Akun Island

Last week I took a quick trip to Akun Island in the Aleutians.  We chartered a plane from Anchorage and were gone for only four nights.  As usual, the Aleutians did not disappoint with spectacular views, interesting beaches, and archaeological sites.  With a little luck we had a break in the weather, and were able to perform our hydrographic survey from the little inflatable boat we brought with us.  Here are a few of my photos.

Artifacts we found lying exposed on the ground in a circle of cobles

Beach vegetation making art in the wind

Getting ready to launch the boat and go survey

Eric standing in a Aleut house pit

Beachcombing

East end of Surf Bay

Our chartered flight.  A Pilatus PC-12

Working and Photographing in Cordova

Cordova is a place I have wanted to visit for many years, but I have never had the pleasure until this last week.  Under blue bird skies we boarded the fast ferry Chenega in Whittier and sailed across Prince William Sound at an amazing 32 knots.  I brought along our digital SLR camera hoping to capture some good photos.  It was a good choice, the weather was nice most days and the scenery was great.  Cordova is a cute little town with a lots of rugged mountains, pretty boats, and wildlife.  I wish I had had more time to wander the town and learn more about the history, but on the other hand being out on the water all day was nice too.  I posted a lot of photos here because I just couldn't bring myself to narrow it down any further.  This is my favorite 16 photos out the 200 plus that I took last week.  Someday I would like to go back to Cordova with Molly and spend time learning more about the history and hiking trails in Chugach National Forest.

Iceberg in Portage Lake on the way to Whittier

Our survey boat the Latent Sea

Chugach Mountains near the Columbia Galcier

Compass Inlay on the floor of the Chenega

Mountains and flag from the deck of the Chenega near Valdez

The M/V Chenega

Boat in Orca Bay with Gulls

Old Cordova Public School

Fireweed overlooking Cordova

Overlooking Cordova

Cordova Boat Harbor

The Ruff & Ready

Porpose

Porpose off our bow

The Northwestern set up to tender fish

Inside the Latent Sea

More from Ketchikan

Ketchikan is known for being one of the rainiest places in Alaska, but the last couple of weeks I spent here haven't been too bad.  Maybe that's because I came prepared for rain or maybe its because I am still accustomed to the fall and winter seasons of Seattle.  I didn't see much sun while I was here but I still managed to capture a few good photos and take in some beautiful scenery.  Unfortunately the photos I took of an Orca didn't come out very well.  I was in Ketchikan over the Independence day weekend and even spent an afternoon downtown with the cruise ship tourists.  

Beach at a state park north of Ketchikan

Our survey vessel

Independence Day rubber ducky race at Creek Street.

Surveying on a nice calm day.

Akutan, Alaska

My most recent survey took me to Akutan a village east of Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands.  Akutan is also home to the largest seafood production facility in North America operated by Trident Seafoods.  It was great to be back in Dutch Harbor and on the same boat we used in February.  The Miss Alyssa is a solid vessel and her owner and captain is one of best captains I have been privileged to work with.  Here are some photos from my trip.

Village of Akutan

Russian Orthodox church in the village of Akutan

Trident Seafood facility in Akutan

Bering Sea crab

Humpback Whale

Humpback Whale

Hello from Dutch Harbor

I've been working in Dutch Harbor for almost two weeks now.  We have had both calm beautiful weather and tremendously awful weather with rain, snow and gusts up to 100mph registered on the nearby container crane.  Here are a few photos worth sharing.

The new boat harbor was fairly full right before the superbowl and then empty afterwards

Xtra Tuffs at the shipsuppy store

Out boat captains crab storage pot he keeps next to his boat

11 tanner crabs ready for dinner

I've been eating well

Return to St. George

When I left St. George two months ago I knew I would be coming back.  We had placed three acoustic doppler current profilers (ADCPs) on the seafloor to measure currents and wave heights.  But recovering the ADCPs in mid-November in the Bering Sea would be difficult; we might have to wait weeks for a good weather window.  So when we retrieved all three ADCPs in one afternoon the day after landing in St. George I felt like we had pulled off some sort of miracle, and in a way we did.  I downloaded the data from the ADCPs and can see that this was the first extended period of calm weather in St. George since they equipment was deployed.  

Weather in the Bering Sea in November can be downright frightful.  You probably have seen an episode of the show Deadliest Catch and know that this is not a place for casual boating, in fact the seas are so violent that the fisherman in St. George cannot leave their boats in the water as they would be destroyed by the surge that can exceed 5 feet IN THE HARBOR.

This year was no exception, and during the first week of November a huge storm rolled through as if right of cue.  This was NOAA's weather synopsis on November 5th:

Synopsis...A HURRICANE FORCE 951 MB LOW 380 NM WEST OF SAINT PAUL WEAKENS TO 956 MB AS IT MOVES NORTH TO FAR EASTERN RUSSIA WED NIGHT BEFORE SLOWLY WEAKENING THROUGH THU NIGHT.

Winds gusts were forecasted to reach as high as 75mph and seas could build to as big at 25ft.  That sounds scary, but what is really scary is this.  Our ADCP located approximately one mile off the coast from St. George recorded a significant wave height of 32 feet and a maximum wave height on November 7th of 48 feet!  I can't even image what a 48 foot wave looks like, nor do I have any desire to see a 48 foot wave.

Now with our equipment packed it’s just a matter of getting off the island.  Our flight yesterday was canceled due to strong crosswinds at the airport so we are booked to depart on Friday.  I guess it’s time to get caught up with things like organizing photos on my computer and writing on the blog.

 

This is the flight that brought us to the Island.  Check out the very appropriate painting on the fuselage

Jason and I exploring the island

Our equipment is packed and ready for shipment.  We don't travel light, those big totes weigh about 200Lbs each.

One of the ADCPs after retrieving it from the seafloor.

Fur Seas of St. George

One of the most amazing things about working on St. George is being around the fur seals and their pups.  As I will be departing soon I took a walk to the south rookery on a recent (and rare) sunny evening.  I captured some decent photos given that I was working with a point and shoot camera with very limited zoom.  I was particularly amused by the young male that never woke up during the half hour I was standing nearby.  I was close enough to hear him snoring and see his pulse in his neck.  Our boat captain mentioned that fur seals are very deep sleepers.  Lucky for the seals there are no predators on land besides us.

Sleeping Fur Seal

St. George, Alaska

I have been overdue to write a few words about working in St. George.  With the winds gusting up to 50 mph today and the rain coming down sideways I hardly have a reason to leave the hotel and thus will say a little about my new home away from home.  After three weeks here on St. George in the Pribilof Islands I am starting to feel like a local.  I probably have met half the town by now and I know at least 15 or 20 people by their first names.  Last names are harder, mostly because they are Russian and difficult for me to pronounce, although on the upside there are only a handful of last names in the whole village.

As I expected the Island of St. George has remarkable natural beauty, it is the of beauty that you find in the Aleutians.  A rugged, treeless, untamed natural landscape teaming with wildlife and beckoning to be explored.  St. George is an oasis for birds and sea mammals alike.  We are fortunate to be here while the fur seal pups are on the beaches and around the harbor.   I’m not much of a birder, but I certainly have enjoyed watching the fur seals.  The pups are very cute and I find myself smiling and laughing when I stop to watch.  There are literally hundreds if not thousands of seals in and around the harbor.  Some days we watch them surfing in the waves and other days they are hauled out high on the rocks. 

The village of St. George is as you might expect.  A bit battered from the harsh marine climate but otherwise pleasant with a nice old hotel and a classic Russian Orthodox Church.  The hotel has 10 rooms and was originally built for government employees.  It is quite a bit nicer than I expected and really and excellent place to stay.  We share a very large kitchen with the other guest, it’s a social place where guests spend time chatting with one another in the kitchen and the nicely appointed library.  Most rooms have a good view and there is plenty of space to dry our wet rain gear.

At this point we have only a few days of work remaining although the final duration will depend largely on the weather.  We have successfully mapped the harbor bathymetry and deployed acoustic devices on the seafloor that will measure the currents and waves over the next few months.  At some point in couple months from now I will return to St. George to recover our equipment.

Puffins (photo courtesy of Karl Woods)

Fur Seals (photo courtesy of Karl Woods)

View from the hotel including Russian Orthodox Church

Village of St. George

Collecting Sediment Samples

Waves breaking into the harbor

Looking for survey monuments

Fur Seals

Library in the hotel