This week on the Great Siberian Sushi Run, we’ve been working our way up the west coast of Prince of Wales Island. We stopped in Hydaburg, the largest Haida town in the U.S., and Craig, where Tangaroa was once registered when she was called Windbarker.

Our favorite stop so far? A tucked-away anchorage called Hole in the Wall on the west side of Dall Island off Diver’s Bay. It took some effort (and cost us one bowl along the way), but it was worth it.

We did some hardcore beachcombing and came away with two big bags of Japanese plastic bottles and one perfectly good stainless-steel thermos — which was funny, since we’d just said that morning we needed one onboard.

We dropped a few lines too. Hooked a halibut right off the bow, but couldn’t figure out how to land it with a 9-foot freeboard. It flipped off and took off before we could grab it. I would’ve used my net… but it blew away in one of the last storms. Go figure.

We caught a few rockfish and used a descender for the first time — a small device that returns deep-water fish back to the bottom safely, preventing the pressure damage they’d get if you just tossed them overboard.

On the boat side, the engines are running great, fuel burn is still under 5 gallons an hour, and Blaine finally wired up the windshield wipers with both fast and slow speeds. It’s the little wins that make this life easier.

And as I’m writing this — a Gale Warning just popped up on the screen. Because, of course it did. Welcome to Alaska.

Only four days left to grab your 15% off Tangaroa hats and toques for Hat Month! Use code HAPPYHATS15 at checkout on onboardtangaroa.com.

See you this weekend

Blaine and Janis