What is a Purse Seiner?
A purse seiner is a type of fishing vessel that uses a large wall of netting called a purse seine to encircle and capture schools of fish. The net is deployed around the fish, and then a line is pulled to close the bottom of the net, preventing the fish from escaping. And they snatch them from the ocean in large quantities.Remember in the movie, "Saving Nemo", when the Australian fishermen captured Nemo in the big net? That was a purse seine.
In this picture, above, you can see the fishermen reeling the big net in.
Here is another picture where the fishermen have their purse (net) out all the way to the shore.
These Purse Seiners, like the other types of fishermen, travel in fleets. There were maybe 15-20 boats all around Ell Cove as we were entering. In this picture, this is their processing "mothership". When the fishermen are full, they unload their catch onto this boat.
We gotta stay out of their way. They aren't very maneuverable with those big nets out, so they are the "stand-on" vessel, and we as a power boat are the "give-way" vessel.
While completely fogged-in most of the day, we were able to see a few really spectacular waterfalls.
Once we got into Ell Cove we dropped the anchor in 45', paid out 150' of chain, and settled-in. We are anchored next to a pretty Northern Marine, named Raven. We haven't met the people aboard, but we know they are friends of friends of ours.
Here is a picture of Ell Cove. BTW, Ell Cove is so cleverly named because it is shaped like an "L". Go figure...
This afternoon, Karen studied-up and passed her TRUST Certificate for recreational drone piloting, her Dad would be so proud to have another pilot in the family!
I struggled with our inoperative watermaker. This is a conceptually simple device that has me completely flummoxed. I was on the phone with Jason and James from Yacht Tech troubleshooting this thing. It reports that is it starving for water on the intake side, but it should have plenty of water. I've replaced/cut/rerouted/removed/reinstalled/etc. all the supply-side fittings (sea strainer, hose, pumps, filters, more hose, more filters, etc.) and nothing I have done has remedied the problem.
I'll have another go at it tomorrow.
Good Night...
Spectacularly beautiful pics! I’m a few days behind, so it’s been fun catching up this morning. So much wildlife! Are there fewer otters making their presence known this year? They’re my favorite!
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope you get that water situation resolved. Seems like it might be kinda important. You can hydrate with other beverages … like wine 🍷 … but brushing your teeth with a Barolo sounds just awful 😬
Looking forward to seeing Karen’s drone videos!
Happy Friday! -CarolynM
The waterfalls are stunning. I was actually blown away by the bubble netting whales. I've seen that in videos (a la David Attenborough), but never once removed from the actual event! What a trip!
ReplyDeleteTruly anonymous above - sometimes I hate google... Teri
ReplyDeleteWe did see a lot of sea otter around the south end of Baranof island and up in Chatham Strait. Fewer of them here in Peril Strait (between Baranof Island on the south and Chicagof Island on the north).
ReplyDeleteKaren's just learning the drone. She isn't comfortable yet flying it off the boat as there are some landing challenges and drones don't do well when dunked.
Thanks, Teri! The bubble-net feeding was really cool to see live. Attenborough is a much better photographer though.
ReplyDeleteSafe and Adventurous Travels to Ireland and back!