is closed.... You better run." And run I did. I flew down that ramp and jumped on the back of that ferry the instant it started pulling away. A sprint finish. And then I'm on a plane headed to Juneau through Wrangell and Petersburg. I still had no clue what to do once I got to Juneau though and couldn't imagine why I was going there. But when I landed I got a text saying that I was to get on a float plane up to Pelican. Well alright, that's exciting. So I hang out and then jump on the float plane. I'd never been in one before and they are so neat. Those things are the coolest little planes to fly in too!

 

 

 

 
Coming into Pelican

 
A sweet ride and one new friend later I received some puzzling instructions. Because it sounded to me like my boss was coming to pick me up in a plane himself. But I just went with it. I hung out for 20 minutes in Pelican with my new friend when another plane flew in and sure enough it was my boss and some of his buds. So it feels like I'm a rock star being picked up in a float plane and flown over to the boat. And this wasn't a chartered flight either, so we were weavin' and bobbin' and having a good ol'time. It was an incredible experience. And then we got to the boat and I got to see all my friends that I hadn't seen since Alaska again! It was seriously grand because these are my people. I mean there is just a group of people that everyone belongs to ya' know? Not to sound like I'm stereotyping everyone, but generally there is a group of people that everyone is just similar to. And this is my group. Straight up. All these guys'n'gals do awesome things. They've hitchhiked cross country, traveled all over, been homeless, train hopped, and just lived life. They've just got it all right and they do it well. It's the way I like it. They're all tatted up and have piercings, but they are the nicest people you'll ever meet in your life as well as the hardest workers. I love these people so much. It's nice being able to shoot the shit on a level playing field where we can all talk about hitching or stealthing in cities or whatever. I love that so much. The boat I am working on is pretty sweet too!

 
The Deer Harbor II 

 
And so is the barge where I live.

 
Le barge (yeah we're pirates)

 
My bunk

 
And the view from the front deck is pretty rad.

 

 
Alaska is just an incredible place. It's a place where you work all damn day long and at the end of the day you and your buddies all pour a shot of whisky. Almost like a cheers to 'we made it through another day!'. It's the best sunsets I've ever seen in my life (and I've seen some good ones). It's where Amber comes on deck and asks us if we want coffee when we're too busy to go inside and she brings out coffee with the unmistakable taste of whisky as the creamer (actually surprised at how good coffee and whisky go together). And it's a place where you can fucking say fuck as much as you fucking want (sorry to offend anyone, but we all know I say fuck a lot anyways) because shit is fucking rough. There're whales in the sound and bears on the beaches. And damn it all, but it's just fucking cool.

 
(This picture does no justice)

 
Be happy y'all,

Beacon

P.S. The ship Amber Anne ran hard aground but it's okay and I wasn't on it.
And if anyone wants to mail me you can send it to:

Harry via Deer Harbor II
507 Katlian. Sitka, Alaska.
99835

I love letters :)


Thursday, July 3, 2014

I'm on a boat explicit explicit

Hell's yeah. I made it onto the boat. Not quite the boat I expected to be on, but there's some wheelin' and dealin' in the mix and we'll see where I end up if I end up anywhere at all (maybe I'll just be jumping around all summer). I'm finally here after that whole freakin' adventure. It took me all that, just to get to this boat. And you know what? It was incredible. I mean seriously, what a journey to get to the Amber Anne. And I didn't get to the boat to have the journey end. Oh no, stepping onto the boat with my fishing boots on was like stepping into a whole new adventure and a world so not like anything else that it's shocking.


So here is how it works. It seems to me that there is a tribute that must be paid to work on a boat. You basically have to show up early and do boat work for no pay. I don't know how that works, but it seems like you end up having to do that for every boat, no matter what, in order to work on it. And so right now I'm paying my tribute in order to move into the time where the boat makes money and I get paid. They provide food and housing for us while we do this, which is like pay for me, so it doesn't matter at all. My tribute involves everything about being a grown man let loose... I run around all day with blowtorches, pipe wrenches (the massive ones), huge tools, and mysterious engine liquids. It's what every guy dreams of I suppose. And it's beautiful. Just gorgeous. The blue of the water and the huge mountains. Waterfalls and whales. Everything up this way is on a much grander scale. And I love it. 

 
But how it's working out is I am on the Amber Anne writing this (it won't be posted until God knows when). I hopped on this boat with the skipper Bullet and two other deckhands, Steven and another kid (but he already quit). The owner is Hans though. Bullet and Steven brought the boat up from San Diego (I should of hopped on down there but there were some communication breakdowns) to Washington where Hans bought the boat. Bullet, Steven, and I worked on the boat there for three days and then ran 'er up through Canada and into Alaska. Just about 20 minutes ago I got word that I'm flying to Juneau in the morning. No reason why or what I'm doing there, but I'll fly from Ketchikan to Juneau randomly (we'll see what that's about). My speculation is that I'm getting onto the Deer Harbor II somehow (dunno where they're at right now). Which'll be awesome because I'll get to see my old friends! But I really have enjoyed working with Bullet and Steven. Now I'm sorry this post is so short guys, but this is basically just an update on where I am and what I'm doing. I work a lot so there isn't time to weave magical words into this blog right now. I'll add a ton of pictures, and maybe one night I'll really sit down and sacrifice a couple of my few hours of sleep to blog it out for y'all. But just know it's truly wild up here. These places are still untamed and I love the feeling of living in them. 

 
Bullet & Steven

 
 Amber Anne (since been changed from Croatian)

 
Workin'

 
Supplies and Steven

 
Driving a boat

 
Sunset around 2200

 
O' Canada 

 
Life's good :)

 
Be happy y'all,

Beacon