Day: July 7, 2008

Dogtown Book Shop’s New Awnings

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Beautiful new awnings at Dogtown Book Shop and Menage Galleries.

The new awnings will protect the products they sell that can be damaged from the sun. They also fit right in with the style of the buildings that they face. Pretty soon signs will be erected over the awnings with the shop names on them.

When I stopped by to check the place out I noticed the floors in the old gal have been re-sanded and finished. It really brightened the place up.

Main Street is on the rise baby!

Dogtown Book Shop’s New Awnings, originally uploaded by captjoe06.

Dogtown Book Shop offers two coupons in the Where The Locals Go coupoin book which was sponsored by the Cape Ann Business Incubator and Sustainable Cape Ann.
The first coupon is for 30% off all books in the section of fiction. The second coupon is for 30% off all books in the section of Biography/Autobiography.
Dogtown Book Shop also offers fax and photocopying service, they can locate hard to find books , they carry new books of local interest, and out of print books. It’s yet another treasure in Gloucester’s Downtown!

Where The Locals Go

Crew Member Picks Up Spilled Slime Eels

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Not much turns my stomach in the fish business.  I can deal with rotten fish, stinky bait and all that.

A few things still get to me though- maggots and slime eels.  I wretch every time.  Ughhhhh!

Crew Member Picks Up Spilled Slime Eels, originally uploaded by captjoe06.

The Princess Laura Slime Eel Boat

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Here’s the Fishing Vessel Princess Laura who primarily is rigged to catch slime eels.

The Princess Laura Slime Eel Boat, originally uploaded by captjoe06.

Beverly Farms Parade Takes Shot at Pregnant Gloucester Teens

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

At about 2 minutes and 30 seconds they take some pretty good shots at the Gloucester High Pregnancy situation.

We’ll see you on the football field September 26, 2008.

Beverly at GLOUCESTER 7:00PM

Good luck.

Things To Do- The 22nd Annual Blackburn Challenge

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

The Blackburn Challenge Logo

The Cape Ann Rowing Club presents the 22nd Annual Blackburn Challenge

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Information Packet

6:00 am ……….… Registration & check-in, Gloucester High School
Each participant must register in person

7:00 am …………. Skipper’s Meeting for all participants

7:45–8:30 am …… Staggered starts by boat class

12:00 noon ……… Pavilion Beach Finish Line facilities open

3:00 pm …………. Award Ceremony & Festivities

The Blackburn Challenge is a 20+ mile open water circumnavigation of
Cape Ann. Participants row or paddle small boats in the open ocean waters around Cape Ann, and conditions can vary dramatically throughout the day. Occasionally the water can be very rough, with strong winds and high waves. While we have some powerboats on the course to monitor checkpoints, we do not provide boat escorts—you should expect to be out of their sight and fully independent most of the time. Unless you have solid experience in difficult conditions with the boat you plan to use, you should not enter this event. Always plan an “escape” path to safety, and if you encounter any problems along the way, pull out and call to let us know. The orderly, safe and sportsmanlike conduct of this event is your personal responsibility, and is essential to guaranteeing the future of the Blackburn Challenge.

We have no rain date; there’s always an event. Alternative courses will be in place for rough weather conditions, or fog. The Blackburn Challenge is open to all seaworthy oar or paddle powered craft. Classes include men’s and women’s Banks dories, fixed seat singles, doubles, multi-oars with cox, multi-oars without cox, sliding seat singles & doubles, single & double touring kayaks, single & double racing kayaks, surf skis, and outrigger canoes, in about that order. Refer to the enclosed sheet for anticipated start times. A final breakdown of heats and classes will be announced at the skipper’s meeting as well as changes to course if warranted. Though CARC attempts to recognize any class represented by several entries, we make no guarantees.

Registration & Check-in: 6:00 am

YOU MUST REGISTER IN PERSON! 6:00-7 am at Gloucester High School. See enclosed map for directions.
Registration tables will be located in the cafeteria. Access is from behind the tennis courts. Vehicles should be parked on paved areas in front of and to the side of the building. Do not leave vehicles near ramp. Rest rooms are available in the building.

Launching

LOGISTICS CAN DELAY YOU! Please allow plenty of time to park, register, attend the skipper’s meeting and launch. Smaller boats can use the unpaved areas for launching. Boats must be rowed or paddled up the Annisquam River to the starting line near the railroad bridge.

Check our website: Blackburnchallenge.com for further updates. Final race results will be posted approx. 2 weeks after the race.

Entry Information

The deadline for entry is 6/28/08. Entries postmarked later than 6/28/08 will not be accepted. Register as early as possible!

Entry Fee: $60 per participant post mark by 6/13/08
$70 per participant post mark after 6/13/08
$330 per boat maximum
50% discount for traditional banks dories

Fees include T-shirt, race management and pre/post food & beverages.
Meal tickets for non-racers must be ordered on Race Application form.
Extra T-shirts may be purchased at the finish line if available.

Change On The Waterfront- Gloucester Fishcutters From Lawrence, Lynn and Salem

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

These guys originally from The Dominican Republic, Thailand and Vietnam now live in Salem, Lynn and Lawrence and commute to Gloucester to cut fish. At one time if you were from Gloucester you knew dozens of local fishcutters. Now I know of only a handful and I’m IN the industry.

Times change.

Some people that have no idea how the fishing industry has changed will say that we need more fish plant jobs for local people but they don’t even realize that those jobs aren’t going to local people, they are going to hard working workers from other towns and countries.

Thats if you could even afford to process fish with local water and sewer rates among the highest in the nation for an industry that intensively uses water.

Press the arrow to view the video

Fishcutters From Salem, Lynn and Lawrence at Whole Foods

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Some will say that we need wastewater pre-treatment so that there can be more fish processing in Gloucester. We already have some of the highest water and sewer rates in the nation, and we don’t have local people working in the few fish processing jobs that are left around town but these people are calling for another wastewater pre-treatment facility. -Bananaheads!

Park your car at Saint Peter’s Parking lot at 6:00AM and watch the bus loads of hard working Cambodians, Thai, and Vietnamese that file out of the white buses to work at the few places around town that still process fish.

Here’s a hint- they aren’t from here. Not that there is anything at all wrong with hiring these hard working folks. They are honest, hard working and show up.

Fishcutters From Salem, Lynn and Lawrence at Whole Foods, originally uploaded by captjoe06.

We used to hire great Honduran help when we still had employees. They were the best workers we ever had.
The point is that when people try to say that we have to have the whole harbor saved for fish processing as if it’s ever going to be one tenth of what it was in the boom times, those few jobs wouldn’t be filled with Gloucester folks, it will just be more buses from Lynn, Salem and Lawrence. God Bless Em.

Coffee Sluts at The Black Swan!

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Picked up this beauty for the Mrs at The Black Swan. It holds 12 ounces of coffee and is one of many funny coffee mugs they carry.

Present For The Mrs From The Black Swan, originally uploaded by captjoe06.