What glorious weather! This has been a summer to remember. Sitka remained beautiful, fish were plenteous, and prices were ok. This is the stuff I need to remember when everything is going wrong, rain is running down my neck, everything stinks, and there are no fish in the hold.
In my last post Em and Todd had just arrived to help us out for a week, and as always, they were more than welcome. We got them aboard and immediately went to the cannery to unload – nothing like the sight of lots of fish being offloaded to inspire the help! We then headed out for Biorka Island, where we had been into a good run of Coho offshore. It was later in the evening when we arrived at Simmons Bay to anchor for the night, so we didn’t drop any gear. A nice quiet evening at anchor let us all work out the details of 4 adults living in a space that is comfortable for 2, but a bit tight for more. I awoke at about 1 am to the pitching motion of waves and wind – the wind had shifted to blow right in the mouth of the harbor, and we were bobbing up and down in a manner that makes sleep really challenging. There was not much chance of dragging anchor, so we slept fitfully till it was light at about 3:45. Hot water and instant coffee from Korea mixed with instant Starbucks espresso, and we were good to go. We headed out to set gear and work our way out past Biorka Reef to the main drag. Didn’t take too long and the lines were obviously loaded. It helps keep seasickness at bay to be active outside, so I put Todd in the pit with me and had him start pulling gear to see what we had. The first was a nice king – too bad we can’t keep them now… next one was a king …. and the next, next, next…! Todd’s first 6 fish were nice kings that he carefully released per the rules, hoping they will survive. There were a few coho on the line, but the kings kept coming until we rounded the reef and finally got into the schooled silvers. We pulled fish steadily all day on a beautiful sea until late afternoon, when a snotty northwest breeze started making it like work to fish and we headed in Biorka Channel towards Goddard Hot Springs for the evening. We kept our lines in the water till well in the channel, and began to pull. They were still loaded, every hook having a nice coho. A converted fishing boat being used as a vacation craft passed close off our starboard side as I pulled in fish after fish. Five pairs of binoculars were trained on us as we worked to take care of the catch. Shortly thereafter, they were all throwing fishing lines in the water in a hopeful manner. Too bad the fish were actually caught a couple of miles away…! 
We anchored in Hot Springs bay, and the kids unlashed the dinghy for a trip ashore. Lovie and I have anchored here several times, and something always came up that we didn’t get to the springs. This time, we sent a scouting party while we cooked up a nice sea bass with all the trimmings. They returned with glowing reports, so Mom and I headed for shore in the new little inflatable. We have only had showers at the Eliason harbor facility this month, and those have been spread out over several day intervals – the little covered hot tub with its stupendous view and lovely hot water was a welcome relaxation! We rowed back to the boat, cleaner and a bit more relaxed. Anyone who has worked and lived on a fishing boat can vouch for the fact that there is a residual tension in living, and a soreness in every muscle most of the time. A hot spring sure helps tame that down a bit!
The days went on, and we followed through on a tradition we started last year – we rented a Forest Service cabin, this time at Brent’s Beach on Kruzof Island, and invited Lois and Jake to meet us for a night. We had the cabin 2 nights, but got to the mooring buoy a bit late in the evening the first night before J&L arrived. We could barely see the cabin, nestled back in the thick woods, and I was a bit nervous about going ashore to an unfamiliar place with no heavy firepower in case of bears, so we stayed aboard the boat for the night. I awoke as usual just at daybreak and went out on deck to check the water. Looking at the shore, I spotted a large brown bear walking along the edge of the beach, so I awoke everyone to watch. He ambled along until he came to the trail up to the cabin, and turned and went right up to it. A few minutes later, he came back to the beach, and sauntered along nosing about as if he owned the place, which as far as we were concerned, he did. I thought it was not too big a bear, but later compared his height to the kids as they walked along his tracks, and his head was about shoulder height on Goldilocks – I mean Em.
Jake came with Lois and Trixie and lots of ammo, so we weren’t too worried that evening – had hot dogs and lots of good eats around the fire. Mom and I rowed back out and slept on the boat – brave, aren’t we! Once again, Jake shot off some huge fireworks he gets to do with his pyrotechnic license, so we had a great show from the boat. Echoes off surrounding little islands faded away slowly, and so did I. Sleep is good.
The next day, we decided to stay in tourist mode and explore a bit. We went north thru a small passage, viewed some spectacular little coves and protected spots, and headed up Krestof Sound to Nakwasina Passage, with the intention of heading down Olga Strait back to Sitka in time for the crew to catch their flight on Friday.
At about slack high tide, we arrived at the site of the wrecked tug that graces the shore of the entry to Olga Strait. Pictures were in order as tourists, so I motored over close to the wreck to get the best view. I put the transmission in neutral to drift, and when I put it back in gear, nothing happened. I tried reverse, forward, more throttle, but nothing! It was obvious something was badly wrong, but assessing the facts, I didn’t panic – tide was slack(and a very small tide at that), we were not yet drifting into the Straits, and a sailboat under power was heading in our direction from the North. I contacted the sailors, a nice couple from Victoria, BC, and they agreed to pull us around the corner to good anchorage in Nakwasina for us to assess the problem. Gave them a nice fresh coho for their kindness, and all seemed well. I worried that the prop nut had come loose enough for the key to spin, and worried that the prop would drop off and be lost (a couple of grand!) if I kept turning the shaft, so we shut down and I got out the wetsuit. Now I never have been a diver, just some light snorkeling, and the thought of going under my boat in an open ocean really is up there on the freaky list for me. There’s something about the green fading to a dark, dark black that gets to me, and especially the thought of getting hung up or snagged on something… Oh well, enough. Wetsuit on. What a chore! I knew I probably weighed more than I did when I bought it 12 years ago, but OUCH, this is tough! I finally worked the second leg in to my knee, knowing I would not have any leg hairs left for weeks, when it dawned on me – we had stored the suit inside out, and the rubber part was supposed to be on the outside!! Hmm, sure goes on easier the right way.
Em got in the dinghy as my support crew, Lovie manned the radio and lookout for passing boats that could tow us back to Sitka, and Todd was the gopher. Under I went, and after a couple of tries, was finally able to get comfortable enough to ascertain that the prop nut was securely fastened with a cotter pin, so was in no danger of losing the prop. I held the drive shaft, and with one hand was able to turn the big bronze prop freely either direction. This video taken by Todd with his iPhone suspended shows me turning the prop as the tide rushes by… click to view -- Not Going Anywhere! Immediate reaction – the bronze key that ties shaft to prop has sheared. No way to fix this one, so tow it is.
We saw the TAVA, a 38-42 footer that had been out for a week dingle-barring for black cod, loaded down and headed for Sitka. A call on the VHF, and Neil the skipper came right over to our aid. We had a tow line rigged and ready, pulled the anchor, and 2 hours later were tied up to the transient dock next to the grid to wait for a chance to get on and check things out. I contacted the prop shop, ordered a new bronze key and spacer bearing – this was Thursday, and it wouldn’t be in on the plane till Monday. Luckily the tides were getting bigger, with plenty of water to work the grid for a week yet. Now, sit at the dock and wait. I can do that for a while – Lovie Really does not do it well!! But, no choice. We did lots of cleaning and thinking, and made some decisions for the year. More on that in the next episode… While we waited, I filmed this little bit -- this is what I think of when I dive! – click to view: Tranquility in Sitka Harbor
The grid trip worked perfectly – Kirk fired up the Jager and side-towed us into place – my parts came in, I pulled the prop and found the culprit key sheared, replaced it, tightened it as tight as it would go, and we floated free, under our own power again.
Two years ago when we replaced the engine, I had to get a different sized prop. The one we found was great, except it was for a 1-3/4 diameter shaft, and True North has a 1-1/2 inch diameter shaft. They make a tapered adapter to deal with this – in nylon or bronze. The nylon is about a quarter the price of the bronze, and happened to be in stock when I needed it, so I went with it. Installing the prop, I was unable to get the cotter pin to align, so backed off tension ever so slightly to get it in – retrospectively, big mistake. This allowed the prop to slowly work the nylon to failure, putting shock loads on the key every time we put it in gear. We were extremely lucky it failed where and when it did – could have been in a lot worse situation, but we try not to think about that. Just think ahead, and prepare for every possibility, because as Steve once said – if it hasn’t happened to you yet, it will, if you fish.
Ah… Fish On!
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