Back from the Bay
In June, I packed up my fishing gear and hopped on a plane to Alaska. I have been visiting southeast Alaska almost every year of my life to stay with my grandparents in Ketchikan for the summer. But this year, I was headed for Naknek, the farthest north I have ever been in the state, to work on a gillnetter catching sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay.
Ask pretty much anyone who fishes in Bristol Bay what it’s like and I bet they will tell you that it is exhilarating, fulfilling and just freaking fun. That leaves out the misery, seasickness, sleep deprivation, lack of hygiene…because when you get home you forget all that bad stuff! Type two fun anyone? For about a month, I lived and worked on board a 32 foot gillnet drift boat alongside two crewmates and a captain. Tight quarters means we bonded quickly and pretty much instantly became besties. Sylvie and Josie if you’re reading this, thanks for all the good conversation and giggles on deck.
I’m not sure anything could have prepared me for a month at sea. Growing up boating and fishing for fun in Ketchikan was definitely a good start but it is a pretty unique experience to exist in 300 floating square feet with three other humans for 30 days. You almost learn how to read each other’s minds to maneuver in the galley, and work together on deck because the engine noise is usually too loud to communicate with words.
I handled so many salmon, saw so many seals and witnessed the most dramatic waves and weather I’ve ever seen. I returned from the Bay a different person (it sounds incredibly cheesy but it’s true!). And while you’re living on a boat, experiencing things that you can’t really even describe to your friends and family back home, the place you left behind remains unchanged. So weird, but also cool! The best part about coming home—the complete rewiring of my brain around what I used to take for granted.
I’ve spent the two-ish months since I’ve been back moving into a new place, getting my art studio up and running, and prepping for a pop-up market. Now that it feels like fall is finally here, I am looking forward to the cozy weather and *sigh* finding a day job to supplement this art business dream.
