....A cruise Line's version of the Deadliest Catch
by Betsy
Not counting the 7 days we spent with Tim and Jackie, which was priceless, this last tour we opted for out of Ketchikan was the best tour we took. The F/V Aleutian Ballad is a fishing vessel (that's what the F/V stands for - something else I learned) that had previously been an active King Crab Fishing Boat and was actually featured during the 2002 season of Deadliest Catch. For those of you who religiously follow the show, this is the boat that took a 60 foot rogue wave over the side, rolled it on its side, but managed to recover. Well good news - there were no rogue waves Thursday; in fact the weather once again was smiling on us with sunshine and calm seas. We were treated to a fantastic afternoon of wildlife viewing both above and below the sea.
picture of the Aleutian Ballad
We traveled about 40-50 minutes from Ketchikan to a secluded area where the sunshine felt even stronger and the wind was even calmer. We were able to view sea lions sunning themselves on small islands.
Then, to our surprise, the Aleutian Ballad arrived near another island - this one full of eagles. They proceeded to toss fish into the water for the eagles as we stood by with our cameras snapping picture after picture of these beautiful creatures. I managed to get many good shots and have to say my arms were actually tired from holding the camera and snapping pictures, which sounds sort of ridiculous but was true!
Next we ambled along to where they had set a crab pot and pulled it in, just like in the show, although they don't dump the crab on the deck for this tour. We caught Brown King Crabs this time. Further along they caught and/or pulled in a Spiny Rockfish, Sea Prawns, Starfish, Sunflower Sea Star, Rock Crab, Dungeness Crab,
a Wolf eel and Octopus. Both the Wolf eel and Octopus will get into the crab pots and eat the King Crab so they have to catch these predators and keep them alive in a keg-shaped trap. Even if they try to return these predators to another spot in the ocean, they will remember where the King Crab pots are and return - they have a very good memory.
Hardcore Crab Eating.
Coffee, Tea, and Hot Chocolate were complimentary along with a snack for the ride back. And of course there was a shop onboard to purchase t-shirts, hats, etc. - we were told somewhere along the line that it's an Alaskan law that there must be a gift shop within 1000 feet of a tourist - I must say that all Alaskans comply with the law. But again, the tour was wonderful and the crew and boat captain were very candid, informative and interactive with us. They even posed with all of us at the end for a picture taken with the ships life buoy.
Crew Member Don, Ed, Betsy and Crew Member Terry
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