Finally....Dutch!

Hey Everybody!

While not a BAD voyage by fishing boat standards, I gotta tell you we normal people took a beating from the storm that left snow on Dutch Harbor's tallest peaks overnight. (BTW: Sharm, this isn't first snow I have found for C, but it's the freshest! :-). Actually, some of the crew and long-time AK residents were nauseous and/or sick overnight. Our last stop on Friday evening was False Pass - you know, where a bunch of us had ice cream :-).

Within an hour of that port we were already rocking & tossing on the water. It didn't let up until we arrived to Dutch Harbor a little before Noon - nearly 3hrs late! In short, for a good 15-16hrs we were on a roller coaster. It rained, it hailed, the sun shone & then the rain started up again. Some people were sick all night. Others couldn't sleep because of the rocking and/or noise. Believe me, there was A LOT of both. Luggage fell and slid around, the vessel makes all kinds of loud clanging noises, the wind was howling. I didn't sleep much either due to noise & rocking, but I was never sick. Thankfully!

Unimak Pass - a point where the North Pacific and the Bering Sea collide - has (I hope) proven to be a good test for my upcoming Drake Passage experience. I have been told that we could have had a worse ride down to Dutch. I like to think I'm ready for Drake, but who really knows! What I can say is this: (1) if it had been warmer and drier I would have been sitting outside for part of the trip just because I prefer fresh air in rough waters & of course to watch; (2) there weren't nearly as many fishing boats in the local harbors as I expected in this town of 3500 residents. I've seen way more fishing boats in the smaller communities; and (3) Dutch looks a bit like Hawaii to many people & it's beautiful - except without trees.

As I said, we arrived late, so only had 1/2 a day to explore in a mix of rain, hail, wind, and occasionally glorious sun. We had lunch at the "fancy" hotel, The Grand Aleutian. It was really good....best meal most of us have had for days and days! The other hotel costs about $60 less and it's rumored to be not so nice. Same owners by the way....and both over $100/night.

We saw the old Russian Orthodox church from the yard....bldg was locked. We saw the WWII memorial site. We picked wild blueberries, which were so tasty! No bears here; no worry about wilderness wandering. We roamed stores to check out prices and produce just for something to do to warm up. Oh, and did I mention that IN THE HAIL (ok, it was brief & small, but it was still hail) I found the strength to get FlatJen right up next to a former Deadliest Catch vessel....and, in all honesty, she should thank the person who rescued her from the bear for pointing out the vessel. I didn't have a clue.

Dutch Harbor is the largest fishing port in the USA. But what makes it historically significant is the role it played in WWII. The military personnel cracked enemy codes and fought here. There are WWII bunkers & old bldgs all around.

Coming into Dutch....

Looking first at the bay & then just past the point to the Bering Sea.

Next two pics....as we're leaving Dutch Harbor.

Quick update: A former Dutch resident just told me there were not many boats because most of them come from Anchorage & Seattle. The harbors start to fill up about 2 weeks before a new season so they can ready the boat & stock it, etc. He also said it's not uncommon for 80 boats to arrive in a day. Once the boats arrive they tend to empty out Safeway grocery store to stock their vessels. So, the day before the boats come in all the locals hit the grocery store for their supplies.

PS Capt. Heidi...this is one place where you should NOT bring your boat. There really are big a*s waves here :-)

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