Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

dabsgramsandxans OP t1_j1p7t2e wrote

Hmu man. If you have quota for tanners you can still crab but yes king is officially cancelled this year. Just wondering what boat as I know a lot of the skippers out there. Sucks they shut kings down but if you have quota for tanners which my boat does you can still go get your quota. Gonna be good money in pot cod this year I'm doing that too on my boat

1

lurker-1969 t1_j1qd2x3 wrote

Opilio shut down too, right? When I was fishing they were considered garbage crab. Our pots would be plugged when we got into those suckers. 1978 Red King quota 125 million pounds for the fleet. We plugged the Nordic Venture, a brand new boat in about 24 hours, 237,000 lbs. Those were the hay days. Bairdi Tanner was a second rate fishery at the time. Personally I like the meat better than King. My buddy who was part owner in Nordic Venture owns Aleutian Beauty. They are Halibut and cod fishing and he is still driving at 66. Pretty grumpy about his King quota shares.

1

dabsgramsandxans OP t1_j1qkt5n wrote

Yeah rog opies also cancelled and I agree garbage crab personally I like tanners the most then king too and those dungees are pretty damn good too when you're eating them fresh on deck. Tanners is open down in kodiak too double quota from last year, got 8.25 a pound from trident last year for tanners this year kodiak guys are going on strike it sounds like because they're trying to lowball with 4 bucks a pound even though there's no king on the market. Also only got 2.75 a pound for dungees this year. Those were the days back then I bet, did yall have a kingcoiler and sorting table? Love the aluetian beauty she's a beautiful boat and is the nordic venture now the new venture out of kodiak?

1

lurker-1969 t1_j1qo8zg wrote

When I took my first trip in Tanner '78 we had no sorting tale and no coiler. On Nordic Venture we had a coiler but never used it. On my first boat Emerald Island we had a trolly system for pot management, same on Nordic Venture.. Cranes were just coming into use. Nordic Venture got ran on the rocks during Adak King season and sank 1979. Fucking unbelievable. Flat calm, sunny morning and Skipper fell asleep at the wheel, no watch alarm on. Norwegians for you.

2

dabsgramsandxans OP t1_j1qp200 wrote

Wow that's fucking terrible to hear you need a watch alarm on idc how badass of a skipper you are when you're up that many hours you need a watch alarm. Falling asleep at the wheel smfh, You're responsible for everyone's lives on that boat. I can't imagine how tough that shit must've been no crane, sorting table, or kingcoiler, all hand coiling and tanner taxis. I tip my hat to all you guys who've done it whether it's back in the day or now crabbing will break you down like no other job in the entire world. Second to none. But I bet you got some damn good elbow room stories from back then😂.

1

lurker-1969 t1_j1skxsd wrote

We were all a bunch of swinging Dicks in our early 20's I grew up on a cattle ranch and had been around equipment and hazardous work for years, safety first. The other guys were city guys with not much experience at anything and had no sense of safety. EVERYBODY wanted a job on a crab boat and I got mine so in that respect I guess I was lucky and lucky to survive working on deck with these guys. My friends from my home town who I went to high school with came over to my boat and said I could work on their family boat any time and that maybe I wasn't in the best situation with these guys. In the end they were correct but I had chosen to stay home with my family and ill mother on the ranch at the time of the sinking. Family first always. I have lost friends to the Bearing Sea. Captain Jeff Hathaway of the Destination was a close friend. His wife and I worked together. Everybody is all Yeeha when money is being made and risks are taken but when shit goes bad as it did in his case it is a tragedy. Stay safe.

2

dabsgramsandxans OP t1_j1slj8n wrote

Still the same situation everyone wants to go crabbing and only 10% can tough it out. It's just as much about being mentally strong as physically and emotionally strong. Sorry to hear about Jeff and the crew of the destination. Was such a beautiful boat same with the scandies rose. Sad sad day for the rest of the fleet. I've heard everyone speak very highly of Jeff including my father. Family always comes first I've had to turn down job offers that kids my age would kill for. But like you said family comes first. Just gotta keep praying for fair winds and full tanks.

1

lurker-1969 t1_j1swems wrote

My friend the Aleutian Beauty owner and Jeff Hathaway's wife were very close to Scandies. Jeff was a really great guy. I liked him a lot. The last time I saw him was at his daughter's small wedding. He was the proud dad with a big hug and a big smile. Yea, you could line up 50 guys and try to pick the ones you thought would make on deck. Likely you would be wrong, It's in the head and heart. I watched a ton come and go.

1

dabsgramsandxans OP t1_j1swvz7 wrote

Yeah Roger you see big strong 6 foot guys break down and cry and I've seen little guys work their ass off day in and day out on deck. All in the mind if you don't have the drive for it you won't make it through a season. Sorry to hear about Jeff Hathaway and the rest of the crew I'll never forget the day I heard about the destination and the day I heard about the scandies. Always saw the scandies and it was such a beast I fell in love with that boat the first time I saw it.

1