Kodiak, Alaska-Martin Day 8
Kodiak, Alaska-Martin
Day 08 - Friday - June 4, 2010 - Kodiak, Alaska
Sunrise: 5:14 AM AKDT Sunset: 11:02 PM AKDT Length of Day: 17h 47m
After breakfast I went with Vic Martin to turn in the rental car. The weather was still cool and cloudy with intermittent showers. The Marine forecast for Chiniak Bay where we were yesterday was calling for Gale Warnings! Here in Kodiak Harbor it was 47º with 94% humidity.
Gennie looked at Flight Tracker and found that the Alaska Airlines Kodiak to Anchorage departure left on time today so that will be an indicator of our success for Sunday morning. We will wait and see and take one day at a time.
Kathy and Vic came over to use the internet and Kathy did laundry at the Kodiak Inn. It was handy to have the facilities here and we have noticed many people who used the hotel’s amenities so close to St. Paul’s Harbor.
Gennie and I decided to make the trek over the bridge on foot to explore Near Island today. The wind was very strong and the skies were menacing so we chose to go to St. Herman Harbor and walk outside while we had the dry weather early this morning.
As we walked to the docks, we saw several sea lions in the water. I talked to a few fishermen who asked us if we were there to see the Deadliest Catch Boats. Although we watch the Discovery Channel, we had never seen that series.
Following their directions, we walked all the way to the end of the harbor and saw huge crab boats. The Cornelia Marie lists Kodiak St. Herman Harbor as its home port and is one of the boats featured on the show.
In addition to that boat, there were several more of the huge fleet whose crews brave the deadly Northern waters of the Bering Sea in search of King Crab. The crab season extends from October to April.
After seeing all we thought we could see, we discovered the 70' Le Manguier, the experimental tug and sailing vessel that Captain Philippe Hercher lectured about last Sunday evening during the Crab Festival events.
It was about 12:30 when we left the Harbor and hiked back to the main road and then on to the Kodiak Fisheries Research Center. We had tried to visit it last Saturday but it was closed.
The Research Center is home to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and the University of Alaska Research Facilities.
Research at this station focuses on salmon and crab which are of commercial importance, but also deals with other wildlife of the area, as well as the environmental and educational importance of fishing in Kodiak.
There was no one else visiting the Aquarium and the Touch Tank today so we had the guide Martha all to ourselves. She was very knowledgeable and helped us to learn about the animals of the salt water seas surrounding Kodiak Islands.
We discovered that the star fish were very rigid and the sea cucumbers were very squishy. Today’s video was shot completely underwater in the Touch Tank. I used the Panasonic DMC-TS2 underwater camera.
The winds had really picked up by the time we thanked Martha and hiked back across the bridge to the town of Kodiak. It was 2:30 when we reached the hotel. The GPS calculated that we had walked 9.4 miles, a good day of exercise!
Gennie typed the journal and I looked at the photos of the day. Martins asked us to join them on the boat for dinner so we went over to the grocery store to look over the desserts they had in stock. We settled on a Cajun nut mix and a strawberry coffee cake to go with Kathy’s red beans and rice meal.
I took Skipper out for an evening walk and talked to the captain of the Moon Shadow who had been out today and he told me the seas were dreadful.
We came back to the hotel at 10:15 and the wind was gusting 26 miles per hour. We posted the journal; happy to be safe in the hotel and that Vic & Kathy were spending the night in the protected harbor.
Accommodations: Best Western Kodiak Inn
Comments
Post a Comment!I sure am enjoying your trip.
King Crab (1:27)
St. Herman Harbor
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Cornelia Marie from Deadliest Catch
70' Le Manguier
Aquarium at Fisheries Research Cente...
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