We decided not to buy fishing/ crabbing licenses this year since they are expensive for visitors to the state. We have been fortunate to enjoy crab several times, thanks to others! Our friends Carla and Robert have shared with us and even cooked the crabs... The other day Bill helped a fellow tie down and in turn was given a nice-sized Dungeness crab, at right, which we promptly cooked and Bill cleaned. Robert couldn't believe that Bill didn't know how to clean crab, but now he does!
Gooey duck clams, shown at left, are an expensive Asian delicacy. They are native to coastal Washington state and are a big business in this area. The gooey duck boats dock in our marina and the catch is loaded right into refrigerated trucks which deliver to Seatac airport and within two days these are on dinner plates in Japan and China. These clams must have the world's largest valves, extending far beyond their shells. Both the valve and the clam itself is eaten. These rest in a milk crate, so you can see how large they are!
Hylebos Channel runs right beside Grey Wolf, since she is side- tied at the end of the furthest dock in Chinook Landing Marina. We get the full effect of the commerical traffic which comes by 24/7. Most of the large vessels enter or exit with tugboat power. This day the load was unusual, as it amounted to three large 'flats' of raw logs, headed for either the lumber mill up channel or to simply be loaded onto a freighter and shipped out. This load of logs was about 600 feet long and was shepherded by three smaller tugs. The U.S. flag in the photo is ours...
Another commerical venture in 'our' channel is a huge metal recycling business. We have seen several barges piled high with crushed vehicles pass close by us. There is quite an art to the process used to fill these gigantic barges. It is difficult to see in this photo, but there is always a pile of miscellaneous smaller pieces of scrap metal layered on top of all the vehicles, almost like a layer cake with an icing on top! Hmm, I must be watching way too much Cooking Channel...
We have no idea what this vessel carried, but it was undoubtedly loaded and ready to head out to sea. With a tug towing in front and another at the stern acting as the rudder, it slowly came by our boat and our marina. On a clear day we can see Mt. Rainier to the southeast. It seems so near, but from Tacoma it is probably close to a hundred miles away. Covered with snow earlier in the year, it is still deep in snow for the most part. Our weather is finally beautiful in mid-August, with some days as hot as 80 degrees! If we are ever bored, we can just check out the action in the Hylebos Channel... it won't be long until SOMETHING comes by... Canada geese, seals...
