July 1

I have been on Bear Island for about 6 weeks now and it  is beautiful and amazing.  When I came here I had to learn a lot of new things such as net mending, tying knots(I had to learn how to tie knots behind my back so I would be able to tie them in the dark), learning how to drive the skiffs(an open boat that we fish from), and how the whole operation works.  It is very intense and you have to be careful to avoid injury
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I live with Nate (my friend from Demotte), Luther(college housemate), and one other guy.  We all get along great.  There are a total of 11 guys on our crew this summer

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Our cook makes all our meals and does our laundry.  The food is very good and we have plenty to eat.

Fishing is going great and we had two thirty hour days.  Our schedule during these days is:  noon - put the nets out and go in for lunch after all the nets are set.  This work is very intense because the DNR will only let us have our nets in the water for a thirty hour period starting at noon so the emphasis is to get them out as fast as possible.  After a few hours, we return to the nets to pick the fish which involves pulling the net up to the surface and removing the fish by hand and returning the net to the sea.  After the first pick, we motor to the tender to offload our catch.  We then return to land (sometime between 10:30 PM and midnight for dinner and some sleep.  We start picking again at 8:00 AM and get an additional pick in before having to remove the nets from the ocean.  The fishing days are very intense and I love them.  As the season progresses, we will be permitted to leave the nets out for much longer periods of time.  The amount of time the nets can be in the water is tightly controlled to make sure the salmon population is sustainable.

Our boss said that we could take a break and go camping for 2 nights.  We slept under the starts both nights and were eaten alive by the mosquitoes.  We saw eagles, otters, fox, bear and other creatures.  Nature is incredibly beautiful out here.  

If you want to write, your letter will go to Anchorage, then to Kodiak Island, then to Larsen Bay by float plane, and then by boat to Bear Island.

Here is my address: Daniel Bykerk

                                     c/o Fields and Sons

                                     P.O. Box 88

                                     Larsen Bay, Alaska 99624

May 17 Off to Bear Island

I left Kodiak for Bear Island this afternoon.  I have been in Alaska for exactly 5 weeks today.  I have enjoyed staying in Kodiak and getting used to living in Alaska but its time to move on to fishing camp.  I flew out this afternoon from Kodiak airport in an 8 seat prop plane for Larsen Bay.  I will need to get down to the harbor in Larsen Bay and then catch the boat to Bear Island.  My updates will be much less frequent now since there is no cell phone coverage on Bear Island.  I can contact home in case of an emergency by satellite phone.   I hope they got the banya (a steam room used in place of a shower) on Bear Island fixed since it hasn't been working for the past ten days.  The washing machine on Bear Island is broken also so clothes is being washed by hand currently.  I have sent another group of pictures back home so you can look for them in about a week.  Bye for now.

May 14

Working on final preparations for leaving Kodiak for Bear Island.  On Thursday we finished painting the engine room on the Cowboy and am now changing engine oil.  Its been a busy day in Kodiak with a cruise ship arriving in port.  Lots of new people in town all commenting on how beautiful Alaska is.  For those of you who watch Deadliest Catch, I have seen the Cornelia Marie and Time Bandit in St Herman harbor.  The Cowboy is parked right next to another crab boat which is not on Deadliest Catch.  There are about 60 of these crab fishing boats in Alaska.  I have been having some interesting talks with the captain of that boat about what it is really like fishing for crab on the Bering Sea which is a little bit different than the TV series portrays.  After crab fishing season, these boats are used as tenders which means they carry supplies out to the salmon fishing fleet and carry the salmon catch back to the processing plants.  Weather continues to be in the 40's and since I am working in the harbor where you get a lot of sea breeze, I need to wear a sweater to stay warm.  Tomorrow Nate Vanderwall, one of my friends from De Motte will be joining me in Kodiak.  Both of us leave on Monday for Bear Island.

May 10 The Cowboy 2

Finishing work on the Cowboy, my home away from home for the past month.  I arrived in Kodiak 4 weeks ago today.  I have 3 new shipmates on the boat.  We are finishing scraping and painting the boat in preparation for the move to fishing camp on Bear Island.  Wallace will take the Cowboy to Bear Island and anchor it off the island for the summer fishing season where it will be used as a big ice making machine to help preserve the salmon we catch.  Shawn, my shipmate for the past month is returning home to Arkansas tomorrow because of a medical condition which prevents him from going to Bear Island.  Its always good to make new friends and tough to see them go.  Wallace and I took the Cowboy away from the dock today to fill up with fuel and fresh water.  Right now I plan on leaving Kodiak for Bear Island on Sunday or Monday.

May 6 The Cowboy

This is the Cowboy.  I live on this boat when I am in St Herman harbor in Kodiak.  Currently scraping off rust from the decks and getting ready for repainting.  I also loaded equipment onto a plane today as the Fields family gets ready to move to Bear and Harvester islands in preparation for the fishing season.  The Cowboy is used during the fishing season is to make ice to preserve the salmon.  Wallace Fields will drive the Cowboy from St Herman harbor in Kodiak to Bear Island.  Below is a video of the inside of the Cowboy.

Flying over Alaska on my way into Anchorage

This is St Herman's harbor in Kodiak. This is where I live while in Kodiak.

Another view of St Herman's harbor

St Herman harbor in Kodiak

This is Wallace's boat - the Rachelle Denae. I flew into Kodiak on Tuesday and left Wednesday morning on this boat to finish the cod fishing season.

Continuing out of the harbor on the way to the cod fishing grounds.

Continuing on to the cod fishing grounds.

This is the drive to the ranch where Shawn and I worked after cod fishing season to fix up some buildings.

Beautiful Scenery around Kodiak

Beautiful Scenery around Kodiak

Beautiful Scenery around Kodiak

Thursday, May 5

Since returning from herring fishing on Larsen Bay, I have been cleaning the boat which is covered in fish scales. The hold of the boat, where the fish are stored while we are fishing is divided into 8 compartments.  Each compartment is separate from every other compartment which allows us to fill one with fish before starting on the next one.  We clean these compartments in two steps.  In the first step, I use a pressure washer to clean all the scales of the inside of the compartment.  After all the compartments are pressure washed, I then wash each department with bleach and water.  You better like cold water if you are going to do this job.  Finished cleaning the boat.  Now working on the Cowboy which is the boat I normally live on while in Kodiak.  It is used for ice making while during salmon fishing season.  I am scraping paint and painting the boat to get it ready for the salmon fishing season.

Plans for now are to work the rest of the week in Kodiak and then fly out to Larsen Bay on a small plane.  The plane trip to Larsen Bay costs around $500 which is divided up between the number of people on the plane.  The number of people on the plane is determined by weight of the people and the weight of the gear.

Tuesday, May 3

Change of plans.  The herring catch was slow so Wallace and I returned to Kodiak from Larsen Bay yesterday.  I was able to call home about midnight on Wednesday morning.  10 hour return trip from Larsen Bay but it is beautiful travelling on the ocean.  I was able to drive the boat for four hours on the return trip.  While in Larsen Bay, we did travel out to Bear Island where I will be spending the summer salmon fishing season.  Herring fishing involves setting gil nets out in the ocean.  The nets have buoys on them to indicate their location and to allow you to retrieve them.  After letting the nets soak for a while, Wallace steers the boat toward the buoy and I throw a big hook out at the buoy to snag  the line attached to the net.  We can then retrieve the net with the fish.  I saw a number of whales on the way back from Larsen Bay to Kodiak which was a great experience.  It is hard to keep track of the day when you are out on the ocean since they seem to run together.  I only got a few hours of sleep in the last 48 hours so looking forward to some rest.  My clothes is covered with fish scales so some clothes washing is also necessary.  Weather is still about the same.  It snowed yesterday while we were fishing.  Since I am back in Kodiak, I think I will be taking a float plane back to Larsen Bay and then a boat to Bear Island in a few days.

Icicle Seafoods

Icicle Bay Seafood Cannery in Larsen Bay

The previous post mentioned Icicle Bay Seafoods where we stopped to offload our herring catch.  This facility is about 8 miles by water from Bear Island where I will be working until October.  I do not work at this plant, we just stopped to offload our herring catch.  If you would like to see some more pictures of Larsen Bay and learn more about the cannery follow the link below and click on the photos link on the left of the web site.  The video also shows how they process fish at this cannery and others owned by Icicle Bay Seafoods.

http://www.icicleseafoods.com/locations/lsb/about.aspx

Monday, May 2

Just received this email from Daniel,


Hey, I'm at Wallace's house on Kodiak near Larson Bay.  We have satellite internet, and he said I could check my email quick so I figured I would write u guys a message.  Herring fishing isn't going to well.  There isn't a lot but that was kind of expected we only got like 12,000 pounds and we think were the only people on Kodiak gil netting.We are docking near this cannery called Icicle Cannery in Larson Bay and it is awesome. Its like a fish town(Leeland, Michigan) on steroids.  We are so far out from anywhere we can't even get radio stations of any kind.  I need to get going because we are heading out fishing again.  Life is great, I hope you get my sd card soon with the pictures.  Very excited for Nate to get here.  Hope everything is going great back home. Hope to hear from you guys soon.  Don't bother emailing back because I won't be able to check it but I love you guys and take care, oh and tell the family and everyone I said hey!
                                          Love always,
                                                                 Daniel ~ el favorito~ Bykerk

Friday, April 29

Called home early this morning at 12:30 AM and woke my parents up to let them know I would be leaving tomorrow to go herring fishing.  I have packed all my gear and transferred it from the boat I had been living on to the fishing boat.  Wallace Fields and I will be leaving sometime tomorrow for the herring fishing grounds which I believe are some distance away.  I anticipate being out for about one week and then being dropped at Bear Island where I will spend the rest of the season which should last into October.  Bear Island is 10-12 hours by boat from Kodiak harbor.  You can find it in one of the maps at the top of the blog.  I don't think that I will be able to contact anyone with my cell phone from now until October but if anything changes I will call.  I will be sending back video recordings when I can along with pictures.  If you have questions, just leave them as comments and I will respond when I receive them.

Wednesday, April 27

Finishing up repair work at the ranch.  Then new tenants move in on May 1 so all the building remodel work needs to be finished.  Plumbing and electric needed to be redone along with drywall and paint.  Leaving tomorrow morning for herring fishing.  Not sure what that will be like, but the new experience should be fun and its nice to get away from the construction work for a bit and back out on the sea.  Received a CARE package from home which I will enjoy.  The abundance of animals here is amazing.  I have seen hundreds of bald eagles over the last two weeks and lots of sea lions which at times gather around the boat I live on and bark half the night.

Sunday, April 24

Went to church this morning for Easter service.  Had a great dinner with Wallace Field's family.  Lot's of great seafood for appertizers along with ham for dinner.  No work today.  Found out that the Rev Moon from the Unification Church has a big presence on the island.  He comes up to Kodiak to fish.  He also owns 2 fish canneries on Kodiak and comes to Kodiak from time to time to perform mass marriage ceremonies.

Nate Vanderwal, who was my roommate at Calvin during my freshman year, will be joining me for salmon fishing around May 20 on Bear Island.

I may leave for Bear and Harvester Island earlier than anticipated to get the fishing camps ready.  I was supposed to leave May 2 but may leave earlier than that.

Friday, April 15

Pulled into Kodiak harbor to offload our cod.  We are third in line.  I was able to call home since there is cell phone coverage in Kodiak.  We offloaded about 7000 pounds of cod.  Cod season is over.  The remainder of the time before I leave for fish camp on bear island will be spent cleaning up a small ranch owned by the Field family and getting the boat scraped and painted for fishing season.

Thursday, April 14

Since we are at sea, we started fishing at 6:00 AM.  This is the last day of cod fishing season.  Lots of new stuff to learn.  We fished straight through until midnight to finish the season.  It was a long day.  We pulled into a bay and slept overnight on the boat.  Tomorrow we return to Kodiak.  Seeing lots of bald eagles - at least a hundred of them.  Lots of sea lions also.

Wednesday, April 13

Breakfast on the boat.  The Cornelia Marie from The Deadliest Catch is moored in the harbor this morning.  Wallace picked me up this morning to get my commercial fishing license.  We left on his boat to the fishing grounds.  Fished all day on Wednesday for cod.  Slept on the boat overnight in a bay.

Tuesday, April 12

Left early for the airport.  Said goodbye to Mom and Dad.  My plane left O'hare at 9:40 AM.  It is a 6 hour and 45 minute trip straight to Anchorage on Alaskan Airlines.  After a brief layover in Anchorage, I catch the 737 to Kodiak which is about a 45 minute flight.  Landed in Kodiak at 4:05 PM.  Mountains are still capped with snow, it looks beautiful.  Time difference between Kodiak and Demotte is 3 hours.  Wallace Fields picked me up from the airport and took me to the boat which I will be living on until May 2.  It is a 75 foot boat located in Kodiak harbor.  Had dinner at Wallace's house and met the family.  Quite a day!

Monday, April 11

Packing day!  Got everything organized.  Finished packing up in the evening.  2 suitcases and a backpack holds everything. Friends came over to say goodbye.

Sunday, April 10

Jonathan and Rachel, David and Marena, and Amanda all came in on Saturday and Sunday to spend some time together before I leave since I won't be seeing anyone until at least October.

Saturday, April 9, 2011 - 3 days before leaving

Planning to leave for Alaska on April 16 but received a call from my boss Duncan Fields asking if I can come up earlier to finish cod fishing season.  I received the call while shopping for the remainder of my gear.  Really need to hurry up and get everything finished.  This is the list of gear I need to take along:
Personal toiletry articles for 150 days
150 day supply of medicine
Sunglasses
Dramamine
2 rolls of surgical/athletic tape and 2 rolls of surgical gauze
Stamps, pens, stationary
2 flashlights with 4 sets of batteries
3 zip front insulated hooded sweat shirts
4 pairs of jeans
4 pairs of sweat pants
4 heavy shirts
2 light shirts
2 sets of painting clothes
1 pair leather work shoes
1 pair tennis shoes
1 heavy jacket
1 light jacket
2 sweaters
1 belt
1 warm hat
1 hat for sun
2 pair leather working gloves
1 sleeping bag rated to 10 degrees
1 pillow case and any sheets desired
2 bath towels
2 wash clothes
1 laundry bag
Bible and any books you may want to read
non electric alarm clock
pocket knife
portable radio
150 day of batteries for all appliances
water resistant pocket watch

Thursday, April 21

Been spending my days on general maintenance at the ranch and cleaning the boat.  We cook breakfast on the boat, pack a lunch, and have dinner on the boat or at one of the family's homes.  There is no shower on the boat so we take one at one of the family's homes.  Went hiking out in the woods.  Everything is covered with moss because of all the rainfall we have.  I have had rain or snow almost everyday since I have been here.  No bear sitings yet since they are just now starting to come out of hibernation.  Kodiak has a mild climate with average temperature for the year being 40 degrees.  Average high in August is 61 degrees.  Because of the snow melt, there is lots of flowing water everywhere.  We pass 12 waterfalls on our drive to the ranch each day.  The sun comes up around 6:30 AM and sets at 10:30 right now.  In about three months, we will have 20 1/2 hours of daylight each day.

Tuesday, April 19

Working on the boat.  We need to scrape off the old barnacles.  Since the water temp in the harbor is 34 degrees, getting into the water is out of the question.  The tide rises and falls between 10-12 feet in the harbor.  There is a device under the boat which keeps it off the sea bottom when the tide goes out, so when the tide goes out, we climb over the side of the boat and start cleaning and sanding while standing on the sea bottom.

Monday, April 18

Off to the ranch to clean up some buildings.  Beautiful scenery.  The valleys are free of snow but the mountains are still topped with snow.  Its about a 40 minute drive to the ranch.  Most of the roads on Kodiak are unpaved so its pretty slow going.  My work in Demotte for Belstra Milling helped me prepare for this type of work.