When people in the Tonawandas are complaining about winter weather, Charles Wilkins is braving minus 40 degree weather and 40 mile per hour winds on the Bering Sea.
Wilkins left Kenmore last year, looking for an adventurous and lucrative job. He found just that on board the Arctic Star, a fishing ship that trolls the chilly waters near the Arctic Circle.
Wilkins’ father, Dan, said his son inquired about the career after seeing the TV show “Deadliest Catch,” which features the exploits of similar fishing boats doing the dangerous work.
“He applied for the job on-line through Seattle’s Icicle Seafoods,” Dan said.
After making his own way to Seattle, the company flew Wilkins to Anchorage and then to the port of Dutch Harbor on the Aleutian island chain.
“They had to come in like a corkscrew,” Dan said. “He said it was the most terrifying thing he’s ever done in a plane.”
A helicopter carried him out to a processing boat, where he was initially assigned. But before long Wilkins made his way onto a fishing boat, where he operates the boat’s crane and helps package the fish and crabs they catch.
Work starts at 6 a.m. and stops at 10 p.m., seven days a week. And there’s no alcohol allowed on the ship to warm them up.
“He’d like to know where the global warming is,” Dan joked.
The work is tough, as the boats are tossed around by the high winds on rough seas. Setting and hauling half-ton crab pots as the boat battles the waves is dangerous work, but the pay is good and in such a tough economy few can claim such a secure, well-paying job. Dan said leaving the Buffalo area and all of his friends wasn’t an easy decision for his son, just as it wasn’t easy for him to travel all over the country during his radio career. But when Wilkins returns in a few years, he’ll have enough money to start a life.
“You just have to look at what’s best for you in the field you pick,” Dan said.
In the meantime, Wilkins has taken in plenty of interesting sights and places that few in his hometown will ever experience. The boats take long trips out so far north that he can see the ice cap, in an area where eagles are as plentiful in the sky as sparrows. When the ship finally comes into port at St. Paul Island, Dan said the small population of 500 residents treats the fishermen like celebrities.
Wilkins’ family sends him things Buffalo-centric items he just can’t get up there, including sauces from Chiavetta's and Old Man River, where Wilkins once worked.
When the fishing area freezes in mid-February, Wilkins is planning a trip home to see his family and friends. Until then, it’s tough to for him to get phone calls home, but he checks his e-mail as often as he can. His dad said folks who know Charles should feel free to send him an e-mail at beringsea716@yahoo.com since he’s still curious about what’s going on in his hometown.
Local News
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CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
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