- May
- Over the winter we had been in discussions and negotiations with Cody and Tiffany Dahlstrom for purchasing Harmony Isle. Cody and Tiffany were living in Oregon but were both born and raised in Alaska; Cody in Valdez and Tiffany in Haines. We were very hopeful that they would be able to secure that financing and insurance needed to take over the boat in time for the 2021 salmon fishing season. By May, time was short to get everything in place when we made plans to head north.
- May 23rd, Mike and Karen flew to Juneau to gear up the Harmony Isle for the 2021 season. Our flight was from Milwaukee to Seattle, then Seattle to Juneau. The flights were full, and COVID precautions were in place throughout the trip, but it was much different from 2020 in that we did not need to have COVID tests/results to travel, and the boat didn't need to have a COVID plan for the season.
The boat was in good shape after the winter/spring. We had to make a repair on the hot water heat exchanging coil that had cracked where it looped through the stove. The crack was due to a power outage on the boat over the winter that froze the water in the boat's freshwater plumbing.
We set to work cleaning up the decks and doing seasonal maintenance so that one way or the other (as our boat, or as the Dahlstrom's boat), Harmony Isle would be ready to fish!
- May 27th: Cody and Tiffany arrive from Oregon.
- May 28th: We departed Juneau and transited on Harmony Isle directly to Hoonah. We tied up at the transient dock for the night.
- May 29th: We were up early and headed for the Hoonah Harbor lift for the boat haul-out and survey. Cody's surveyor arrived on the morning flight from Juneau to do his inspection. After the pressure washing we all started working on the bottom cleaning and painting. You can see where the lifting straps are placed on the following pictures:
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Here is the full picture of the boat being lifted with the straps.
Cody and Tiffany worked together to quickly change the zincs.
Cody and Tiffany make a great team!
The surveyor buzzed around us and seemed to need a lot of help finding things, so it took a little longer to finish up the work and get the boat back in the water.
After the boat was returned to the water, we tied up again at the transient dock. Cody worked with the surveyor to finish up his inspection; the surveyor flew back to Juneau on the afternoon flight. After the haul-out and inspection were done, we all went for fish and chips and a beer. We stayed the night in Hoonah, everyone was pretty tired but satisfied with the day's work.
- May 30th: We left early to transit back to Juneau, and stopped in Funter Bay to run the gear as well as to show Cody and Tiffany some good anchorages in the bay. We had a good trip back into Auke Bay and were welcomed by a humpback whale breaching off the bow (photo by our friend Lue at Spaulding Beach).
After tying up we toasted the end of Cody and Tiffany's first voyage on Harmony Isle, and a successful survey that was now on the way to the bank to secure their financing.
- June
- June 3rd: We rented a new storage unit in Lemon Creek to move out our personal gear from the boat storage so we could turn over that space to Cody and Tiffany.
Much of the month of June was spent working with Cody and Tiffany on the bank financing and the permit transfer as we prepared to hand over the keys to the new owners.
One needed repair was noted when we tested out the freezer system. Mike diagnosed and ordered parts for the oil pressure switch for the compressor on the refrigeration system in the engine room. The part arrived in Juneau from Seattle, Mike and Cody installed the new part and tested the system down to minus thirty (-30) degrees F.
- June 11th: Karen flew back to Wisconsin as her vacation time from work was over. Mike stayed and continued to work on the boat title and ownership transfer.
- June 22nd: The CFEC was finally able to turn over the permit ownership to Cody.
- June 25th: Fueled up in Juneau and headed out toward Pelican and the prospecting area around Elfin Cove and the outer coast.
- June 26-28th: Cody and Tiffany at the helm navigating out from Porcupine Bay along the outer coast prospecting for signs of king salmon. Spent time looking for good signs of fish (like birds, whales, etc.) and connecting with other boats in Mike's network that were doing the same. Some beautiful weather for outer coast cruising.
Cody working on rigging the trolling poles and getting the boat tuned up for his first salmon season as skipper.
When the outer coast is clear, you can see Mt. Fairweather to the north across the Gulf of Alaska. An incredible view in an amazing place to fish for wild Alaskan salmon.
View of Mt. Fairweather (15,266 ft.) from the outer coast.
- June 28th: Harmony Isle arrived in Pelican to get ice and get the fish icing totes ready for the opening of the 2022 salmon season on July 1st. Below the boat is waiting at the public dock in line for an ice load.
Video view of Harmony Isle tied up at the Pelican marina dock.
At the dock loading ice from Yakobi Fisheries.
Video view from the Yakobi Fisheries dock, a beautiful morning with fog in Lizianski Inet.
- June 29-30th: After one last check of emails at the Pelican Public Library (they have free wifi on the dock), Mike departed Pelican with Cody and Tiffany to head out to the outer coast to anchor near the best prospected site to be ready for an early start on July 1st.
- July 1st: 2022 salmon season opened, Harmony Isle and crew were ready and on site. It had been a busy May-June for all of us, but catching the first King Salmon of the season was its own reward!
The first three days of the opener went by quickly, lots of Coho relative to the Kings. Since the boat was icing (not freezing) they headed back to Pelican to offload on July 4th.
- July 5th: Cody and Tiffany departed Pelican on Harmony Isle. Mike waved them an emotional goodbye from Pelican, the end of a memorable era.
- July 5th: Mike flew back from Pelican to Juneau on Alaska Seaplanes with a beautiful view of Mt. Fairweather in the distance.
- July - August - September 2021: The picture below captures Harmony Isle docking in Elfin Cove where Cody and Tiffany fished the remainder of the summer salmon season. After the season they moved the boat and storage to their new home port of Petersburg, AK. We wish them all the best in 2022!
Harmony Isle - its not just a boat, its a state of mind!
