The Purge (Dec 4)

Today is our last day at sea before arriving in Tarawa and I now get why everyone has been in such a good mood today. Just like when flying into another country you aren’t allowed to bring in most fruits and vegetables and meat products, definitely not meat products. So began the purge, and it

The Officers Club (Dec 3)

I have been thinking of a way to describe the way things work on this boat that would make sense to people I know back home because just saying that the flight crew isn’t part of the crew-crew, and only answers to the Captain seems a bit simplified. So, falling back on my military experience

Make it or Break it (Dec 2)

Make it or Break it I’ve been training on the Hughes 500c ever since we left port in Suva, Fiji on the 15th, while now here we are 17 days later, and I’ve logged a few hours between the missions and I can say that without a doubt – this is not the way to

Vivid Food Dreams and the Politics of South Vietnam (Dec 1)

One thing that has been interesting out here is that I’ve noticed my dreams are far more vivid and detailed, the memory of thiem lasts far longer than when I was home. Perhaps it’s my mind trying to cope with the perpetual ground hogs day that I’m living out here, giving me an escape to

I take it all back (Nov 29)

Ok well may be not all of it, and not even close to most of it, but what I do take back in quick order is my statement a recently that I would celebrate when the tuna escaped the nets. My brief flirtation with being a tuna sympathizer has passé because now those little scaled

The Great Tuna Escape (Nov 27)

The net boat is off the back of the Caribe with a slam, and the net and chains attached to it begin to follow, the clink of links slamming on the deck as they spill over into the blue ocean. The Captain is up in the tower watching the school of yellow-fin zig left and

It’s a little bit like Prison (Nov 27)

I’m very good at research, it’s something I pride myself on – that certain skill that not everyone has, or some people even loath. Before I buy a product, go to a new restaurant, pick a flight school, and in this case pick a job – I do a ton of research. The thing about

The Drift (Nov 26)

So here we are in the middle of the ocean just drifting. The engine is humming with life but there is something wrong. We aren’t moving, and we haven’t moved now since last night. The crew are either hidden away getting much needed sleep or working on busy work tasks from the officers. They added

A Tradition of Tuna, maybe (Nov 26)

Sashimi is a universal word. Especially on a Tuna boat, it doesn’t matter where you are from, you know what sashimi means and you celebrate every time someone says it – because they won’t say it unless you’re about to eat it. There are crew on this boat that don’t speak the same language as

Walking on the Walls (Nov 25)

Trying to walk on a boat that has 300 tons of tuna hanging off of the port side is a lot like trying to walk while drunk. In fact doing anything on a boat with 300 tons of tuna is reminiscent of a drunken stupor. The boat keels over about 30 degrees and everything not