Terry Watches for the Reef at Nikolski Bay

            Terry was the new first mate on the vessel Polaris. He was a commercial fisherman out of Dutch harbor Alaska and he had some time to spare. Captain Rod hired him for our voyage to Nikolski. A trip that was supposed to take only eight hours, the winds and water turned the voyage into a twenty hour cruise.

The GPS in the wheelhouse of the Polaris was telling us to take a course that we learned later would have had us run aground on the reef that protects the harbor at Nikolski Bay. There was debate in the wheelhouse as to whether or not the GPS should be listened to.

It drew a line that we later learned crossed over the reef at two feet of water.

Captain Rod sent Terry up front to lookout. He took up his station at the bow of the Polaris and I began to watch him.

The GPS was wrong.

It would have wrecked us.

At the last minute... inside the wheelhouse there was a mutiny. I will not go into the details out of respect for the Captain. Suffice it to say that the mutiny there saved the ship and the Captain never spoke of it again... in fact... I think I remember him thanking the mutineer.

Terry scanned the rough waters for breakers and ripples that might tell of danger or treachery just below the surface. For these moments it seemed Terry reached into his many experiences with the finicky temptress that is the Bering Sea and almost became meditative as he observed the waters and signalled to the captain in the wheelhouse by hand.

Here it would be Terrys ability to read the water that would keep us and the Polaris from running aground on the reef and being pummeled to pieces by the wind and the waves rolling off of the open ocean.

These are the moments one wonders what a sailors eyes have seen.

Thanks Terry.

I'll never forget the journey we shared.

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Taken in: United States / Alaska / Nikolski (show map)

Taken on: August 8, 2008

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Sets appears in: • Interesting and Beautiful People • The Polaris, Dutch Harbor Alaska

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Camera: Nikon D300, f/9.0, 1/320 sec, 200mm (=300mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D300
Aperture:	f/9.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/320)
Focal Length:	200mm (35mm equivalent: 300mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Saturation:	High
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Microsoft Windows Photo Gallery 6.0.6000.16386
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