Captain’s Log: Fishing in Sand Point, Alaska!!

July 11-13

Hi All,

Yep….went the easy route for fishing…..was given salmon by fisherman….wow….one undersized King from the Trident seafood plant…only 6-lbs….then a King salmon fillet that was ginormous from a fisherman!!! We have salmon now for a while….all Kings so still need to catch that elusive Sockeye!!!

We did leave Volcano Bay early on Wednesday July 11…got up around 5:30am….had a cup of coffee, went to retrieve the crab pot, cleaned crab, raised dinghy, raised anchor and away by 7am….yep, got the drill down:))) And, it was mainly sunny and excellent trawler weather…..almost flat calm!!! Kathy has now picked crab for 2 solid days….she did say no mas but I don’t believe her yet:)))

And more whales…..2 Fin whales eating on the surface….ODG are they big….and 3 humpys complete with big tail dives…..excellent!!

Whale count on passage: 5 total: 3 humpbacks, 2 Fin
Total Whale Count since Japan: 75; 28 Humpbacks, 33 Orcas; 3 Sperms, 2 Blue, 6 Fin, 3 Unknown
Total Bear count: 22 Grizzlies…..I guess you call them Brown bears close to shore but Grizzlies to me!!

Sand Point is another iconic fishing town along the Alaskan Penninsula: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Point,_Alaska

“Sand Point was founded by a San Francisco fishing company in 1898 as a cod fishing station and trading post. Aleuts and Scandinavians were among the early residents. Gold mining was briefly a part of the economy during the early 1900s. Fishing remains an important industry, as Sand Point is home to one of the largest fishing fleets in the Aleutian Chain.

Almost half the inhabitants are of Aleut descent – mainly from the Qagan Tayagungin tribe, and support themselves by fishing and fish processing. There is a cold storage and fish-processing plant owned and operated by Trident Seafoods and Peter Pan has a support facility. There is an airport with a 5,200 feet (1,600 m) paved runway and daily flights (weather permitting) to Anchorage, 575 nautical miles (1,100 km) to the northeast.

The town is above the treeline, and there is a small herd of 120 bison (first introduced in the 1930s) which provides some meat for the island’s inhabitants. It is notorious for the high winds caused by the meeting of cold air flows from the Bering Sea with the warm air over the Japan Current. It has a maritime climate, with temperature averages ranging from −9 to 76 °F (−23 to 24 °C), an average snowfall of 52 inches (130 cm) and an average rainfall of 33 inches (84 cm). The Russian Orthodox St. Nicholas Chapel was built in Sand Point in 1933.”

As we came in Andy on Spruce called us on the VHF and said we should get fuel today as the fishing fleet is due later tonight and the fuel dock will be busy tomorrow….ok, then….pulled up to the Trident fuel dock….met a very friendly Carlos and his friends…..all from CA….small world…$2.90/gal but with tax it was $3.05/gal….not too bad….672 gal and some dinghy gasoline….and arranged a tour of the seafood plant later the next day. We then proceeded to the harbor where there is a very well maintained marina with power and water….we go on the transient dock….and watch as the fishing fleet, maybe 25-30 boats all come in over the next 8-12 hours….the marina is almost full…what a sight!!! Over the next 2 days we talk with many of the fisherman…..the salmon season is almost a bust….last year one of the best, this year one of the worst….in fact, the Fish & Games is meeting next week and may shut down the salmon fishing for good this season….yikes…lots of theories as to why but really no definitive answers!!!

It was popcorn and a movie Wed night and early to bed….for whatever reason I was dead tired…ugh!!!

Thursday I felt puny….very achy and tired but it was Sue’s birthday so we rallied and as the day wore on I felt better and better. We first went for a tour of the Trident Seafood Plant…wow, sure brought back memories of my manufacturing days. “Trident Seafoods is the largest seafood company in the United States. It is based in Seattle, Washington. It manages a network of fishing ships, processing plants, and a vertically integrated distributorship of its products. It sells frozen, canned, smoked and ready-to-eat seafood products for the wholesale, retail and food service markets under a variety of different brand names.”

This plant is one of 50+ plants….employs 4-500 people….very international…40-45 different countries represented….can process up to 300,000 pounds of salmon/day…they were just finishing processing a lot of salmon….sockeye, chum and kings….fascinating process!!! Isaac, the Production Manager, from Vera Cruz Mexico gave us a very delightful tour….and he capped it off by giving us an “undersized” King salmon…they keep >7-lbs, this one was 6-lbs!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trident_Seafoods
http://kucb.org/post/trident-seafoods-agrees-six-figure-settlement-violations-alaska-plants

After the tour we walked around the small town….bought a few groceries at the local store and then went and had Sue’s birthday lunch at the Harbor Cafe…it is only open for breakfast and lunch….wonderful cheeseburger and curly fries….no beer and even no milkshake….also had were fried halibut and prawns…yummers!!!

Spruce had us and a catamaran, sv Dual Dragons, over for happy hour and to continue the birthday celebration. Nannie and Ben had been in the South Pacific/Asia as well, maybe 1-2 years ahead of us….they now keep their boat in La Conner in the Seattle area and have been cruising Alaska for the last few years…..shades of Mystic to be!!!

Friday was a chill day….posted the Attu & Kiska pictures….took a long time with a very slow internet…ugh!!! I’m very behind on pictures….maybe I’ll get caught up in Kodiak!!!

The Plan: Well….another overnighter…..we will leave tomorrow, Saturday, July 14 for a 240nm overnight passage to Seaflower Cove on Kodiak Island….wow, another bucket list item….Kodiak Island…home of the largest Grizzly bear!!!! We will cruise the southern part of Kodiak Island for 6-7 days then make it to Kodiak town for 4-5 days!!! We will be parting ways from Spruce for a while….they will continue to day hop along the Alaska Peninsula and then come over to Kodiak…..I’m sure we will rendezvous at some point after Kodiak!!

Hope all is well!!

John
Mystic Moon
Sand Point Alaska

PS: Posted pictures of Adak and Kiska Aleutian Islands Alaska: http://mysticmoonvoyages.com/photo-gallery/nggallery/main-album/Attu-and-Kiska-Aleutians-Alaska