Day 5
Johnathan was up and about before the Captain because the wind was still howling and the boat leaning over whenever the wind changed direction. He had already started making breakfast. The Captain just nodded his approval and went about making his coffee. The smell of coffee seemed to rouse the others and without the whistle they were ready for the oatmeal. When his coffee was done, the Captain said, “Looks like another nice day. No wind until tide change this afternoon so we will need to motor. I suppose we could just take the day off and just swing on the anchor.”
Johnathan said, “What do you mean no wind? It is howling like a hurricane!”
The Captain actually smiled a little as he explained, “That is the williwaws sucking the air out of this cove. You will be amazed how quiet the bay is outside.”
Quinn asked, “Where would we go?”
“Well, if you want to catch some more halibut we could try fishing Surok Point.”
Mikey said, “I really liked that halibut. Let’s try and catch some more.”
The Captain replied, “Then our navigator needs to plot our course and the rest of you had better get the boat ready. Quinn, you can do the engine check list.” He added, “If you had just looped the shore line around the tree stump you could have released the line from here at the boat. Since you tied the line off someone needs to go ashore. Since the tide is now going out it might be a bit of a challenge to reach the knot.”
Mikey said, “See, Johnathan, I told you we didn’t need to tie the rope to the stump. Now you have to climb up the rock and untie it.”
Captain John said, “Maybe you should worry less about who did what and just get the job done. Might be best if you use the dingy so you have something to stand up in. Best if you try and stay dry and avoid swimming.”
Johnathan put down his rulers and dividers but left the chart open as he followed Mikey topside to put on their life jackets. They climbed aboard the dingy and paddled the short distance to the shore. The stump which had been so easy to reach was now 10 feet up. Mikey stabilized the dingy the best he could by hanging onto the line from the sailboat. Johnathan needed to use the line to climb up the rock until he could grab the old stump. He undid the knot leaving just a loop around the tree root and tossed the free end down to Mikey. Now Mikey held both ends of the line and Johnathan climbed back down. When he stepped onto the dingy he all but threw both of them into the water. Mikey had to pull on the lines for all he was worth to keep the dingy from flipping over.
Johnathan said, “See, that wasn’t so bad.”
Mikey responded, “You almost capsized us. Remember the Captain said we were to stay dry.”
“We are dry. Almosts don’t count…remember.”
By the time, they got back to the boat Quinn had the engine running and they had to put up with the diesel fumes as they climbed back aboard and secured the dingy. It was Mikey’s turn to flake the anchor chain so he went below as Kade and Johnathan began raising the anchor. By the time, they were out of the bay, Johnathan had their course plotted and figured they would arrive a little before tide change. Kade wanted to stop and fish the tip of Granite Island but Johnathan insisted that they needed to make headway if they were going to get to Surok Point before tide change. Kade had to whine a little about passing up such a good fishing hole.
Motoring was pretty boring compared to sailing and soon everyone but the helmsman was either reading or sleeping. They were about half way to the point far enough from shore that the mountain sides were pretty blurry, when the porpoises showed up. Quinn called out, “Porpoises!”
Now everyone was topside trying to get their life jackets on. Kade was the first one to the bow and was soon hanging over the bow sprit watching the porpoises chase each other out of the bow wave. When they were riding the wave, they seemed motionless riding the crest right at the surface. They seemed to sense when another one of the pack was approaching from behind because the one in the wave would dart away just in time for the other to take its place. Kade tried reaching out to see if he could touch them but not a chance. Soon three boys were laying on top of the anchor with their heads over the side watching the critters play.
Captain John told Quinn, “I have the helm. Go have a look.”
The critters stayed with them for almost 20 minutes. Mikey said, “They are just playing tag!” Johnathan added, “It would be like playing tag while hang gliding. When they are in the bow wave they don’t even have to swim.” Then they were gone having disappeared into the vastness of the ocean. By the time the boys settled down and quit arguing about who saw what the Captain said, “We will be at the point in 20 minutes. Best you check your fishing gear and re-tie your knots.”
The tide was still flowing some when they started fishing and the drift of the current made it harder to feel the bottom. They caught a couple of rockfish and a small ling cod but nothing exciting. Mikey noticed that his line had gone slack and before he could figure out what was happening a salmon jumped next to the boat with his jig hanging out of its mouth. He reeled furiously until he had taken up all of the slack and finally felt the fish. It was a few moments of chaos as the fish circled the boat tangling up everyone’s lines. Kade pretty much took charge in getting the lines untangled and finally netting the fish for Mikey. It was a large silver salmon that was maybe 20 pounds. A bonk on the head and the fish went into the cooler. This was followed by high fives all the way around. Captain John could not help smiling at the thought of that silver salmon racing to the surface with that ugly chunk of lead. What was a salmon doing down in 150 feet of water anyway?
They repositioned the boat and finally caught a couple of small halibut but the current was starting to pick up. The Captain announced, “One more drift and we will be done.”
They had no sooner gotten their lines down when Quinn was yelling “Fish on!” It was obviously a big fish but not for long because his line suddenly went slack which was followed by an “Oh Sh*t” from Quinn. As he reeled in it was Mikey’s turn to yell “Fish on!” Captain John looked at the rod which was bent over but there wasn’t any head shake and he thought Mikey must have snagged the bottom. Then he realized the line was going the wrong way; headed towards the deep. He put the boat into gear and yelled for everyone else to get their lines in. He did not want to chase the fish because the water got dramatically deeper just a short way out. It was obvious that the fish was winning and all Mikey could do was hang on. The other boys were giving Mikey all of the advice they could but since the fish was in control it did not mean much.
Captain John chased the fish as far as he dared but the water was dropping off to the abyss that was over a 1000 feet deep. He cut the engine and announced, “You had better turn her because she is headed deep. Don’t let her spool you!”
By now Johnathan to the side was helping Mikey hold the rod off the rail and Quinn had ahold of Mikey’s belt from behind to stabilize him. Kade reached over and tightened the drag. Mikey thumbed the spool until his thumbs were raw.
The Captain had given up hope of turning the fish when Kade yelled out, “She’s stopping.” Now it was all work. Slowly pumping the rod up and reeling on the down stroke. Mikey’s arms were shaking from the effort and he finally said, “I need some help.”
Quinn was the first to take the rod and continued the slow pumping of the rod with the reeling on the down stroke. That is, until the fish gave a sudden shake and Quinn reacted by jerking the rod. Seems the fish did not care for this and headed for the bottom again. Now it was Quinn’s turn to donate the skin of his thumbs to this giant fish. When the fish finally stopped again Quinn needed a rest and Kade took over. After another 10 minutes Kade said, “Johnathan, it’s your turn to take the rod. Don’t scare her by jerking on the rod.”
As Johnathan was taking the hand-off he asked, “Why are we calling the fish a her?”
Captain John explained, “Only the females get really big and
giant ones like this lay millions of eggs every year. It is a she.”
They were into their second rotation when they first saw the fish. It was almost invisible until it turned on to its side. The white belly contrasted with the blackness of the depths. Kade said, “She must be at least 8 feet long.” Their view did not last long because when the fish got close to the boat she got scared and headed back to the depths. It was Kade’s turn to donate the skin of his thumbs to the fight. The third time up the fish finally seemed tired and lay quietly just below the surface.
Captain John asked, “Well, Mikey, what are we going to do now?”
Mikey responded almost immediately, “I think we should let her go so we have more halibut in the future.”
“How are you going to do that?”
Mikey thought for a few seconds before responding, “Our grandpa said that if we jiggled the lure the hook would come out because there is no barb.”
Kade said, “I could go in the dingy and use a pliers to pull the hook out.”
Captain John said, “Mikey’s idea sounds a lot safer. Give it a try and if doesn’t work we may have to try Kade’s idea.”
Mikey took the rod and pulled the fish right up to the surface. The weight of the fish made it go vertical and when the tip of the fish’s mouth broke the surface, she opened her mouth. Mikey jiggled the lead jig but before the hook could work its way out the giant fish had started to sink. Again, and again he carefully pulled her to the surface and jiggled the lure but only on the fourth try did the lure come free. They all watched as the giant fish slowly swam back to the depths for a well-deserved rest. They just stood and stared at the blackness of the depths long after the fish was gone from view. Their reverie was interrupted by the sound of the engine starting. Mikey exclaimed, “We didn’t take any pictures!”
Captain John said, “You took the most important kind of pictures. I doubt the image of that giant fish will ever fade from your memory.” He added, “Now get busy. I have my heart set on cedar plank salmon over an open fire.”
Johnathan asked, “Are there cedar trees this far north?”
“Nope but logs drift up from southeast and hopefully you can find one on the beach. Even more important the beach has sea asparagus. I expect to eat well tonight.”
It was a short run into Paguna Arm and Kade and Johnathan barely had time to clean the fish they had caught before it was time to lower the anchor. The cove was exposed to a westerly wind but had a nice beach. The boys completed the anchoring routine and when the Captain was satisfied they were sent ashore. The Captain stayed aboard for some quiet time but gave explicit instructions, “You need to make the fire pit below the high tide mark so all traces will vanish with the next high tide. We need a cedar plank about an inch thick and 5 or 6 feet long to roast our salmon on.”
Kade went below and returned wearing his survival vest with a hatchet and hunting knife. Quinn said, “Kade, we’re just going to the beach, you don’t need all of that stuff.”
Kade responded, “Might as well be prepared, besides how do you intend to make a board out of a log?”
“That’s your job. I’ll cook the fish.”
The boys piled into the raft and paddled the short distance to the beach. They carried the raft up the beech and tied it to an old log. Then they started exploring. The beach was about half a mile long and Mikey and Quinn headed one way while Johnathan and Kade headed the other way. It was a really nice day with sunshine and just a little wind. The beach had hundreds of logs washed up on it and Mikey wanted to know how they could tell if it was a cedar log. Quinn said, “Cedar has a stringy bark and a distinct smell. We might have to shave some wood off to be sure.” Mikey was content with finding the rare piece of beach glass which had been ground smooth by the waves. None of the logs they found seemed to be cedar. What they did find was a patch of green asparagus looking plants growing right at the edge of the water. Quinn broke off a small piece and tasted it. Mikey watched him and asked, “Are you sure it is safe to eat?”
Quinn responded, “This must be the sea asparagus the Captain was talking about. It’s pretty good stuff.” He handed Mikey a piece but Mikey was a bit concerned and needed a little encouragement. Quinn said, “Don’t be a chicken. It won’t hurt you.”
Mikey took a small nibble and tasted the salty freshness. Not really an asparagus flavor more like salty young green beans with a hint of ocean and they were nice and crunchy. He admitted, “You’re right this is pretty good stuff.”
They headed back to the landing spot to get a bucket to use in harvesting the sea asparagus and could see Johnathan and Kade headed their way carrying a small log. Quinn called out, “Are you sure it is a cedar log?”
Kade responded, “Of course, I’m sure. It is just the top of a big log but should be big enough. You could come and help carry it.”
Quinn and Mikey were in no hurry but met up with the other cousins and took a turn carrying the log back to their campsite. While Kade and Johnathan worked on splitting the log using wedges made out of drift wood, Mikey and Quinn began building their fire pit. Mikey was very particular about the placement of the rocks making sure there were air channels at the bottom. Only when they were done futzing did Mikey allow Quinn to start building up the tinder and kindling for their fire. Of course, neither of them had brought any matches. Quinn made Mikey go ask Kade if he had any matches. Kade said no but he had his fire starter. Leaving Johnathan to work on splitting the log Kade went to inspect their fire pit. The tinder and kindling seemed dry enough so he took out his small fire starter and carefully scraped some of the metal off onto the tinder. He then scraped fast and hard creating a shower of sparks which ignited the small pile of starter dust he had created.
With a small wisp of smoke rising he lay on the gravel of the beach and ever so gently blew on the smoking tinder. Soon enough a small flame appeared and he gingerly added very small pieces of kindling to the flame. When he was satisfied that the fire would go he stood up and said, “Feed the fire slowly and don’t do anything dumb to make it go out.”
Mikey and Quinn worked diligently to gradually grow the small flame into a nice sized campfire. There was no shortage of drift wood, but most of it was either very wet or too big to use. They kept interrupting Kade and Johnathan to use the hatchet.
Johnathan finally said, “We are working with the hatchet. Find some other way of cutting your sticks.
Kade and Johnathan had succeeded in splitting the small log by pounding wedges into a small crack in the log. Kade asked Quinn, “Which side to you want to use for cooking Mikey’s fish?”
Quinn was picturing the size of fillets in his mind and said, “Might be best if we use both of them so we can cook the whole fish at once.”
“Do you know how much more work that is?”
Quinn replied, “You’re the one that asked.”
Quinn left Mikey to tend the fire and took the bucket from the raft to harvest the sea asparagus. He picked only the young sprouts and would sample them on a regular basis enjoying the salty freshness. The book he had read said they could be eaten fresh or cooked almost any way. He was thinking that maybe a light oil and vinegar dressing over the fresh cut ones with just a bit of pepper. But fried with some of the chili pepper flakes might just be the ticket with a bit of soy sauce added just as they finished cooking. The bucket was about half full when Quinn stopped and stared at the ground. He then looked up at the hillside watching for any sign of movement. Seeing nothing he called out, “Kade, I think you had better come and look at this!”
Kade left the work of the log grumbling about all of the disruptions. As he approached Quinn he asked, “What is so important now?”
Quinn just pointed to the fresh track in the mud. It was oblong with long claw marks and much bigger than his foot. Kade subconsciously put his hand on his hunting knife and just stared at the huge footprint. He looked up and could see a line of tracks disa
ppearing up the side of the hill. He finally spoke up saying, “Looks like our friend was here recently, he must like this green stuff.
Quinn replied, “It is pretty good eating but I’m not sure we want to share our dinner with a bear.”
“The bear won’t bother us around the fire. I’ll stand watch while you finish picking the green stuff you need.”
Quinn said, “I think maybe I won’t go see the waterfall after all. Seems those tracks are headed right to it.”
By now both Mikey and Johnathan had arrived to see what was going on. Mikey said, “I hope we get to see the bear. I would love to make a drawing of it.”
Johnathan was a little less sure that he wanted to see the bear and asked, “Should we go back to the boat?”
Kade spoke with great confidence, “The bear will not bother us around a fire. We will need to keep our eyes open just in case.”
Quinn quickly finished picking his sea asparagus and they returned to the safety of their fire. Kade and Johnathan had almost finished making the first plank and Mikey had accumulated enough fire wood to keep the fire burning all evening. Quinn insisted they test the plank by resting it on the rocks of the fire pit. It still rocked more than he liked and he said, “It needs to be flatter so the fish doesn’t slide off.”
Kade just groaned but took the plank back to his work area and resumed hacking away with his hatchet. Johnathan took a different approach using the hatchet to create a small split, he began pounding wedges into the end of his half log. Using a rock as a hammer was not ideal but it was working. The split began to extend down the length of the log. In the end both boys finished making their planks about the same time. This did not stop them from arguing about which method was better.
Mikey and Quinn took the raft back to the boat so Quinn could get the supplies he needed. Captain Cook was not so sure that he wanted his frying pan used over an open fire but when Quinn described how he planned to fry the sea asparagus the Captain agreed. He asked Quinn, “Could you use some onions and peppers in the recipe?”
Quinn responded, “Sure if we had some.”
“I think there is a couple of cans of them. Should be labeled ‘O and P’ on the top of the can.”
While Quinn put together the stuff he needed, Mikey was searching through the boxes of cans without labels and sure enough found one of them. With the needed supplies loaded into a small sea bag and the fish fillets in a small cooler, the boys headed back to the beach. Captain Cook said, “I will join you shortly.” As the boys climbed into the raft they could hear the sounds of ice being chipped.
Mikey said, “We forgot to tell the Captain about the bear.”
“Well, if the bear comes back he will know soon enough.”
While Quinn prepared the food for cooking he had Mikey build up the fire saying, “We need a nice bed of coals but not so much flame. I will start cooking when the coals are ready.” Kade and Johnathan had wandered off down the beach looking for lost treasure but always keeping an eye on the hillside watching for movement. Quinn got the ingredients ready the fried sea asparagus and mixed the fresh greens in a bowl with the oil and vinegar. When everything else was ready he placed the seasoned salmon fillets with the skin side down on the cedar planks and he and Mikey positioned the planks over the coals. The long tail of the planks kept them balanced over the coals. He then set the cast iron frying pan right on the coals to begin heating.
Mikey asked, “Isn’t the wood just going to catch on fire and burn the fish?”
Quinn replied, “According to the book we need to position the boards so they get hot enough to char on the bottom but not actually burn. Not sure how we can do that but by trial and error.”
Quinn kept a close eye on his fish planks while adding the sea asparagus to the hot frying pan. Next was the can of onions and peppers but he had forgotten the can opener and had to yell, “Kade, I need you to open this can.”
Kade and Johnathan sauntered back and Kade produced the can opener on his multi-tool. Quinn stirred the onion and pepper mix into which produced a wonderful smell of cooking food. It must have carried over to the boat because the Captain had climbed into one of the kayaks and was headed their way. Quinn kept adjusting his fish planks making sure they were smoking just a bit but not burning. The other boys sat and watched him while occasionally poking the coals. Which always brought a rebuke from Quinn. “Are you trying to ruin my fish? Leave the coals alone.”
The Captain picked out a nice rock and sat back watching the boys and said nothing. When the fish appeared done, Quinn carefully pulled the planks back away from the heat and began serving the food. The Captain was the only one to speak saying after just a few bites, “Job well done.”
Quinn just nodded his acceptance but his face could not hide the joy at hearing those few words. Kade was already on his second piece of fish and said, “Not bad, brother. Seems you have learned well from me.”
Quinn responded, “Like you could cook anything without burning it!”
Kade said, “You need to know how not to do something if you want to do it right. I think you did it right.” He then added, “A salute to Mikey for catching the fish and Quinn for fixing it.”
Johnathan chimed in, “Remember Kade and I found the cedar and made the planks so we get some of the credit.”
The kibitzing died out as everyone concentrated on eating until the entire salmon was gone as well as all of the sea asparagus. The Captain then pulled two cans out of his coat pockets and said, “These are either canned peaches or peas. I am hoping for peaches.”
Kade took the two cans and could see a “P” scratched into the lid. He tried shaking the cans but could not tell what was in them. Out came the multi-tool and he opened the first can. With everyone watching he pried the top off and it was obvious by the frown on his face that it was not peaches. Without saying anything he opened the second can and the smell of peaches gave it away before he even had the lid off. Now with great care he divided the small peach halves equally amongst the five water glasses having to cut the last half into 5 sections, just to make things even. He then poured the juice in fairly even amounts into the glasses.
The Captain ate his portion slowly but the boys almost inhaled theirs. Johnathan said, “This is like the first real food we’ve had on this trip.”
The Captain just shrugged his shoulders and said, “None of you look like you are starving.”
This reminded Mikey of the bear and he began to describe the size of the footprint to the Captain. Captain Cook listened and then replied, “I am sure the bear is up in the brush watching us and will be down shortly after we leave. These are black bears and usually they don’t cause a problem.”
Johnathan asked, “Captain John, how did you learn to sail?”
The Captain leaned back against the rock and said, “Mostly the hard way. I was a pilot, as was my friend. We knew about navigation and such and had both grown up on lakes so we figured we knew the sea as well. But lakes and the ocean are different beasts.” He continued, “It is bit long but if you want to hear the story you had better put some more wood on the fire.” After another pause and a sip, the Captain began to tell of his sailing adventure.
Myself and a buddy bought a 21-foot sailboat. They sailed the hell out of it from early spring to late fall whenever they had the time. Most of the time in Resurrection Bay, but gradually making it around Aialik Cape. That winter the Captain and his buddy were planning next summer’s adventures. Homer to Seward? With all the reasoning, they collectively had, how could it be any different than going to Aialik Bay? Just five times longer. Now the city and harbor of Homer lie on the Western side of the Kenai Peninsula in the Cook Inlet. Logistics of getting the trailer able sailboat to Homer was possible. Simply sail it back to Seward. How hard could it be? Charts purchased. Winter in the Arctic led to much imagination. Seemed doable. Six travel days, three days of spares for weather.
Coo
k Inlet is a large shallow body of water connecting Anchorage with the Gulf of Alaska. Much different than the deep waters of Resurrection Bay. Gore Point about midway was always on the weather reports. Tide rips in Cook Inlet were acknowledged but the old timers said just pass through those areas at slack tide. Plenty of good anchorages along the way to Seward. Food lists were being made. Fuel was an issue though. The small boat had a 6-hp. outboard. This was to be a sailing adventure. 6 gallons would be enough.
Spring came soon enough. Plans were made. A friend borrowed a trailer and we made the road trip to Homer from Seward with the boat in tow. Homer was a fishing town like Seward, maybe a little bigger. We met a few folks at the local watering hole. They mostly smiled at our proposed adventure. Watch the weather was repeated, and you’ll do fine. Again, the tide rips came up and the same response. Pass during slack tide. Course we picked the spring tides that made Cook Inlet the 2nd largest tide in the world.
Food and gear packed, nothing holding us back except the lines holding us to the dock. Our first leg was across Kachemak Bay to Seldovia. A quaint dying little fishing village, but a nice harbor. Timing was perfect. The tide did most of the work. The adventure had begun.
The next day we shook off the beers from the night before and set sail. We had a good thirty miles to the ocean and a turn to the East. We made good time for the first few hours. figuring out the tide/current book took a bit but seemed reasonable. After a few hours of sailing in a southerly breeze on our nose we tacked but made little progress. At some point the surface of the water changed and grew darker. We were sailing between the mainland and Magnetic Rock. Hours went by and every tack sent us to Magnetic Rock. The surface of the bay grew a bit rougher, but not bad with the sails making the boat steady. Our planned destination was out of the question, plenty of daylight that time of the year but we weren’t making any progress. Managed a nice anchorage short of our destination of getting around the corner. The concept of a 5-knot boat in a 6-knot current was sinking in.
The next morning was fine, weather perfect. This was the day. Planning chart out we debated going inside or outside the islands at the mouth of Cook Inlet. We chose the inside, seemed safer, but knowing nothing. Once again, we set sail but the winds were almost too light to sail. Going was slowed and the day was burning away. Early in the afternoon we made it to the islands when the seas changed from almost calm to a torrent. Seabirds were all flying. Something bad was happening. The seas built, and built. Susie Q would ride them down till hitting at the bottom and abruptly coming to a stop. Dark water surrounded us. A just a bit later we were on top of the world.
The first time we broached and were sent sideways down the internal pit I was thrown nearly out of the cockpit. The radio antenna slowed my apparent ultimate ride overboard when a hand grabbed my pants and hauled me back. I’m safely aboard, but no radio, nadda. The life jackets and safety harnesses clipped on with a short lease. The seas continued to grow. No wind, the sails just hung there and flapped. We fired the 6 horse but the prop was out of the water most of the time, but we got some steerage. When things seemed to be somewhat under control we hit the kelp bed. It was on the chart but… Low tide, shallow water. Not long into the kelp the rudder safety line broke. No more rudder. Outboard mostly just made noise. We were dead in the water hanging on for dear life. Susie Q wanted to stay upright, the seas had a different plan. We hung on.
Just as quickly as the seas built, they calmed. In what seemed like minutes we went from all the comforts of a washing machine to flat calm. The sea birds settled back down on the surface. The rudder safety line replaced, the little outboard made forward progress. We were a couple hours from Port Dick. A safe haven for even large ships. Burning valuable fuel was a hard decision, but at that point safety was top priority. Pride was gone. We had screwed up.
The Captain talked about his early Alaska days being a fish hawk in Port Dick. Job was easy, camp out and watch the fishing boats and report any breaking of the rules near the mouth of the river. Course they were supposed to be hidden but all the boats knew they were there. OK, it kept everyone honest.
Anchored and some food we sorta relaxed, listening to Jimmie Buffet music. Something bad happened that day we weren’t prepared for. The next day we decided to take a weather day and just stay on the hook. The following morning was beautiful; no radio, no weather reports. We powered out of Port Dick and caught some wind. Perfect, now we just need to get around Gore Point. Worried about that point all winter and turned out to be a kitten asleep. Light winds in our favor and mild seas. We made good time.
Next day we got into Nuka Bay. Still out of our safe zone, but not far, we were in waters we understood. We sailed through the day and as evening approached the full moon came out. We sailed through McArthur Pass and on to Aialik Bay. By morning we headed for Holgate Glacier for some celebration ice. Crossed Aialik Bay and into Three Hole Bay to our favorite spot. We called it Phil’s Cove because he had discovered a floating line that was stretched across the small bite. Perfect. We had two more weather days and used them.
A power boat came by on the second day of just kicking back and asked about rafting up. They’d been out on the commercial halibut derby. Two days, anything that floated was out fishing. They offered some fresh pacific cod and we agreed to cook it. Claiming our beer supply was exhausted after sailing from Homer, we were treated with a handful of beers. Dinner was great, they were retired state troopers. They asked how we fared in the storm. We asked What Storm? We’ve been holed up here for a couple days. Guess we missed a good one. Coast Guard was busy rescuing all day. Sometimes it’s good to be simply lucky.
As the Captain finished the story, he plucked out the last olive from his drink and said, “We weren’t prepared, we could have died. 35 years since I’ve never made that mistake again. Be prepared or do not go.”
The boys were quiet and just sat staring at the fire. It was not dark but the sun was no longer shining brightly and a chill was in the air. The Captain stood and said, “Tide is coming in. Best we head back to the boat. Douse the fire but the tide will take care of obliterating any sign of our being here.”
The boys were slow to leave the fire and Mikey said, “Just think. Maybe nobody has ever had a camp fire here before.”
Kade said, “It is a nice beach and I am sure people have stopped here before.”
“Ya, but did they have a camp fire right here in this spot? I think we are the first people to ever have a fire in this spot.”
Kade said, “I suppose you could be right. Interesting thought that we might be the first.” He added, “I think that there is more to the Captain’s story than he is telling us.”
Quinn interrupted saying, “How about some help packing everything up? We can argue about this later.”
They got back to the boat and were cleaning everything up when Johnathan spotted something moving on the beach. Mikey grabbed the glasses and watched the bear explore their camp. He wanted a picture but it was just too far away. The bear peeled the fish skins off of the planks and swallowed them. The bear then began chewing on the planks to get the last of the fish oil. When his brother forced Mikey to give up the glasses, he went below and took out his sketch pad and began drawing. He was almost done when he sensed somebody looking over his shoulder and glanced back to see the Captain.
“Nice work. I wouldn’t mind having a copy of that for the boat.”
Mikey just nodded and continued to work on his sketch.
Captain’s Log
Day 5
Had a short sail to Surok Point. One of the boys hooked and landed a 7-foot halibut and then let it go. Had cedar plank salmon for dinner while anchored in Paguna Arm. Black bear cleaned up the fish skins for us. A good day.
Hermie the Sea Otter
By Mary Ellen Kaluza
Dall’s Porpoise playing in the bow wave
by Tom
McWilliams
Humpback Whales bubble feeding
By
Pnwnature
Collecting the Captain’s ice
By Mary Ellen Kaluza
Sea Shanty with full sails
By Charles Kaluza
Ling Cod holding onto rockfish
By Phil Kaluza
Humpback Whale sounding
By Chuck Weakley
Sea Lions
By Tom McWilliams