Today I woke up feeling like the color of the weather. Gray. This hue envelopes my emotions like the foggy mist blanketing the Kodiak harbor and all the forlorn boats. It is a color of reflection, melancholy, nostalgia, unrest. I embrace how I feel today-meaning can be extracted, and I can learn something new about myself with every disposition. We have pulled out and are headed to the fishing grounds, a place called Dangerous Bay. Even the sea grumbles in unrest this morning. I am fascinated by the marvelous energy pulsing through these waters. I have not gotten seasick yet, and I am grateful for that. As of yet the only time I have ever gotten sick was after eating a double portion of Alfano’s famous enchiladas on the Lucky Star right before traveling across Cook Inlet in less then favorable conditions. Needless to say, the sea lay claim to those delicious enchiladas and everything else in my stomach that evening…an experience which I care not to repeat. A new trick I learned that day was to eat a few shavings of raw ginger, and it seemed to calm the turmoil in my gut. Ever since then I have always made sure there was ginger on the boat before leaving the harbor. The swells are steadily growing in size as we begin to round the cape. I look up to see a giant steel-blue hill of water blot out the horizon. I am sitting in the lower cabin. The windows sit a good eight above the water on a flat calm day, and now all that is before my wide eyes is the tumultuous sea. These waters are no longer grumbling, they are full out complaining now. The boat powers through the roll, and I can still hear the ever steady hum of the engine patiently throbbing away despite the groaning and creaking of the rigging. It is a good boat! Reliable and seaworthy. Appropriately named “Shadowfax” after the wizard Gandalf the Gray’s horse in JR Tolkie's "Lord of the Rings" series, it is the fastest purse seigner in Alaska. None can hold contest to the twin V12 MANs that fill most of the engine room. Jamie put a new tophouse on this fall so it is a little bit more “rolly” then he is use to. Things are flyin through the cabin now. The refrigerator door was just wrenched open on the last roll, and I scrambled to keep my balance as I chased the jars of pickles, capers, horseradish, and grey poupon skittering across the floor. Nothin like the wonders of duck tape-that’ll teach the fridge and all those cabinet latches. Whoever invented the rolls of this sticky miracle deserves some kind of recognition, at the least an entry in the world encyclopedia. The radio this morning said these were 16 footers. Not sure about that though, maybe more, maybe less. All I know is that it is the biggest seas I have been in and I am having a blast. We have to turn into the big ones now, completely perpendicular to our course. As much power as the ocean is displaying right now, it somehow seems incredibly smooth. Maybe it has something to do with the frequency and slope of the swells, and the fact that they aren’t cresting. It is a non violent kind of force that could easily flip hundreds of tons of steel at its own whim. I feel so small. Not scared, just in awe. I already made the decision to put my life in the hands of the skipper and the hull of this boat, so it’s no use questioning it now. Besides, the thrill of being in seas like this for the first time make me forget that Jamie has been doing this for 30 years, and that this is really nothing compared to what he has seen. He is very competent and knows what he is doing, and for that I am grateful. This is a worthy boat and I am fully enjoying this experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment