Page 6 - Wishie Rose: From 50 Years at Sea

ISSUE : Issue 29

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1981/8/1

keep her steady at all. So finally a lit? tle southerly wind--we got the jumbo up, and got her before the sea--in no time you were out of it--it didn't last. Two days and a night we were there--couldn't move-- no sail--couldn't keep any sail on her, you'd smash it to pieces, flapping around. But I liked the foreign trade. You wouldn't be at it all seasons. You'd prob? ably be in the Bank fishing in the summer. In the winter you'd go across with a load of fish. I went Bank-fishing for years--in 10-dory schooners in Newfoundland. The Dutch schooners--the Lunenburgers--we only had 7 dories. I went 9 years, 9 seasons, from March until the last of September .usu? ally. Some winters, if you had a good chance, you'd probably stay fishing, I did both. It was all two-masted schooners you fished on. The French and the Spaniards, they used 3-masters and 4-masted vessels-- but our people didn't. Always fore and aft--2-masters. (When you say "our peo? ple....") I mean Newfoundlanders, Dutch? men- -that's the Lunenburgers--Americans-- all were the same, they had only two- masted schooners for fishing. (What would you have for a crew?) Two men in each dory. Then you had the captain. And you had what they call a "dress gang" on the Lunenburg schooners. When the first dory came alongside with fish, the captain and the dress gang would start to split fish. You have the "header" and the "throater" ("gutter"), and you had the "salter." The captain, he was the "split- ter"--that's all he did all day--the Lunen? burg fellows. But the Newfoundland skip? pers didn't touch the fish. On the New? foundland vessels the crew split them them? selves. And the Newfoundland vessels had the "catchee," All he'd do was catch the dory's painter--it's a strong rope in the front end--catch it when you came along? side. And he'd help when they were split? ting fish. He didn't go in a dory. In the summertime--you only made 3 or 4 hauls in a day. You'd get up. The cook would probably get what's known as a snacjk--warm the tea and probably some bread and some soda crackers, some cheese or something. If you wanted something to eat before you went in the dory, you could get it. Then you and your dory mate--you might be what's known as a "dory skipper," boss of the dory--you had your own dory. They were all numbered and you had to look after the dory, see. They're piled in a nest on the deck, what they call a "cra? dle." If your trawls were anchored right around your schooner--what's known as "han? dy buoys"--you put the dories over in any order. But if you're what they call "fly? ing setting"--that's setting under sail-- you put one off on one side, one off on the other, and put them off in order. You get in the dory and usually the cook on one side and the catchee or somebody on the other--takes the dories back to the long painter. You put all the dories on long painters astern of the schooner, tow them along. She's not going too fast-- she's moving probably 4 or 5 knots, some? thing like that. And the furthest dory a- way, that's the first one that would set-- from the far end of the long painter. CONTINUED NEXT PAGE Energy Efficient Reeves Homes MODEL HOME HEAD OFFICE MODEL HOME K-MART PLAZA AND PLANT RESERVE ST. WELTON ST. POINT EDWARD GLACE BAY 539r3468 564-5573 849-6524 Point Edward Industrial Park, P.O.Box 1414 Sydney, NS BIP 6K3 "COMPARE BEFORE YOU BUY" / / f 1 & Colour Printing ''PRINTERSuMiTBD '''''180 TOWNSEND STREET, SYDNEY, N. S. TELEPHONE (902) 5644245 P Overlooking the Margaree Valley at the Junction of Route 19 and the Cabot Trail A full-accommodation Lodge featuring spacious room.s, dining room and lounge, swimming pool. Nearby are golf fairways beaches, fresh and salt water fishing, camping, hiking. The best of Nova Scotian musicians en? tertain in our louhge every weekend. Check with us to see who's playing, and drop in for an enjoyable evening. . 0. Box 550, MARGAREE FORKS, Nova Scotia BOE 2/ Phone (902) 248-2193, William.F. Maclsaac, mgr. RELAX IN THE BEAUTIFUL MARGAREE VALLEY 0 ?? jfi0 Parks ?? ' Canada Pares Canada ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK Open Daily Year Round 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. July 1 to Sept. 30 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. the Rest of the Year (6) 3 MAJOR EXHIBIT AREAS: Bell the Man Bell the Experimenter Hydrofoil Hall GUIDE SERVICE AVAILABLE Baddeck N.S. 75 km. west of Sydney on Route 105 Canada

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