Cape Breton's Magazine

masters on the way to the fisheries up in the Grand Banks and Iceland and Greenland. And they would, for many years, come in to North Sydney. And these were big square-rig sailing vessels. There's no more of them in the world left today.... Anyway, the story about the Angelus was that these vessels which had been sent up north, they were Portuguese owned, would I load up (with) The Goose Cove Pottery & Gift Shop is located on the Cabot Trail off Highway #105 on Exit 11 Open 7 days a week between 9 am and 5 pm from mid June till Labour Day Visitors are welcome to browse at the pottery studio located on site The Goose Cove y' POTTERY *" & GIFT SHOP Carole Ann MacDonald Potter / / R. R.#4 (St. Ann's) " • '' * Baddeck, Nova Scotia 'y L BOEIBO i'-A' (902)929-2293 salt fish. They'd be away for, sometimes, almost a year. It's a very tough life for those guys. And they had the little dories. They were what they called eighty-man, eighty-dory schooners-- eighty: Which is, you know, the Lunenburg fishermen like the Bluenose on- CAPE CARE SERVICES Quality Personal Care '-td- ~ AT HOME OR IN HOSPITAL ~ RN's • RN Supervised CNA's • Screened • Bonded • Insured Home Care Workers • Reasonable Rates FREE IN-HOME ASSESSMENT 282 George St., Sydney: 562-2444 ?? Port Hawkesbury: 625-1641 a Serving AlPN Cape Bretony Serving homes and businesses throughout Cape Breton Island '''''' ''gm''' ''' '''' Maple Leaf Products of SYDCOi' 'y Wk ''IJ'P'' PETROCANAPA' ENERGY FUELS 'g' FURNACE OIL • STOVE OIL • DIESEL * GAS • LUBRICANTS ly carried maybe, I don't know, fifteen dories or maybe something like that. These were big vessels--eighty dories. And it was a tough life, very little pay, they were out a year, and then they'd go back. So when the war came on, the Canadian gov? ernment seized some of these ships which had been over here. And then a group in Halifax decided to run her on the West In? dian trips. But, of course, those ships had to go without convoy. All the steam? ships were in convoy but when you signed on the Angelus, there's no convoy. You sail alone. When you were out on one of those old square-riggers you were on your own but there was one thing that--it was mistaken --but we thought. Well, we're safer be? cause they're not going to bother us. Even if the subs see us they're not going to bother with us. Too small. But it didn't work out that way because the subs sank many sailing vessels all through the West Indies.... (Do you remember the day you sailed aboard the Angelus from Louisbourg?) March. We were towed out of Louisbourg in ice, in quite heavy ice. This is one of the bad times of year in the North Atlantic. (Where did they drop you?) Maybe four or five miles outside. The old Angelus was not in very good shape. By this time she was leaking, I mean right away, as soon as we were outside the harbour, she was leak? ing. And they come and say, "Well, get to the pumps." We never stopped pumping until they got to Barbados--and we had a very small crew. Watches were four hours on and four hours off. Normal sailing today is four on and eight off. So you have three watches. But this was an economy ship--two watches. Four hours on, four hours off. And oftentimes you'd stand your watch when you had been doing a lot of pumping, and then you'd crawl in bed with your rubber V>ren??m)'s TrM/e'Agencif We plan it all for you. 794-7251 158 QUEEN ST., NORTH SYDNEY