Photos from Tuffy
If you don’t think those old wooden lobster traps weighed a whole hellova lot more than today’s wire gear then you don’t know much about then and now lobstering.
Look how skinny Swicker was back then…
Category: Beautiful Industry
Old Christmas Greysole Fishing Trips
Sam Novello writes-
Dear Joe,
In the past, large Gloucester fishing draggers made annual Christmas fishing trips off the coast of Nova Scotia at a greysole “honeyhole.” I believe your grandfather may have even found this spot. From what I understand, the boats used to take turns fishing through this spot one at a time and filling their nets with tows of 25,000 lbs of greysole per tow being common. This area is now closed to U.S. fisherman because of its location in Canadian waters. I believe the last Gloucester boats to fish these grounds were in the Joseph & Lucia fleet approximately 25 years ago. I have always been interested in this old “Christmas trip” and was wondering if any of your readers might have any knowledge or information about these trips and the location of this old greysole honey-hole. Thanks!
Happy Holidays!
Sam Novello
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Essex Shipbuilding Museum’s Christmas Card
Thanks Len Burgess for sending this along.
Photo by Barry O’Brien
“The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.”
To all our friends at Good Morning Gloucester who bring art, community and history alive,
Merry Christmas from the Essex Shipbuilding Museum!
Quote attributed to Harry S. Truman
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
“Displaced By Fishing War” by Sean Horgan
Excellent article in the Gloucester Daily Times, written by Sean Horgan, published December 12, 2013.
“Joe Orlando still wakes up in the night, when the wind is whistling, and wonders if he should go down to the Gloucester House and make sure the Padre Pio’s lines are secure.
There still are days when the longtime Gloucester fisherman, as if lured by something invisible and irresistible, finds himself heading toward the dock to check on his boat.
“I say to myself, ‘What am I doing’?” Orlando said.
He is doing what he’s done for the past 30 years, what he’s done since he bought the 65-foot steel fishing boat in 1983 in partnership with his sister Angela Sanfilippo and her husband John.
There’s only problem: Orlando no longer owns the Padre Pio.”
Read the full article here:
Displaced by Fishing War: Gloucesterman haunted by urge to go to sea and loss of vessel
Beautiful Padre Pio, Gloucester
More posts on GMG about the Padre Pio:
GLOUCESTER AT WORK
Game Over. It’s A Sad Day For Gloucester
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Photos From The Beauport Princess Cruiselines Maiden Voyage This Past Sunday
Sista Felicia Took These Photos aboard The Beauport Princess Cruiselines Maiden Voyage This Past Sunday-
Congratulations to Sheree and her dedicated team. Bringing jobs and beauty to our community. Thanks for all you do.
Here was the announcement-
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
The Daily Traveler Chimes in On Gloucester’s Most Beautiful Lobster Trap Tree (and those other horribly misfigured Lobster trap trees from other places)
This Is a Thing? Lobster Trap Christmas Trees Are Serious Business in New England
December 7, 2013, 11:00 AM
We’re always excited to discover a Christmas tree that isn’t a “tree” at all. Like the one made of wine bottles at Seattle’s Hotel Vintage Park, the 2,130-foot tall “tree” of lights on the side of Italy’s Mount Ingino, and Lithuania’s recycled plastic bottle spruce. But for more than a decade, a new holiday tradition has been brewing in some of New England’s most charming coastal towns: lobster trap Christmas trees. And the competition to build the best of the bunch has gotten heated. We’re not about to get in the middle of a friendly fishing village rivalry, but take a look at the different ways in which five towns are putting their personal stamps on the lobster trap tree trend.
Click here for the entire story
I believe we’ve already chimed in year after year on the matter- the evidence is clear and the people have spoken. Sane people prefer our Lobster Trap Tree decorated by sweet adoring children from the Gloucester Community with heart felt appreciation for our lobster industry and hard working fishermen to the abominations seen below.
Don’t forget to bring your children down to Art Haven to paint a buoy to adorn the tree. That’s what separates our lobster trap tree from all those horribly disfigured monstrosity lobster trap trees up in Maine that are all simply built out of generic traps and cheap pre-made ribbons imported from China and manufactured in sweat shops with unfair labor practices.
Here we go folks, the fourth year of our fair and balanced GMG Lobster Trap Tree poll-
Gloucester’s Lobster Trap Tree Decorated With Hand Painted Buoys By The Loving Appreciative Children Of Gloucester MA-
vs.
Provincetown lobster trap tree adorned with cheap imported Chinese pre-made slave labor ribbons-
Isn’t Provincetown where all the gays are? I know the gays are better than this, much more creative and artistic. Be better Provincetown, you’re not representing well here- at all.
vs.
Then you got the terribly disfigured one from Maine where it looks more like a Christmas Spike than a Christmas Tree-
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Look what we saw on our way to Camden on Sunday
As we were going through the Portland Tolls, the stealth boats from Saturday were driving by.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Updated With Up Close Photos!!! Holy Canoli Batman!!! Anyone Know What Kind Of Stealthy Boats Were Zipping Around Yesterday?
Photo from Dec 7, 2013
Could it be this?
Combatant Craft Assault (CCA)
Mark Anderson Sends Photos From Dun Fudgin Boat Ramp Behind The High School It isn’t just the Airforce using Stealth Technology
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
The Little Tug that could
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
2013 Gloucester MA Lobster Trap Tree Being Built
Bex submits-
All the traps are on loan from local lobstermen.
Volunteers dedicate a weekend to building the tree.
Children paint buoys as “ornaments” to decorate the tree. Buoy Painting is December 14 and the Tree Lighting Ceremony is 4:30 – 5:00 on December 14.
When the tree comes down in January, the buoys are saved and auctioned off as a fundraiser for Cape Ann Art Haven on January 24th @ Gloucester Cruiseport.
Thank you to Awesome Gloucester for awarding Cape Ann Art Haven $1000 towards the Lobster Trap Tree and Buoy Painting Week!
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
The Fleet
Traditionally I suspect when people think of the Gloucester Fleet or Gloucester Fishermen they think of large draggers, wooden or steel. Fact is probably over 90% of our fleet are boats less than 50 feet in length and most are made of fiberglass. Sure there are a few draggers left but that subsector of Gloucester’s fleet is miniscule compared to what it once was.
This morning in the office our fishermen were having a conversation about how many fishermen and lobstermen are due to retire within the next 10 years. The last great generation of fishermen to fish out of this port are nearing retirement. The last generation of fishermen who can remember Gloucester fishing when it was humming.
Click photo for larger view.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Anyone Know Of a Mass Save Energy Program That Advises On Lighting For Industrial Spaces?
A lot of our lobstermen have been switching over to LED lighting and I know it’s uses less energy and the initial costs for the lighting fixtures are more but I wonder if there are programs out there where you get credits toward the project for using energy saving fixtures.
Basically the dock here is like a big barn that needs to be lit up inside. The old lighting fixtures just aren’t cutting it.
On the boats that have switched over to LED there is a noticeable difference in the quality of the light that they throw off. Across the harbor you can see on the decks of their boats much better.
I think when we changed our cooler fans over to a more efficient system we got a credit. I wonder if they do the same for lighting.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
This Is How They Get Dressed For A Whale Watch In Iceland
Janet Rice submits-
Brave, Hearty Souls departing from Reykjavik Harbor for a nippy November Whale Watch.
Best-Janet
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Want.
Italians Condense a Yacht Into a Teeny-Weeny Pod of Luxury
click the link for more pics
Course the Italians built this. SAF
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Found on the Hard Drive “Meditation” 2006
Found on the Hard Drive “Meditation” 2006
These Photos were Shot with a Kodak dx6490 4mp 10x zoom in 2006.
One year after we returned home to Gloucester
and 4 years before I was asked to join GMG.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
The Gloucester Fleet
The “Stanley Thomas”
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Tuesday, November 19, 2013 – Program: The Building of the Thomas E. Lannon, Presented by: Captain Tom Ellis
Visionary, Captain and now Documentarian Tom Ellis, presents his program, Building the Thomas E. Lannon (See above.)
Using historic footage meticulously captured by award winning videographer Al Viator, shot as The Will to Build, between Oct. 1, 1996 to June 30, 1997, Tom Ellis has crafted his personal story of the creation of the Schooner Thomas E. Lannon from dream to design , through the challenges of construction to the triumphant sail into Gloucester Harbor.
Admission: $8 members, $10 nonmembers
Light refreshments will be served.
For additional information, visit our website: www.essexshipbuildingmuseum.org
Office phone # 978-768-7541
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Joey’s Birthday Mug Up
Although it was a great surprise birthday mug up for Joey, he still ended up having to shovel fish before he could join in the fun.
E.J. Lefavour
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
The Stevedore
Hello, Joey:
I hope you’ll share this YouTube link to my new original song, “The Stevedore.” It’s a sea chantey with a twist of contemporary realism: rather than the typical sea song that features drunken sailors, this one is about a stevedore (or lumper or longshoreman) who develops an addiction to painkillers. It’s a tribute to the very tough people who have made a living unloading the cargo from fishing boats and, I hope, a way of honoring Gloucester’s recovery community. I hope the song touches a chord with your readers.
The song is performed by The Dorymates (Janet Ruth Young and Tony Hilliard) with our friend Tim Perkins. It was recorded by H. Nat Stevens.
Best wishes,
Janet Ruth Young
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Video: Beautiful Blue Lobster
Beautiful Blue Lobster Landed at Captain Joe and Sons by Captain Dave Jewell of the Lady J, October 11, 2013.
Dave Jewell lands a blue lobster, Joey drives the forklift, and shows us how to tell the difference between a male and female lobster–set to a trio of Bruce Springsteen songs from the Seeger Sessions–just another day at Captain Joe and Sons!
In order of appearance ~
Joey Ciaramitaro
Ryan
Frankie Ciaramitaro
Captain Dave Jewell
For information about the Lady J fishing charters visit their website at Lady J Fishing Charters.
~ Songs ~
American Land
Bruce Springsteen
Pay Me My Money Down
Bruce Springsteen
Working On A Dream
Bruce Springsteen
See GMG links to posts about the beautiful blue lobster:
Good Morning Gloucester 