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| The Aleutian Ballad Gives You a Front-Row Seat for the " Deadliest Catch" |
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 | | | Front-Row Seat for the " Deadliest Catch" |
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By Peter Marsh
The Aleutian Ballad was once a a typical crab-fishing boat, built like a tank to survive the brutal winter fishery on the Bering Sea between Alaska and Siberia. But now the hull on the starboard side has been cut away and the entire deck re-built to catch a new "target species:" tourists arriving in Ketchikan on cruise ships!
Like the Maverick, which we profiled last month, the 107-foot Aleutian Ballad has also starred in the Deadliest Catch reality series on the Discovery Channel. But when it was re-launched from the Giddings Boat Works of Charleston, Ore., last spring after a $2.5 million re-fit, his boat had become an entirely unique craft: the world's only "commercial-crabbing spectator boat!"
David Lethin, the owner, is capitalizing on the popularity of the show to attract people to his boat and come along for a fishing trip like no other!
It's now berthed at Pier 39 on the east end of Astoria, until its time to head north in April. The dock is open to the public (it's also the home of a Rogue Ale House and the Coffee Girl) so you are welcome to take a look this unusual craft.
In fact, it's hard to miss because "Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour" is emblazoned along the side of the hull in large letters! The owner, Davis Lethin of Westport, Wash, says the idea of a commercial-fishing adventure trip for tourists came to him back in the 90s when he was unloading black cod and halibut at a dock in Southeast Alaska and saw how passengers off the cruise ships were fascinated with his and other vessels' catch "I dreamed about a boat that could show people what's under the water. If you could just bring that to life for them."
In the intervening years, the Aleutian Ballad became a TV star-and experienced the single most deadly incident in the history of the series. On the night of Nov. 8, 2005, a rogue wave approximately 40' high hit the boat broadside and demonstrated why Alaskan king crab fishing is considered the most dangerous occupation in the US.
The camera in the wheelhouse recorded the impact and the sound of smashing glass as the windows gave way. The boat was forced over onto its side in the churning Bering Sea. For a few awful seconds, the crew were unsure if the ship would right itself or dump the crew of five into the freezing water. (To see the wave on youtube, search "deadliest catch rogue wave")
This lucky escape must have played a part in persuading Lethin that it was time to try an alternative business model. Now, the Aleutian Ballad safely accommodates a total of 150 visitors seated on the covered and heated upper and lower decks. Out of the way of working crew but in clear sight of their activities, visitors watch the crew launch and retrieve the 700-pound steel traps or pots using a hydraulic reel. The pots measure 7 feet by 7 feet by 3 feet
The four-hour tours begin in Ketchikan in Southeast Alaska near the cruise ship dock and take place completely within the calm, protected waters of Southeast Alaska. However, fishing seasons and regulations do not coincide with the cruise ship season. "The key to this whole project is the Metlakatla Indian community, living on Annette Island," Lethin pointed out. The Metlakatla Indians have agreed to a joint venture in which the boat can fish in their exclusive tribal waters up to 1,000 yards out and they are compensated for every passenger on board.
A bonus is that the tour can stop and observe the natives hauling in their salmon catch, so the guests can watch and photograph the salmon fishery. The crew explain about fishing practices and share stories of the sea while they attempt to catch halibut, octopus, rockfish, shark, gray cod, ratfish and other species using a variety of pots and hooked long lines.
Some of the sea life brought aboard will be placed in a huge live tank where the guests can view, touch or even hold them if they are re brave enough!All the catch is then released-perhaps to be caught another day! Many of the passengers say this is one of the best memories of their whole Alaskan trip.
Lehtin is even considering offering a few public trips on the lower Columbia before heading north, but that would depend on the fishery regulations and sufficient interest.
The tour's website is http://56degreesnorth.com/
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