I started my boat log for Bristol Bay during my second season in the Bay. That was 1979. My first entry was May 28, 1979. My boat was a 32ft bowpicker…marine plywood and oak….built on the style of Columbia River salmon gillnetters….power roller forward, then work deck,picking bin,fishholds and a dog house cabin at the stern…the dog house held two bunks, a fuel oil stove and a converted slant 6 automobile engine…my deckhand, Long Bill and I slept on either side of the engine….Bill is 6ft.9in….the doghouse was about 7ft long….I was the “captain” by virtue of owning the boat and the drift permit…my seafaring resume consisted of one season crewing for Lonesome Larry in the Cook Inlet salmon fishery and one season …1978… in Bristol Bay…as “captain” of the Trio…my bowpicker….The Trio’s electronic package consisted of a CB radio (a.k.a. the mickey mouse) and a fathometer. There was a surprisingly accurate compass at the steering station, which was outside, at the back of the doghouse…as “captain” I steered standing up with a perfect 360 degree view and lots of fresh air…Long Bill would attempt to sleep without getting his feet tangled up in the engine belts, a source of constant concern to me…I also carried a very long stick since I knew from bitter experience that my fathometer was prone to failure…the stick was of course the measure of last resort….I also had a handheld lensatic compass….theoretically this was to take bearings on shore positions in order to triangulate a position….since the Bering Sea is often foggy and the Bristol Bay coast is tundra with few notable features upon which to hang a bearing…. I rarely knew precisely where I was….the only other entry in my seafaring resume was a solo sea kayaking trip down the gulf coast of Baja California during the winter of 1970-71….I kayaked alone from Oct..to Feb… +800 miles…from San Felipe to La Paz on the Baja penninsula….I caught fish on that trip too and I rarely knew precisely where I was….
I kept that log every season for the next 20 years…my last season in the Bay was 1998….my boat was a 32ft bowpicker…F/V Sierra….marine aluminum..custom built for me by Master Marine in Bellingham, WA…..flush decks, twin turbocharged Volvo AQAD 41A diesels, custom cabin with room for even Big Ron…the main steering station was inside the cabin…the electronics included a GPS, two Furuno LC-90 Lorans, three VHFradios, an ICOM M-55 radio with scrambler,the mickey mouse, a Raytheon V800color fathometer, Furuno LC-90 radar, three backup fathometers and a very long stick. We cruised at 20 knots and I sat inside and steered from my captain’s chair….at night it glowed like the cockpit of a 747.
In May of 1999 just before the start of the season I had a routine checkup…My Doc called me and told me I had a PSA of 16. I told him I was going fishing in a week. He advised me to change my plans. Turns out I had a very aggressive cancer in my prostate….I didn’t make the 1999 season …I spent the peak of the salmon season…around the 4th of July …recovering from surgery. That was the end for me…over the next couple of years I sold off the Sierra and my Bristol Bay limited entry permit.