unloading

A fishing vessel moored at the Cowichan Bay government wharf unloading fish.
a fish boat
a seiner

Twice I have worked on a fish boat, a troller, the SK. Once we sailed out of Cowichan Bay to the west coast of the island. And the second time we sailed from Port Alberni down the Alberni Channel and onto the Pacific Ocean where we fished for salmon. Each trip lasted two weeks

One Sunday we sailed out further in order to fish for tuna. A rope wrapped around the propeller shaft. We sailed to Bamfield where the rope was removed. My first visit to the small village of Bamfield.

In a storm a hydraulic hose broke. The boat was sprayed with oil. Very slippery walking on an oily deck then.

Spooky sailing in the fog. We were afraid of Russian fish trawlers or cargo freighters that could not see the small Canadian fish boats bobbing up and down among the waves. We were drifting at night while sleeping and hoping we weren't hit by a large freighter.

Summer of 1968 and 1969