Black Cod Sunday

Rain, rain, rain but it appears that Petersburg is used to inclement weather.  It seems that everyone (including us) owns a pair of “Xtra Tuff” boots and an anorak.  Those of us from the city add an umbrella to our arsenal of rain gear.  Barrie and I walk the ¼ mile of south harbor dock past dozens of fish boats and head into town.  We are in search of wi-fi and information on the afternoon’s Rotary Seafood BBQ.  We discover that the while the Rotary refuses to be rained-out, they have moved the picnic to a large tent on Nordic Avenue (the main street in town).

We settle in at Java Hus with a latte and spend an hour catching up on email and blogs before heading back to the boat.  Just after noon, we make our way to the Rotary BBQ– and we are not disappointed.   We grab a seat at a table next to our dock neighbors who hail from Homer, Alaska and begin our feeding frenzy.  There is lots to choose from; locally caught spot prawns, black cod, king salmon, ling cod, and rock fish are complemented with homemade salads and desserts.  We eat until we can eat no more.  After lunch Barrie checks with a local Rotarian and asks if there might be leftover fish.  He suggests we come back at 3 and that any left over fish will be available for purchase.  I make a quick inventory of our freezer to decide how much I can fit – thinking about the non-essentials that can be removed.  We return at the appointed hour and for $84 buy 4 pounds of black cod, 4 pounds of king salmon, 5 pounds of ling cod and 5 pounds of rock fish.  Amazing!  We will eat well for the rest of the trip.

The harbor is socked in with fog and the rain is forecast to continue through the night.  Our original plan had been to depart this afternoon and go to Thomas Bay where we can view a glacier and anchor for the evening.  It is quite clear that we will not be able to see anything in this weather and we opt to spend a final night at the dock in Petersburg.  We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Petersburg and hope to return again.