Homeward Bound

We headed back to Dutch Harbor and had to do about 8 hours of cargo, mostly solo while the remainder of the crew tended to other duties. I worked on the barge in 35 degree snow flurries (with 15-20 knot gusts) with one other guy from the docks while the cook and 2nd mate hit up the grocery store, and the everyone else took the boat to the fuel dock. All said and done, we were back underway that night with $2500 worth of food and an extra 45,000 gallons of fuel to get us home. I logged a 8.5 hour cargo day and was pooped by the time we pulled in our lines.

Cold day of cargo in Dutch

We offloaded about 40 or so containers and brought on about 30 40' reefers full of fish. These reefers are packed onboard and then all plugged into one or more Generators, which is simply a 40' container that has been modified to hold 2 diesel motors, set up as generators and then a large 1000 gallon fuel tank is lashed to the top of that to keep them fed. If the "gen-sets" die, the fish might spoil and some big money is lost.

All lashed down, we made tow, pulled away and headed out and crossed over to the southern part of the Aleutians. We then headed up towards Kodiak island where we decided to pass on the southeast side. The weather report indicated that we were going to have an awesome week, so the captain changed our route in an attempt to get us into the Gulf of Alaska sooner, saving at least a day off of our transit. We tucked into a bay on Sunday night to do a last minute barge check before heading across. Once into the gulf, it's too dangerous to do a barge check, so we have to check the gen-sets prior to heading across and again once we reach the other side. Climbing up the pigeon holes on the side of the barge can be a thrill on flat water, let alone on bumpy seas. The barge is light right now, so it has an additional 6' or more of water line showing, making the climb even higher. We don't use harnesses or anything, so you have to make sure that you have a good grip and that your foot is in the hole before moving to the next one. PFD's are worn, but if you fall into the water, there's a really good chance that you won't come back. The water temp, and the fact that that boat is tethered to the barge makes for a difficult man-overboard recovery. The boat can't maneuver fast enough with a barge in tow, and by the time the crew breaks tow and finds you, it's probably about a 45 minute time period. So we grasp those pigeon holes really well when climbing to and from the barge.

Pigeon holes

We are almost smack dab in the middle of the Gulf right now, heading on a constant course towards Canadian waters. Once we enter the inland waters, it will be a beautiful cruise through the tight, forested waterways as we meander back into the US. I'm looking forward to getting some good workouts in on ck for the last few days since its sometimes hard to get out on deck when water is sloshing up on the sides. I worked out last night for the first time in probably 2 weeks, but I've done plenty of "cargo exercises" in the meantime. I've added a few pounds intentionally, trying to fill out a little. I feel like I've been too skinny, for too long and I'd rather have a little extra something that could potentially turn into muscle should I lift a little here and there.

The Gulf of Alaska

The Nav software shows us arriving in Seattle in about 5 days, meaning Saturday night or Sunday morning (Mother's day) and I think that would make for a great Mother's Day gift to call home and say that I'm "feet dry". We could still encounter some funky tides that could slow our pace, but we might hit some in our favor as well... Time will tell. Right now, we are averaging almost 10 knots across open water, which is amazing and the winds are at our stern, helping matters tremendously. The boat is full of fuel and riding quite nice and the crew is all stoked to be heading home. We had prime rib, sautéed shrimp, mashed potatoes, salad and cherry pie for dinner last night. It seems like we are pulling out all the stops and trying to eat up everything good that's left onboard. No holds barred on the menu and it jibes well with my extra eating plan. We have had a pie each day since we left Dutch and I have made blueberry muffins and the chief mate has made cherry cheesecake and cookies. No shortness of fat-making scenarios on this trip!

 

Its 01:35 and I must get ready for watch... Which means: get dressed, drink coffee, brush teeth, flashlight in one pocket, knife in other pocket. Ready. No need to eat breakfast since we just eat whenever we are hungry, on watch or not.

 

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