King Cove, Alaska

We stopped in King Cove, Alaska​ for some water and were able to walk around town for a bit. 

Exploring new places, even if for an hour, is one of my favorite things about the job. ​

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King Cove was interesting (as so many small Alaskan villages are). The town is basically a cannery. I'm sure people who live and work there would disagree so it maybe isn't a fair thing to say but, from an outsiders perspective the cannery was the town. ​

The docks were bustling with fishing boats and tenders - coming in for supplies and dropping of their catches. ​

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The cannery was a hive of activity. Forklifts moving totes around the dock, trucks driving around re-stocking supplies, ladies in rubber boots and hair nets stepping out for breaks.​

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There was a laundromat, a store, a large cafeteria all within a two minute walk from the dock contained within the cannery. From the dock you could also see the cannery barracks. 

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As a sailor, one of the nicest things about being in port for a bit is the ability to stretch your legs. Don't get me wrong there are ships out there where you can get plenty of steps in.  But, going for a walk in town?  Much better.  Walking to the grocery store with your shipmates?  The best. 

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Making them stop on the way back to the boat so you can snap pics of mossy mounds of net and line - hilarious.  What always cracks me up about taking pictures is that I first get made fun of...and then people ask me for copies of the photos!

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I know I've said it ten million times buuutt...I love Alaska. Just love it. It's wild and gorgeous. It makes you want to have adventures. It encourages exploration.  It pulls at you. It freshens. It's hard but resilient. Untamed. Friendly. Rugged. It's incomparable. 

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Even strange little canning towns make you want more.  

Currently :: The Getting Underway Edition

We've been sitting idle for a week while we waited out some nasty weather in the Gulf of Alaska. ​

Hoonah, Alaska

Hoonah, Alaska

 

It's hard to describe how sitting and taking it easy on a boat is much harder than being underway.  

Here's what I've been up to currently... 

 I've been coloring. I'm so glad I brought my 'adult coloring book' with me. I know it's a fad. I know it screams look at me I'm a yuppy hipster but, I've been grateful for it. I even walked to the hardware store and bought a 64 pack crayola crayon box (because how can you turn down the built in sharpener?!). Apparently, the hardware store is where you go for everything in remote Alaskan villages. 

I've been binge watching Game of Thrones. I was on season 1.5 and now I'm on season 4. Need I say more?  Maybe I need to say that the Red Wedding did shock me, I was sad, I now understand why my FB feed was flooded with Red Wedding gasps about two years ago... 

I've been Instagramming.  I find it perks me up a bit. Makes me look for the good and beautiful in my day. It allows me to share that with friends. Sure, sure we all pretty up our lives for the insta-love but, I know for myself it's not always a bad thing. 

I've been sitting here thinking about what else I'm up to currently and am having a hard time. How's that for mopey boat syndrome?

The bottom line is I'll be headed into the Gulf of Alaska on the final leg of this '8 day trip' *ahem* 'one month trip' and I'll be without Internet. I figured I'd stop by and let you know I'd be away! 

Here's to Fair Winds and Following Seas! 

An Instagram RoundUp

This post also could have been titled: An Alaskan LoveFest. 

I have quite a few readers who aren't social media addicts like myself so, I decided to do a little roundup of what's been recently posted to Instagram (and therefore Twitter). 

I was most recently in Dutch Harbor and then went through the Shumagin Islands - the weather was gorgeous -and my iPhone camera got a workout.  

Dutch Harbor

Dutch Harbor

Dutch Harbor can be stunning...it can also be miserable. We were lucky and got stunning.  

Fishing Gear Galore

Fishing Gear Galore

Dutch Harbor is a fishing vessel Mecca. I mean, you've seen deadliest catch right?  The show is obviously dramatized for television but it's got some reality in there too. Everywhere you go in town you'll see that fishing is king. Take this pile of fishing nets....located in front of the Safeway parking lot....

Dutch Harbor

Dutch Harbor

Just another example of stunning.  

Boat Sports

Boat Sports

While in Dutch we had a little downtime. The Captain used that time for training exercises so we got a fair amount of 'stick time'. Doing touch and go's off the barge, simulating breaking tow, twisting and, walking.  It was a total blast. 

Shumagin Islands

Shumagin Islands

Leaving Dutch we were into the Shumagin Islands in about two days. We got a mixture of weather but even the drizzle was great because we had endless rainbows. The valleys had rainbows that just sat there and at sea we had a couple full arcs. Nothing beats a rainbow. 

Iliasik Pass

Iliasik Pass

Iliasik Pass is one of the tighter places through the Shumagins. By the time we got here it was sunny with a fresh breeze. It was whale watching time. Spout after spout. Tail after Tail.  

Bathed In Sun. 

Bathed In Sun. 

The sun just makes everything better. Even just a photo of a barge.  

Alaska Love Forever.

#westcoastbestcoast

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Sometimes when I use the hashtag #westcoastbestcoast I actually feel a little guilty. Mostly I feel guilty because I love Maine and I'm technically not from the West Coast. That being said the majority of my family lives on the West Coast... More importantly I just spent about ten days in port on the West Coast and it didn't rain at all.  Therefore it earned my undying gratitude and the hashtag #westcoastbestcoast. That's fair, right?

Sayonara Japan

outbound yokohama

I'm gonna tell you this and you're almost not going to believe me.  I went in and out of Yokohama, Japan which is Tokyo's port - in fact I went in and out of Yokohama six times - and I never went ashore!

outbound yokohama

When I tell people I work on cargo ships they imagine long exotic port stays but, on a containership the reality is we are in and out within hours.  If I want to prep the bridge for the next leg of they voyage, get a bite to eat and grab some zzz's then there is no shore leave for me.

sunlight chartroom

Here's the kicker.  I'm kind of an old biddie when it comes to being tired.  I hate it.

Four years ago I would have been pedal to the metal.  No sleep in 24 hours - No problem.  That is majorly not the case anymore.  If I get behind in sleep at the beginning of the voyage it takes me days to catch back up and feel like a functioning human.

yokohama sunset

I'll have to be content with sunlight outbound transits.  I'll guard my sleep and document sunsets thank you very much.