Friday, June 11, 2010

BM3 Kevin Tanski - Memorial Day

Aboard Cutter Sherman there are plenty of chances to catch the big fish, Memorial Day was no different. It started out on the night of the 30th of May when we skillfully anchored in Makushin Bay, outside of Unalaska Island. Then we heard, “Down down all lines, up up all fish, commence fish call!”
Bos'n was able to get his line out first, but the first fish went to Petty Officer White, a small Rock fish. Then a few more fishermen decided to try their luck. Most caught something, like a Rock fish or P cod, but there were no Halibut. A few determined fishermen like Petty Officer Keeter and SN Campbell, didn’t want to miss out on any of the action so they stayed out most of the night.
Then an early morning for some, dropped their lines to see what they can pull up from the depths of the Bering. A lot more luck for most, especially Petty Officer Gerszi with the prize catch of the day, a Halibut. He was the only one who caught a Halibut during the two days of fishing. A few fish were able to get off the hooks of some and others lost their gear to the bottom of the sea. Overall, the crew had a lot of fun catching a few fish and enjoying a relaxing day off from the rigorous work of being underway.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

ENS Peter Deneen 28 May

To catch y’all up to speed, we left San Francisco on April 5th. Before leaving I packed up my room and left it up to my roommates to find our new digs in San Fran. It was a sad goodbye, they hadn’t returned from Haiti until the first week of March and now I wouldn’t see them again until Christmas. Our group of friends would be transferring out this summer, so the times were a changin’ and SHERMAN was headed to the Arctic.

First stop was Indian Island, WA to pick up ammo, a beautiful spot right near Port Townsend. The weather was terrible the entire way up and would be just as bad on the way out, we didn’t have seas less than 15-feet for the first 10 days. We spent the night and left for Kodiak in the afternoon the following day. Since then we have moored in Dutch Harbor several times and once in Adak, an island at the far western edge of the Aleutian Chain. We have boarded eight vessels, including two high interest vessels in the Bering. We have seen the Arctic ice cap, blizzards, sunsets at 1 o'clock in the morning, line crossing ceremonies, injuries, good times, and hard times.

A large portion of the crew is on the verge of transferring to new units. Fast-paced learning is taking place at every level on board the ship as the urgency to be prepared for the departure of experienced crew members has been realized. Like I said, the times are changing for everyone on board. There are some good stories coming out of the Bering this spring, which will be shared on this blog in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more from the 720 in the northern latitudes.