emwcee wrote:Hi Mike,
Thanks so much for agreeing to join us here. I'm Marcia Claesson, one of your Facebook friends.
What races are you doing this year, and do you have plans to do the Iditarod again?
When you moved to Alaska from Iowa, what was the transition like? What are some differences between the two places, besides just the weather? (I'm from Nebraska.)
I'm curious about your experiences in commercial fishing, especially since I read the book Nights of Ice, Stories of Disaster and Survival on Alaska's High Seas ( a very good book, for anyone who is interested.) Have you had any scary situations/close calls while fishing? Any exciting stories?
Thanks, Marcia,
I might do the Kobuk 440 again this year, but we'll see. For now I want a break and do other things for awhile.
Moving up here was a big change. Not so much the cold, since it does get pretty cold in the midwest as well. Everything is almost the opposite of Iowa here. Mountains, trees, wildlife etc. It was a hard concept at first to think I can walk over that hill, go 500 miles and not cross a road or see a person until I get to the ocean. But it grows on you quickly and it's hard to live anywhere else once you come here.
Commercial fishing is a lot of fun, I love doing it. We drift net and set net. In a lot of ways it's like mushing. Very little sleep and your always cold and hungry! There have been lots of minor things, such as storms and getting over loaded, but for the most part we are very safe. There have been times when our nets have snagged and we've almost flipped or running aground in the middle of the bay. One time while the period was closed, we had our boat anchored up by our house and when it was opening we got all ready and stuff, get down there and the boat was gone! Someone had cut the anchor but luckily enough it was on the flood and it drifed upriver a few miles instead of out into the ocean never to be seen again.