F/V Itsuro 2012

Finally, a blog and website all in one place. This gives me fewer online things to keep track of, in theory anyway. This week I've been closing my first school year with Santa Cruz High School, and my "20-somethingth"  year in public education.  I really like where I've landed.  Great people and memorable events!  I'm about as lucky as it gets, when it comes to teaching opportunities and experiences.  I'm still taking care of numerous odds and ends, classroom cleanup, etc.  I'm also still "processing" the whole experience of returning to a regular classroom again, after ten years of working in alternative education. Right now, I'm hoping to stay put at SCHS for awhile. It's both exhilarating and humbling to do the new teacher thing AGAIN, while also turning 50 years old.

And now on to beginning the summer of 2012.  This will be the 10th summer that we spend in Southeast Alaska.  It all started with the 22-foot C-Dory called "Tonie-O," making its first trip from Port Townsend to Petersburg, Alaska.  It's a trip that one would either love or hate. For us, it has been addicting. Since 2002, we've spent each summer traveling throughout Southeast Alaska. One thing led to another, and we subsequently bought an 8-meter Allweather boat (based on a double-ended Norwegian lifeboat design), designed by Homer Hughes.  Homer is a retired high school shop teacher and is really an innovator with these boats.  He has only built 33 of them. We named our boat "Itsuro" in memory of our dear friend and mentor, John Itsuro Kitsuse.  We have since acquired our limited entry hand-troll salmon permit. Fishing for salmon in Southeast Alaska has since become our summer job and passion.  

We've been to many places in Southeast, from Ketchikan to Skagway to Glacier Bay, to Sitka, and many places in between. In the past few years we've become quite attached to Prince of Wales Island and its communities of Port Protection, Craig, Klawock and Hydaburg.  We love going to all the other places on the island and in Southeast, too! 

Shawn works at Cabrillo College and at San José State University.  His schedule is a little different from mine, so he is already up in Craig and Klawock with our friend David Spencer. They are both working on getting "Itsuro" ready for the summer salmon season.  This means that most of the pre-season dirty work will be done by the time I get up there. Thanks to Dave, I have not had to do bottom paint for at least the last four years. More good luck on my end!

Today the boat was launched and is now afloat again.  This seems like a good time to start the blog for the 2012 season. Once the salmon season is under way, I probably won't post as often, as I will be busy on the water.