bering sea

I remember the first time my family and i drove our boat from bethel to Tununak. I was in seventh grade, i think, Just going into 8th. maybe. Anyway, we were making the trip for the Kusko Book Express, boating to villages and fish camps and giving free books and snacks to kids. I remember the final day of our trip, we were finally driving from Chefornak to Tununak, and we ended up getting stuck in a minor storm. not really a storm i guess, but big waves and lots of wind and spray. Our boat is a long sea runner, one of the older models with a deep V making it hard to run through shallow rivers, but perfect for running it in the ocean. 

But even boating in the perfect sea runner was kind of hard. the waves were about 8 feet tall. Maybe taller, but they were all close together and the boat was rocking from side to side as if it were being shaken like a rattle. with each rock of the boat three sprays of water would find their way through the cracks in our boat cover, and we all held rags and our old socks in all of the cracks, trying to stay dry. it was chilly and damp inside the boat, and me and my brothers were laying on our makeshift bed, rolling with the waves, getting into fights and getting seasick. i remember having to use the bathroom, but was too scared to even try to accomplish the feat while the waves were doing the tango with my beloved boat. 

I remember how white the tips of the waves were, and looking into the deep blue green water every time our boat rocked side to side. despite all of the waves, the frenzy and confusion, the water somehow managed to remain only slightly cloudy. i think that's what i remember the most out of all of it, is how our bering sea is such a deep green color instead of the blue you'll see at any other ocean or sea. and how salty it always tastes, when you're expecting a fresh, almost plantlike sensation.

i remember during that same trip, after we had made it to Tununak, a few days later me and my dad went to Mekoryuk to deliver some books. On the way back, we surfed our way home on the long, rolling waves, my dad and i sharing stories while I maneuvered our overgrown boat smoothly on the waves, keeping speed while i rode on the top, speeding up to lift the nose when we began to get into the spaces in between each wave, then reaching the top of the next wave and repeating the same maneuvers over and over again, falling into the rhythm of the sea. 

It's amazing how boating can bring two people so close together. The small confined space, requiring at least two people to work together, in perfect unison. the anchorman and the driver, the straighten upper and the mechanic. captain and first mate. That summer i learned how to get along with my dad, and learned how to talk with him about everything. I think the boat had a lot to do with it, driving in the sea being even more involved.

 That summer i caught my first halibut. i was almost too scared to reel it in, it looked so huge coming up in the water. at first just a tug, and thinking its just another flounder. reeling and reeling and reeling it in, then seeing this monster come at you once it almost reaches the surface. The bat, the bat, wheres the bat?! aaaagh, it's huge! hurry help me! reel it in yourself. OH MY GOD ITS HUGE!!!!

lol. i was horrified of the thing, and scared silly at the thought of reeling it in myself. dad stunned it once it was out of the water by hitting it with his bat, then put it in a tub so it wouldnt flop all around the boat. The halibut wasn't huge, but it was still big enough for me to remain proud. The bicture of me trying to hold it up, laughing with my dad is still taped up on my wall, right next to my bed.

I love the sea.

I love the water.

I love my boat.

Can't wait 'till this summer