On Monday we got off the dock in Whittier with me piloting the barge. It was the first time I've done that in Valdez - I've done some barge piloting for a mom and pop company in Seattle in the past but that definitely has never involved two nine- or ten-thousand-horsepower tugs, nor a 400-foot … Continue reading Breathe →

We are in Whittier - I haven't been here since 2011, when I was on the Barbara Foss towing a railcar barge between Prince William Sound and Prince Rupert, BC. I don't quite think I had the blogging resources then that I have now, so I neglected to report that in the town of Whittier, … Continue reading Spring Training →

I can't believe I'm going back to work in one week. We finally made it out of Valdez three weeks ago - after multiple flight cancellations due to blizzard conditions, our reliefs drove from Anchorage, arriving on Thursday afternoon. My second mate and I made it out on the evening flight during a break in … Continue reading 15/16, the never-ending winter →