Arron’s Blog

Alaska’s commercial salmon fishery is a huge part of my family’s heritage. My Grandpa started fishing commercially in Alaska on a sailboat in the 1920’s, my Dad is on one of our family’s two boats right now, and until I co-founded a few internet startups I used to spend my summers on the water too. If you’ve ever worked on a boat or in a seafood processing plant before then you know that the hours are brutal. You can go an entire week without any substantial amount of sleep. Above is a pic that my Uncle Jim sent me earlier this season. It was accompanied by the following email:

“I had to send you this pic that the QC guy caught of me.  I had gotten completely wet down on the line being dumb enough to jump in and show some newbie how to load a gutter,  Anyway I went up to the office and hugged the heater to both get warm and get dried out, I was so whipped I just fell asleep and the QC guy walked in and caught me napping, ha.

I just don’t have the “get er done”  stamina I used to have.  36 hours followed by a 3 hour sleep was a piece of cake back in the day, now just a few 16’s back to back lay me out.  However, I take some masochistic pride in being able to keep up with the children here who are in their 40’s —

Like I tell my son (who is here as well and working in the galley).  “After working here, any civilian job will be a cake walk” – Well, I’d better bind my loins (what is left of them) and get ready for the battle!! It does sorta look like I am praying to something”

I have a massive amount of respect for my uncle. Not only is he in his mid 50’s… he also had a heart transplant about 17 years ago. I’d say he still puts plenty of us kids to shame.