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Published: June 12th 2010
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One of the tour options in Ketchikan is to spend a few hours out on the Aleutian Ballad, a crab fishing boat that’s become famous after appearing in the reality television show “The Deadliest Catch”. We’d learned that they welcome crew members to join their tours (many tours just can’t accommodate crew), so we decided to see if we could get a spot on a tour today. Ketchikan is our shortest port day - back on board is just after noon! - so it was a very early morning when we headed outside. We were very exited to learn that they indeed did have space for us to join the tour. We boarded the boat, were given hot chocolate to warm up with and then for some reason the three of us were also given these super warm jackets that they had. The jackets look like huge raincoats but they’re lined with fleece so they’re warm and cozy. I loved them!
The boat filled up with guests (and other crew who’d also scored places on the tour) and then we were off. We were introduced to the boat’s crew - who were so fantastic. They all had years of experience
fishing not just in the Berring Sea, but around the world. Throughout our time on the boat, they told us lots of crazy stories of their time spent at sea.
We headed out of Ketchikan harbour and to a nearby island that is native land. Because it’s native land they have their own rules so that the boat has permission to catch and release and feed the animals, allowing us to have up close and personal experiences with all sorts of critters. First, we pulled up along the coast and were told to get our cameras ready, we’d be seeing eagles. And did we ever see eagles! There were at least 30, maybe 40 eagles that came out for us to see. They’d swoop down out of the sky and pick up fish from the water. Trees on the shore ahead of us would have half a dozen, even a dozen eagles sitting on the branches. It was wild - other tours that are geared towards seeing eagles don’t get to see as many as we did! We had our cameras out snapping photos in every direction, taking videos - I have so many of the eagles from today,
but I’ve just posted a few of the best ones. I didn’t know that the eagles were even a part of the tour, so it was an unexpected but exciting surprise!
Then came the fishing part of the tour. We’d all sit back in our seats (there’s small auditorium like seating around the boat) while the boat’s crew would reel in huge traps filled with crab. Once everything was pulled onboard, the guides would pull out a few crabs and tell us about them. Then we’d get to hold them, touch them, take photos with them. It was so cool! We did this three different times with different types of crabs. Then again with prawns! They were really cool too. You can see from the photos how much fun this was. We had the best time playing with all the crazy critters that came up to the surface to see us. (Then the guides released them back, so no crabs were harmed in our tour.)
Along with the crabs, other sea creatures would sometimes get pulled up. They had a small aquarium tank for these guys. They’d put starfish and sun star fish and prawns inside for us
to inspect and admire.
I thought we’d seen all we were going to see and I went inside the front of the boat where the hot chocolate and gift shop was, but then the girl inside told me I was missing the octopus! I went back out and sure enough, the guys were pulling an enormous octopus out of a trap! We didn’t get to hold or play with this guy, but watching it with the guides it was clear why - the octopus kept suctioning itself onto their suits. I could see how the octopus can be a deadly creature to be up against; if one suctioned onto you, you’d be powerless to get back up to the surface!
For the ride back, we just relaxed with our snacks. Inside the gift shop area, we watched a clip from The Deadliest Catch of the Aleutian Ballad being hit by an extreme wave that could have easily destroyed the boat. Wild.
I have done a lot of tours over my years working on ships. This one, is one of the best I’ve done. Everything about it was awesome. I’m so happy we got to go on it!
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