Monday, September 28, 2009

The Boys are Back in Town







F/V Early Dawn is in the process of making a brown king delivery this evening, they should be wrapping up around midnight making a late night for Goldfish to file the landing paperwork. It's always fun to go down to the crab chute and watch the unload, especially the first of a new season.

I'm off to bed, cheers everyone!

6 comments:

Elizabeth Douglas said...

I suppose things around there are about to get extremely busy! I'd like to see an offload...just all those tons and tons of crab. wow.

Cheers!
~Liz

Bloviating Zeppelin said...

Question for you, Steve:

What's the best time to visit Dutch Harbor if one wants to get a sense of TDC coupled with reality in terms of motel rooms and access to flights?

I WILL be visiting Dutch Harbor in the coming year, but with my wife and my brother. We have the cash and the time.

I don't want to visit in the "off-times" but -- on the other hand -- what kind of problems will we face when scheduling during late November and December? And, are those the best times to visit for activity?

Any thoughts on this, sir?

BZ

Lauri said...

Tis the season....wow, great pics of LOTS and LOTS of crab...Brown King Crab is my favorite...though I settle more often than not, for red king....

Alaska Steve said...

BZ, that is a tough one. You're probably aware when the crab seasons are - king crab is normally wrapped up, at least at out plant, by Thanksgiving. Opilio and bairdi crab in January/February (although the fishery actually opens October 15th, no one traditionally fishes until later). I think you can get a ticket about anytime, if you buy well in advance. You need to realize, as I'm sure you do, that this rock can be a brutal mistress during crab season. Many of the roads, such as up to Ulatka head and out to Summers bay, are closed until spring. There are lots of flights as the island swells from 4000 folks to almost 12,000 and back to 4000 after the season. I don't really think of crab as driving things out here - it is an item of interest, but it is the 7 months of pollock fishing that pays the bills for the island.

I hope you can make it, I will certainly do all I can to make you welcome! Steve

Lori said...

Good luck BZ! I too would love to see the island during crab season and experience some of the island weather, but agree with Steve, it may be brutial. Summer seems to be a great time too!

Lori said...

Oh, and Steve - thanks for the boat pics! Missing that one special one though - probably not there yet - LOL!