Sean, coiling line on a incoming pot. A new crab season has begun! So that means it's time for Crabby Mama to get back to work and begin writing again and blog about the crab season. As many of you know, I started this blog when my 20 yr. old son decided it was his turn to learn the crab industry from the deck level of the F/V Jennifer A, in the middle of the Bering Sea, in the middle of Alaska's winter. I remember telling Sean, it was fine. He could go. But he had to stay inside the whole time and never ever go out on deck. Sean looked at me, then looked at Pat. He and Pat, almost simotaneously said, "yah right," and I do believe their eyes rolled at the same time as well. It was then that I realized I had lost total control of my boys, and was not going to win this battle. Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful for the opportunities that fishing crab in the Bering Sea has provided us. But up until that point, those opportunities did not include our son, actually my son...all those hours in labor...So Crabby Mama was created.
Brenna and Sean on the Jennifer A-Summer 2002 I have to be totally honest here. I sat down last night to write this first blog of 2015, and I couldn't do it. Before I logged on to the website, I told myself, "just sign on, and start writing. Do not start going through previous blogs. Do not look at any pictures of Pat. Do not, do not, do not." So, I signed on. Even before I could look at anything, I burst out in tears. Then of course I started going through previous blogs, and staring staring staring at the pictures of Pat. That was coupled with the vivid memories of the night I decided to do the blog, yep, a crying puddle of goo. That night was such a great conversation with Pat and the kids. We sat around trying to come up with a name, talked about all the silly things I could write about, and laughed about different family times we had had on the boat as the kids were growing up. I shut the blog down, finished up my crying, and decided to drown my sorrows in the left over Christmas cookies. I really had great intentions of writing last night. I had had a great day, the first part of the night was great, and I was settled in my favorite chair ready to write. But. Well. Life does not go as planned, this I know. Instead, I read, wrote a few lines in another piece I'm working on, and went to bed. Tonight, a few tears popped into my eyes, and it feels good to be writing.
For those of you who don't know, or haven't read the past blogs, Pat passed away on June 4th, 2013. He was diagnosed with ALS (remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? Yes that ALS,) in 2005 and lived with the stupid disease for 8 years. He handled his ALS way better than I did. He knew what he would live with and what he wouldn't live with. When he decided he was done, that was it. The will of the human spirit to live, or die, is an absolutely amazing thing. To watch it in action is amazing, the living part, and heartbreaking, the dying part. But Pat's courageous choice of deciding he was done living with ALS, was the biggest gift of love in action I have ever witnessed. He was a good, great man, who loved life and squeezed in as much living as he could in his 52 years of life.
Wrangell Alaska-Summer 2007 So. Back to crab!
In November, the crab crew of the Jennifer A ran the boat from Seattle to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. It's a trip that takes 10 days, crossing the Gulf of Alaska. The weather can be bad, but this crossing was "ok" according to Sean. I have learned to never ask what "ok" means. Once they arrived in Dutch Harbor, the guys spent a little over a week getting all the crab pots geared and ready. These crab pots are 7 feet, by 7 feet. Big ole pots to hopefully hold lots of crab. Once all the pots were geared, they were stacked on the deck of the Jen. The crew flew out of Dutch in time for Thanksgiving, with the boat already to fish crab.
Everyone had the month of December off, well until the 26th, when they flew back up to Dutch Harbor and headed out to go crabbing. As I type I am tracking the boat on our AIS tracking system. I can log on anytime, and see exactly where the JenA is, and if they are fishing, moving pots, or running in to offload. Right now, it looks like they are fishing. They have an offload appointment for tomorrow, the 4th, or Monday the 5th, depending on when they arrive in to St. Paul Island, to offload.
I talked with our skipper, Kjell, yesterday. We have a satellite phone here at the house, so I can call and talk to the boat at anytime. Plus, the boat can call me at anytime as well. Since the sat. phone is downstairs in our office, I have a baby monitoring system set up so I can hear the boat from any room, if they should happen to call. Don't tell these big tough crab guys they are being kept tabs on by a baby monitoring system...!
Kjell said all was going well, the weather was "ok" (again, I don't ask,) and the greenhorns were working out just great. We have a crew of six on board this year. Kjell in the wheelhouse, and Jose, Craig, Sean, Tirie, and Bo. Tirie and Bo are the greenhorns this season. Greenhorns to crabbing that is, they both have had years of experience on boats in Alaska.
That's about all I have to report for now. I will be talking to Sean when they get to Saint Paul to offload. So I will have more to report on then. I'm attaching a few pictures from past years.
I'll be posting another update after I talk to Sean. I asked him to try and take some pictures as well. But as he reminded me, "Mom, I'm there to work, not take pictures." If I don't get any pictures from him, that's fine with me. It means he and the crew are busy working and being safe. I'm ok with that!
Thanks for reading. If you are new to the blog, start from the very beginning of all the previous posts, and then you will be caught up. If you have any questions, ask away. Until then, here is Crabby Mama wishing for safe fishing to all.
In November, the crab crew of the Jennifer A ran the boat from Seattle to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. It's a trip that takes 10 days, crossing the Gulf of Alaska. The weather can be bad, but this crossing was "ok" according to Sean. I have learned to never ask what "ok" means. Once they arrived in Dutch Harbor, the guys spent a little over a week getting all the crab pots geared and ready. These crab pots are 7 feet, by 7 feet. Big ole pots to hopefully hold lots of crab. Once all the pots were geared, they were stacked on the deck of the Jen. The crew flew out of Dutch in time for Thanksgiving, with the boat already to fish crab.
Everyone had the month of December off, well until the 26th, when they flew back up to Dutch Harbor and headed out to go crabbing. As I type I am tracking the boat on our AIS tracking system. I can log on anytime, and see exactly where the JenA is, and if they are fishing, moving pots, or running in to offload. Right now, it looks like they are fishing. They have an offload appointment for tomorrow, the 4th, or Monday the 5th, depending on when they arrive in to St. Paul Island, to offload.
I talked with our skipper, Kjell, yesterday. We have a satellite phone here at the house, so I can call and talk to the boat at anytime. Plus, the boat can call me at anytime as well. Since the sat. phone is downstairs in our office, I have a baby monitoring system set up so I can hear the boat from any room, if they should happen to call. Don't tell these big tough crab guys they are being kept tabs on by a baby monitoring system...!
Kjell said all was going well, the weather was "ok" (again, I don't ask,) and the greenhorns were working out just great. We have a crew of six on board this year. Kjell in the wheelhouse, and Jose, Craig, Sean, Tirie, and Bo. Tirie and Bo are the greenhorns this season. Greenhorns to crabbing that is, they both have had years of experience on boats in Alaska.
That's about all I have to report for now. I will be talking to Sean when they get to Saint Paul to offload. So I will have more to report on then. I'm attaching a few pictures from past years.
I'll be posting another update after I talk to Sean. I asked him to try and take some pictures as well. But as he reminded me, "Mom, I'm there to work, not take pictures." If I don't get any pictures from him, that's fine with me. It means he and the crew are busy working and being safe. I'm ok with that!
Thanks for reading. If you are new to the blog, start from the very beginning of all the previous posts, and then you will be caught up. If you have any questions, ask away. Until then, here is Crabby Mama wishing for safe fishing to all.
Opilio crab on the deck of the Jennifer A-2013
Eagles on the crab pots.
Checking the stacks
Jennifer A caught in the Bering Sea Ice. The ice was moving quick and the Jennifer A and several other boats got trapped in it. After a couple hours, the ice past by and the Jen was ok, and started hauling pots again.
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