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Yes, plenty of lifes goals. I wanted to work as a police officer in Alaska years ago. A friend told me about his experiences up here. But I didn't just buy a ticket and fly up here without a job. That was back in the days before the internet was invented.
I subscribed to the Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau newspapers. I sent in resumes and filled out applications for every cop job they advertised. Finally in March of 1984 the North Slope Borough police department offered me a job in Barrow. I had never been there before or even heard of it. But I took the job and moved up there.
Imagine what my predicament would have been if just moved up there with no job or no housing lined up. I'd have got off the plane and then what?
I guess those are my serious questions to you. After you get off the plane what is the first thing you are going to do? You're bringing all this fishing gear and tent and clothes, what are you going to do with that stuff? Where are you going to put it? Where are you going to sleep the first night your there? Did you already call ahead and make arrangements for a place to stay for at least the first few days while you figure out where to set up camp?
I inject a bit of negativity because I've seen first hand what happens to individuals and families that come up here totally unprepared chasing a pipe dream. Yes, I had to tell a young man and his family of 8 that arrived here in Fairbanks in the winter of 1991 in a barely running motorhome that they had already finished building the Trans Alaska oil pipeline. He had no other plan. The look of dejection on his face said it all. I gave him the phone numbers to the local social services agencies and left. There really wasn't anything else I could do.
The NWS says it's currently 32 degrees with light snow falling in Unalaska...
i have been looking at the local papers online trying to get a local grasp of the place. i'm trolling of here and other sites trying to get as much info together so if one or two plans don't work out i have a third and forth ready to go. and i know your just looking out for me w the comments. as far as getting off the plain, probably go get my commercial fishing license and try to follow some leads i've gotten. but i am prepared for most situations. for this trip i have my military sea bag which will fit all my gear from my rain gear, to cloths, to 3x foot wears, tent gear, ect.... i'll be good to go as long as the airlines don't screw my luggage up. it happens. but everything can be fitted in there. i can probably bring bring 2-3 weeks of food so i don't have to spend as much money on feeding myself. if u read all the post i have evrything i need to stay warm and dry and under the wind when sleeping. after that all my time can be used for search for work and talking to ppl. i use to work for Asplundh tree experts i's sure u've heard of them and i use to work storm all that time and travel to help other areas w clean up. i'm no stranger to cold wet winds. to me it sounds like good working weather :P
Not to be a downer, but that's what all the greenhorns on "That Show" say about Unalaska/DH and the Bering Sea. I have no idea where you can even camp --maybe a bunker? Probably illegal? Walking around --not really done a lot, but you can do it, the roads are usually pretty snowy and icy and visibility often sucks. It'll all make sense soon.
Hmmm airport... then? Check with the processors for a bunk house room, really not my world, I'm way out in "the valley" on the Unalaska side and not totally up on the transient side of things. The library (Unalaska side) has free computers to use. The pool and the PCR (rec center, both on the Unalaska side) will let you pay $5 or so to shower and workout/sauna/swim. You can get your license at AK Ship Supply if you get a job, it just takes a couple of minutes. I do know that I work for some boats and take new guys shopping there.
The docks or the bars I suppose, seems like a lot of the vessels are at the new Carl E Moses boat harbor on the Unalaska side, but some are still "on the spit" out past the airport. And sometimes I see them at the small boat harbor too. The ones that are working and busy tend to tie up at the docks to deliver --Unisea, Coastal- Pac Steve/Kloosterboer/OSI/Westward/Aleyska and not in the harbors at all. It's a funny town, friendly but harder than most to navigate without having a situation set up ahead of time or any contacts. Good luck!
My husband runs a state patrol vessel, not a commercial boat. And yeah we have been in AK over 100 years on both sides of the family, we are very comfortable here. It's a GREAT town, we have raised our family here. The school is award-winning!
well then u have watched more tv than me.. i only seen parts of that show hear and there. my buddy just put it on his netflixs cus he thinks my crazy. but then again he don't work at all. he has never worked a hard day in his life, so from his point of view. any work is overwhelming lol. he was trying to talk me out of it but i need to do whats best for me. ok so most captains try to help out the horns w gear and license some what. thats good. i got most my gear tho. and i'll check the possessors for a bunk. the for your help
i have been looking at the local papers online trying to get a local grasp of the place. i'm trolling of here and other sites trying to get as much info together so if one or two plans don't work out i have a third and forth ready to go. and i know your just looking out for me w the comments. as far as getting off the plain, probably go get my commercial fishing license and try to follow some leads i've gotten. but i am prepared for most situations. for this trip i have my military sea bag which will fit all my gear from my rain gear, to cloths, to 3x foot wears, tent gear, ect.... i'll be good to go as long as the airlines don't screw my luggage up. it happens. but everything can be fitted in there. i can probably bring bring 2-3 weeks of food so i don't have to spend as much money on feeding myself. if u read all the post i have evrything i need to stay warm and dry and under the wind when sleeping. after that all my time can be used for search for work and talking to ppl. i use to work for Asplundh tree experts i's sure u've heard of them and i use to work storm all that time and travel to help other areas w clean up. i'm no stranger to cold wet winds. to me it sounds like good working weather :P
Asplundh tree expects? LOL LOL no, I live in the middle of nowhere! We're all friendly here and get used to people asking why you came to town, where you're working and staying then shaking their heads and kindly rolling their eyes...we're pretty predictable. I do watch the show, it's fun to see our town and people I know --my husband's boat was on in season 1 (from a distance) and he was a crewmember on a few of the boats before switching to the state!
I don't know if that guy is actually here, but the 1st three days of 2013 have been so sunny, so calm...it's just weird! I do wish him luck!
i had troubles w an air line ticket i am able to get a flight for the 19th of this month :/ i know i'll be missing the end of crab season but i don't only wanna go there for just crab fishing lol. i just wanna go out the to work and be there. how it looking out there and what do u thing about a flight there on the 19th. i heard i'd be better off in seattle but i really wanna come up to Alaska. what do u think?
i had troubles w an air line ticket i am able to get a flight for the 19th of this month :/ i know i'll be missing the end of crab season but i don't only wanna go there for just crab fishing lol. i just wanna go out the to work and be there. how it looking out there and what do u thing about a flight there on the 19th. i heard i'd be better off in seattle but i really wanna come up to Alaska. what do u think?
You asked the question (above) and I'm going to answer it this way. Go back to the pictures I posted last month (12/5/2012). One of them now shows about 300 pictures I took on the day we arrived in DH/UA and should give you a feeling for what you're heading into. First note my pictures were taken in June during a very warm spell which had sunshine for four full days which I was told hadn't happened in years previous to when we arrived. Note the mountains have snow a few hundred feet above sea level on that date. But note in particular there is very little in the way of buildings visible in almost all of the background visible. There simply isn't much to DH/UA and it is spread out over about 4 miles starting at the spit going all the way on what roads there are. We got about 100 miles on the pickup I had rented that day. You'll start at the airport and the picture looking back at the plane we arrived on shows Mount Ballyhoo which has very little in structures on it. Also no trees are visible in the picture but far more important is the snow near the summit. That means it's cold most of the time in that climate.
Then go through the entire 300 pictures and note that there isn't much civilization visible in the background of any of the pictures. When they say the wind blows there it means if you ask an old native when the wind stops blowing the answer will be "You'll need to ask someone older than me! I've never seen when it wasn't blowing." Then walking around is a long way between one thing and another. The airport sits about the middle. Going out the spit is almost only docks which means about a two mile walk with nothing. Going the other direction takes you to the Grand Aleutian Hotel which is maybe a mile from the airport. The only store on the island I recall seeing is next to it. Then going further you have three possibilities;
One leads around the harbor but there is nothing out that way but some docks and lots of stored crab pots but they are well scattered.
Two goes back to the opposite shore from the spit and the main thing out that way is the dump which has a million tons of plastic fish nets that have been thrown away. It leads to the lake that is the area's water supply. Between choice two and three are most of the homes where the residents live. There is a fair sized lake out that way but I don't recall anything else near the houses on the lake.
Three leads to a few houses then nothing. The road continues a couple of miles around to eventually hook up to choice two with very little after you get past the scattered houses. The island is a lot larger than what is described above but there is nothing out that way as far as we went. Going out choice two was a herd of wild horses, a few ground squirrels, lots of eagles, and a few foxes. There were no roads I saw which lead up to the snow on the tops of the mountains so I assume no one wants to go up that high.
I recall maybe 4 restaurants, the single general store, one gas station at the store, a church which I took pictures of, the Native Corporation Headquarters Building where you buy your permit to enter the Native Property which is everything out of the actual town, another hotel in a forest of crab pots and a few bars which I didn't visit but was told about. I seem to recall hearing you could eat in the bars but I never did that.
I never used the cabs because I rented a vehicle (Four wheel drive pickup was all they seemed to have) but that has already been said to be expensive. Gas was $5 or so per gallon but I didn't buy any because the truck had a full tank which lasted for the 200 miles I drove in four days. The native guide said we had been on all the roads and insisted there were less than 35 miles of roads but I can't verify that. Many of the structures I saw out of town were left over from WWII and needed repair. It was said there were more than the four trees I took pictures of but I don't know where they were. I don't recall a red light and very few stop signs and only a few miles of road were paved around town.
It's nothing like Kodiak which is a normal type of town and has lots of roads mostly paved and some civilization every where we drove. Kodiak also had a herd of Buffalo's, lots of bears, foxes, and deer. Also loads of trees and berry bushes. A much more desirable place to be. Even had a mickey dees and a Walmart.
Ohh you're almost here! I've been avoiding answering so I don't feel the need to argue almost every point that richelles had to say, she just misses almost every single point she made about this town and about rural Alaskan life --NOBODY wants McDonald's or Wal-Mart that is a huge reason for choosing this life --anyway, come out and see for yourself how different it is than what she describes, I don't have the energy to refute each little statement. I've been here 15 years and 28 years in Kodiak before that. I know this area, it's like Kodiak 30 years ago and that is said in positive way.
Crabbers are gone, pollock boats are leaving this weekend. It's wet and sloppy, but not bitterly cold, not camping weather -very soggy. I still think you should have a job lined up at a processing plant or on a boat that hires processors and move into working on deck as you gain experience and meet people, but good luck. It's a friendly town, just not a cheap town and not one where everything available is obvious, ask around we really do have most things just ask!
I first made this post about 5 years ago. Will update it, but here's the original.
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"All over the 'net, I read guys who dream of coming to Alaska and getting rich over night in commercial fishing.
Doesn't work that way. This business is in decline, employment opportunities diminish, and to be honest, not many men I've met over the years can handle it. It's very physical, requires a great deal of specialized knowledge, real courage in the face of death, strength, physical endurance, and perhaps most important, a truly stubborn "I won't quit no matter what" attitude.
This business is not for boys.
I post this because over the years, I've seen many, many fellows ( and a few gals) come here and literally go through hell for no benefit whatsoever. Some few (very few) make it in this business. Most don't.
First things first: employment in fisheries is declining, and the odds of a greenhorn getting a decent job on a decent boat are slim indeed.
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ALASKA CAFE ALASKA CAFE
Fishing Jobs Outlook: U.S. Department of Labor
"Employment of fishers and fishing vessel operators is expected to decline through the year 2014. Fishers and fishing vessel operators depend on the natural ability of fish stocks to replenish themselves through growth and reproduction, as well as on governmental regulation to promote replenishment of fisheries. Many operations are currently at or beyond the maximum sustainable yield, partially because of habitat destruction, and the number of workers who can earn an adequate income from fishing is expected to decline. Many fishers and fishing vessel operators leave the occupation because of the strenuous and hazardous nature of the job and the lack of steady, year-round income."
There's a dose of reality for ya!
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Second: Here's a post I put up in another thread on this forum. Read it.
I worked the sea for nearly 24 years, am now 60, and pretty much crippled. Because of the sea. She will kill you and not even notice. She will kill everybody on the boat and not even notice. You are trying to get in to a difficult and dangerous profession, one which is not what it was.
Although some deck hands can yet make $100K or more a year, there's not so many, and these are the men and women who have put in the time. It is very rare indeed for anyone with less than ten years' experience to pull down top money. There's a LOT for a deck hand to learn, people to meet (it's a relatively small community) and attitudes to develop, before a top-tier producer will even consider hiring you. You must put in the years, and make a committment, or don't waste our time - stay home.
This is not an easy path you choose.
BTW: I live in Sand Point Alaska, in the Shumagin Islands, between Dutch and Kodiak. It's a goofy little town, and I fit right in.
First: Buy A Round Trip Ticket! We get really tired of guys so stupid that they think all they have to do is show up and get rich, because they know they'll just looove it all. "Romance of the Sea", my ass! The sea is a lying wh*re. And then, months go by, no job, no money, no way out of town. Geeze, this gets boring! It's so repititious. And so stupid. Get a round trip ticket, and guard it with your life.
Gear: Buy every bit from an established fishing supply business, such as Kachemak Gear Shed, Lummi Fisheries, Seattle Ship Supply, or equivalent.
You will need an Alaska State crewman's license.
Rain Gear - Grunden brand
Boots - Goodyear X-tra Tufs. Two pair. One to wear, one to dry.
A good, light weight sleeping bag. Several other little bags for odds and ends.
Two sets poly pro or other wicking-type long johns, shirt and lowers.
Lots and lots of WARM socks. Felt inserts for the boots.
A REALLY good duffle bag to jam it all into.
The above is just for starters.
Try to keep non-essentials to a minimum. You'll be doing a lot of walking with the damned duffel bag, and they get heavy. Stick to essentials. You can always buy useless junk later.
The Job: First, you must understand that every time we go to sea we court death. An inexperienced hand can literally kill us all, or otherwise inadvertently cause harm or financial loss. Thus, you must expect a severe testing process. Your ship mates have to know that you can be counted on when the situation becomes serious. Not freeze or panic, but get the job done. Also, if you do not perform adequately on deck, you cost everybody money. So, if you can't take a joke or a ribbing, or a little rough horseplay, how can you handle a dangerous situation? To do this job, you must be physically and mentally strong, and able to ENDURE. Otherwise, stay home. We got no use for ya.
Undertand this testing. It is vital for your ship mates to know you're reliable. And it can be tough. This whole life style can be tough.
As for getting the job, this is number one: GET A CONTRACT! It's Alaska state law, and merely prudent. As any other profession, commercial fishing has its a-holes. So protect your self, and do not accept a serious job if the skipper refuses to sign a legally binding contract covering wages, food, etc. Some of these guys will really stick it to you, so watch out! BTW: if a boat is dirty and slovenly, it's also most likely unsafe. An owner who won't even keep the boat clean almost surely neglects basic maintenance and safety issues. Thus, generally, a dirty boat is an indicator of an unsafe boat. And a clean boat is no proof of safety!
For better or worse, hanging out in bars can gain you a great deal of valuable information. Like what fishery may pay, which boats are unsafe, which skippers are real princes, which skippers are thieves, who might be hiring, etc.
As for finding the job, utilize every avaiable option. Walking the dock, the bars, friends, hearsay, bulletin boards, church groups, anything you can think of. But, eventually, you'll have to talk to some old salt who's seen 'em all and heard it all, and convince him he wants you. Don't BS him. It ALWAYS shows.
One way that works, but can take more time, is to move to a fishing town - IF you have a marketable skill. It can get tough up here in Alaska, and if a guy can't pull his weight, he ought to go back to mama. Kodiak is good; so are Sitka and Homer. Dutch Harbor I personally dislike, and if you have problems there, you're usually on your own. Also, winters in Dutch are simply awful.
And, don't forget: a ROUND TRIP ticket!
Ken Johnson
Sand Point Alaska
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Bottom line: you're dreaming. The odds of a novice even getting ANY job on a boat are not good. There's a lot of experienced hands who had to give up on commercial fishing, simply because there are no longer enough jobs to go around. So why would anyone want to hire a greenhorn? Better you should try to be a Hollywood movie star."
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As you can see, I did not then - and do not now - recommend this. You better have a round trip ticket and guard it with your life.
thx for all the help guys. i by no means work to get "rich", i work to survive. i just want new work on the sea. i'm headed to seattle just before april and i'm going to be staying at a hostel there looking for work at those dock and try to get up to Alaska for work that way. like u said i don't wanna be a danger to anyone. not at all. i just need a chance to learn what i need and i'm good. i'm a fast learner. daddy never tough me a dam* thing. i learn and fast. but i'll be out there and trying to work in on a boat from there for now. i'm gonna be bringing a road bicycle with me and bare essentials. any ideas what i could do w the bike if i get a few days out weeks out on the water? i do have other future plans that involve up north but that's another post. again thank you for all your help in this. all this info really help me out in getting the bigger picture. which is exactly what i need.
thx for all the help guys. i by no means work to get "rich", i work to survive. i just want new work on the sea. i'm headed to seattle just before april and i'm going to be staying at a hostel there looking for work at those dock and try to get up to Alaska for work that way. like u said i don't wanna be a danger to anyone. not at all. i just need a chance to learn what i need and i'm good. i'm a fast learner. daddy never tough me a dam* thing. i learn and fast. but i'll be out there and trying to work in on a boat from there for now. i'm gonna be bringing a road bicycle with me and bare essentials. any ideas what i could do w the bike if i get a few days out weeks out on the water? i do have other future plans that involve up north but that's another post. again thank you for all your help in this. all this info really help me out in getting the bigger picture. which is exactly what i need.
Well ... OK; good luck.
Just understand that this is NOT easy. And everybody in Dutch Harbor has heard it ALL before. They don't care anymore.
Once you get on a boat, well, that's a start and no more.
You're biting off a pretty big chunk, whether you know that or not.
Good luck. And keep that round trip ticket; don't sell it. Not for anything.
You're walking into a tough show.
And when you're on deck, BE AWARE!
*sigh* Maybe you'll make it; some do. Some.
Good luck.
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So you want to be a fisherman
