The ice usually melts during the day. This part of the harbor is close to a stream of fresh water, making it freeze easier than the rest of the harbor.

The harbor is filling up with boats getting ready for the herring season. This is looking across part of Eliason Harbor from Japonski Island.

After almost a week of very pleasant weather, where I unwisely tempted fate by painting outside, we got some snow.

Sitka’s harbors are filling up now that herring season is close. My new next-door neighbor in the wooden boat is Ocean Gem, which was bought in Prince Rupert and brought to Sitka.

While its been relatively warm all week, the nights still get chilly at times, as you can see from the little bit of ice in the water. There is also a stream that comes into the harbor nearby, which means the water is less salty and therefore freezes at a higher temperature than it otherwise would.

As the tide went down, so did the sun, so I got the zincs on the propellers and propeller shafts changed before low tide arrived. Wading in the water wasn’t warm, but let me get most of the work done before nightfall.

I put Issuma on the tidal grid yesterday to replace the prop zincs. The tidal grid is a pier that comes out from a sloping shore, with beams laid across the bottom beside the pier.

The boat is brought to the dock at high tide, positioned so it sits correctly between the beams (ie, best not to have the rudder on a beam, taking the weight of the boat), then one waits until the tide goes out to work on the boat. In the picture, the tide is part-way out–Issuma is sitting on the beams, but the propellers are still underwater. The tidal range in Sitka is about 3m/10′.

A fishing boat came in with a load of king crab they sold at the dock.