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International—Intrigue—Injustice

On a boat trip through the San Juan Islands a pod of orcas swam close enough to look into their eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sun and sea on an autumn day—the Puget Sound calm and empty except for the whales.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linda (right) and Jeff invited several friends and family the night before to a dinner in their beautiful home on the beach. What a sweet surprise to meet so many “strangers” who had read Into the Nevernight and wanted to know more about the children’s voices in places of conflict. By the end of the evening, after wrestling with issues like poverty and politics, there were no more strangers in the room—only concerned friends.

 

 

Jeff (left) heads Alaska Ocean Seafood, a fishing company with one of the largest fishing ships in America.

 

On board that day the whales visited, were five ship’s skippers—Jeff, his two sons Rod and Todd, and Scott Symonds and his wife Liz (peering into the sun).

 

 

Despite (or maybe because of) the five skippers, one of the boat’s engines died and needed to be repaired at sea. This happened in record time and the boat soon arrived at its lunch destination (left). 

 

The day was full of story:

· about whales and how when they circle tightly as ours did, it might mean one was giving birth

· about fishing and Alaska

· about death and daring

· about the past.

 

Here is the wooden fishing boat “of fair lines and strong spirit” that Jeff’s father used to take up to the Bering Sea from Seattle. In Jeff’s own words: “In about 1938 at age 18, my father started crewing on a Bering Sea halibut schooner. He crewed

During a visit to Washington State, in the Northwest of America, readers of Into the Nevernight morphed into friends. Thanks to the gracious hospitality of Jeff and Linda Hendricks, Anacortes became one more place that feels like home.

alongside his father for the first few years. After rising to the level of captain, my father purchased the Yakutat in 1943. He continued fishing as captain of the Yakutat until 1955. 

           “The Yakutat was an 80-foot halibut schooner that was built in 1913 to fish the halibut fisheries of the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. Its original main engine was a 40-horse-power gas engine but it could travel under a full complement of sails, as well. She originally carried up to six 18-foot dories and a crew consisting of a captain, cook, engineer and 10 or 12 fishermen. In later years the Yakutat's horse power was increased and she fished without dories by hauling the longline fishing gear by herself. The crew size was reduced to about nine.

           “A typical fishing trip of the Yakutat meant leaving Seattle with about 40 tons of flake ice onboard and heading out across the Gulf of Alaska towards the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, taking about 10 days. They would then fish until the hold was full which would take 10 to 20 days. A full load of halibut on ice was about 75,000 pounds. They would then travel home to Seattle—the entire trip taking from 30 to 40 days. After unloading, then taking on fuel, water and supplies, she would head north again. This continued year round.  

           “As you can imagine, the living quarters onboard were very cramped and working conditions were at times extreme.

           “My dad's sea stories usually paled mine in comparison.”