Saving Seafood

Festival Contests Showcase Fishing Industry Skills

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — October 1, 2015 — The following was released by the Working Waterfront Festival:

The 2015 Working Waterfront Festival (September 26 & 27) featured a variety of competitions throughout the weekend. Participants competed in whaleboat races; a tug boat muster; net mending, splicing, link squeezing, and scallop shucking contests; a Nautical Tattoo Contest, and a Seafood Throwdown. Each event showcased a variety of industry skills, engaging the public in learning about different aspects of the fishing industry.

The Buzzard’s Bay Rowing Club hosted Whaleboat Races on Saturday morning. Winners were as follows: Women’s Grey Whale: Crabalots with a time of 13:19.3; Women’s Blue Whale: Margaret’s Oars with a time of 11:47.7; Women’s Right Whale: Mystic Seaport with a time of 13:25.6; Coed Blue Whale: Whalers with a time of 12:03.9; Coed Right Whale:Sea Me After Class with a time of 13:21.3; Coed Grey Whale: Bee’s Knees with a time of 14:18.1; and Men’s Right Whale: Mystic Seaport with a time of 11:48.6.  Lorelei won “Best Dressed,” Mystic Seaport won “Most Theatrical” and Oar-e-o’s were deemed “Most Enthusiastic”.

Area tugs converged on the harbor Saturday afternoon for the annual Tugboat Musterorganized by Charlie Mitchell captain of the Tug Jaguar and emceed by his brother Bob Mitchell of R. A. Mitchell Company.  While not a formal contest, tugs of all sizes showed their skill and strength with demonstrations of hawser tossing, turning, and pushing.

Rodney Avila and Ted Williams of Hercules SLR US presented Safety Demos including a life raft deployment and an “Abandon Ship” demonstration to give visitors a sense of the dangers of commercial fishing and the safety protocol that fishermen practice to remain safe at sea.

On Saturday, groundfishing skills were highlighted with a Net Mending Competitionemceed by net designer Tor Bendiksen of Reidar’s Manufacturing and a Rope Splicing Contest emceed by Barbara Merry of Marlinspike Artist.  Winners of the net mending competition were 1st place: Steve Wright of the F/V Hunter with a time of 2:22,  2nd place: Sarah Fortin an employee at Reidar’s Manufacturing with a time of 2:35, 3rd place: Ray Lees of the F/V Paula Jean with a time of 2:59. Kevin Curole of Grand Isle, Louisiana won the splicing contest.

On Sunday, scallopers took center stage with back to back contests:  Link Squeezing(emceed by Mathieu Lemieux of Blue Fleet Welding) and Shucking (emceed by Richie Canastra of BASE/Whaling City Seafood Display Auction). Brothers Levi Brockman (F/V Starbrite) and Steve Brockman (F/V Instigator) won the link squeezing contest with a time of 1:59.  Results of the shucking contest were as follows: Jonathan Hynd of the F/V Horizon took first place with a time of 4:02; Sergey Chadchushkin of the F/V Atlantic took 2nd place with a time of 4:13; and Jeff Swain of the F/V Polaris took 3rd place with a time of 4:19.

Contest prizes were provided by Latti and Anderson LLP, Slave of the Sea, Marlinspike Artist, Buzzard’s Bay Rowing Club, Sinners and Saints Tattoo, Dark Star Tattoo and Body Piercing, Flying Aces Tattoo, the New Bedford Tattoo Company, and the Working Waterfront Festival.

Fourteen individuals competed in the Nautical Tattoo Contest debuting at this year’s festival.  Contestants were judged on artistry, concept/creativity, stage presence and the story behind their tattoo.  The judging panel included tattoo artists, Neil England and Val G., local sculptor Jessica Bregoli, and Raymond Canastra, co-owner of BASE.  Terry Bungay of Newfoundland took home first place. Tanner Tillotson came in second; Bob Vieira came in third; and Sarah Jane Mulvey took fourth.

Sunday culminated with a Seafood Throwdown pitting Chef Chris Cronin of Little Moss (Dartmouth, MA) against Chef Rob Pirnie of Trafford (Warren, RI). With Dogfish as the surprise seafood ingredient, Chef Cronin, who was lucky enough to get an egg bearing dogfish, and clever enough to incorporate the fish roe into his dish (grilled dogfish, sugar pumpkin & lamb chorizo with scrambled roe and peach jam) scored enough extra points for his use of the whole animal to win the day. The Seafood Throwdown is a collaboration between the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance and the Working Waterfront Festival.

The Working Waterfront Festival is a project of the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern MA, a non-profit organization. The FREE festival, a family friendly, educational celebration of New England’s commercial fishing industry, features live music, fishermen’s contests, fresh seafood, vessel tours, maritime authors, cooking demonstrations, kid’s activities and more.  It all takes place on working piers and waterfront parks in New Bedford, MA, America’s #1 fishing port, on the last full weekend in September.  Navigate to us at www.workingwaterfrontfestival.org.

MASSACHUSETTS: Gloucester’s Schooner Adventure to offer Dockside Tours at 2015 Working Waterfront Festival

September 8, 2015 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The following was released by the Working Waterfront Festival:

Adventure completes first public sailing season in a quarter century NEW BEDFORD, MA— The public will have ample opportunity to tour a variety of work boats at the 2015 Working Waterfront Festival (September 26-27). The SCHOONER ADVENTURE, launched in 1926, measured 122 feet from bow to stern and carried a 120horsepower diesel engine, fourteen dories, and a crew of twenty-seven. She fished the Grand Banks from her home port of Gloucester from 1926 to 1953 under Captain Jeff Thomas and later, Captain Leo Hynes. The Schooner Adventure was considered a highliner, the biggest money-maker of all time, landing nearly $4 million worth of cod and halibut during her fishing career.

After a lengthy and comprehensive restoration, _Adventure_ was issued her Coast Guard Passenger Vessel Certificate on June 8, 2015, her first since 1988, and is completing her first sailing season in a quarter century. Designed by Thomas F. McManus of Boston and built at the John F. James & Son Yard in Essex for Captain Jeff Thomas of Gloucester, _Adventure_ was one of the last wooden sailing vessels of her kind built for the dory-fishing industry. _Adventure_, named for one of the fantasy fleet of ships drawn by Captain Thomas’s young son, is a knockabout schooner, designed without a bowsprit for the safety of the crew. The McManus knockabout design was regarded by maritime historian, Howard I. Chapelle, as “the acme in the long evolution of the New England fishing schooner”.

The tradition of racing fishing schooners for sport can be directly traced back to McManus who sponsored the races to demonstrate the speediness of his designs. When she retired, _Adventure_was the last American dory-fishing schooner in the North Atlantic. She was given a new life as a passenger vessel in 1954, and became known as the “Queen of the Windjammers” sailing Maine’s Penobscot Bay until 1988.

Since her return to her original home port, she has been maintained and restored by The Gloucester Adventure Inc., a 501(c) 3 non-profit educational and cultural foundation. The restoration spanned 27 years, and was completed at a cost of $5 million dollars. Today,_Adventure_ is available for education programs in conjunction with community partners, for charter by groups, member sails, and for unique dockside events. The ship is capable of carrying 65 passengers underway and 80 alongside. “The ship is both a powerful icon of Maritime Heritage for Gloucester and the region, and a unique asset available to the whole community”, said Captain Stefan Edick, “we look forward to this next phase of her life, and to sharing her history with residents and visitors alike”.

A benefit concert for Schooner _Adventure_ will be held on her deck on Friday, September 25, 2015 at 6PM. Performers include John Roberts, Deb Cowan, the New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus, the Rum Soaked Crooks, the Providence-based chantey group Sharks Come Cruisin, and Bob Zentz. _Adventure_will be docked on the south side of State Pier, at Schooner _Ernestina-Morrissey_’s berth. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased the evening of the show starting at 5PM. Parking is available at all downtown meters for free on Friday evening as well as throughout the weekend.

In addition to the ADVENTURE, visitors will be able to tour the F/V Little Lady, a Stonington dragger, as well as a modern day dragger, a scalloper, a deep sea clammer, a lobster boat, and a tug boat. For visitors wishing an on-water experience, the Buzzard’s Bay Rowing Club offers free whaleboat rides from 2:00-5:00 on Saturday and 12:00-5:00 on Sunday for attendees aged 18 and older. Whaling City Expeditions offers Harbor Tours both days from 12:00-5:00 at a special festival rate. Tug boat enthusiasts should make a point of attending the annual Tug Boat Muster Saturday beginning at 3:00 pm with mini tugs followed by full sized tugs at 3:30 p.m.

The WORKING WATERFRONT FESTIVAL is a project of the COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CENTER OF SOUTHEASTERN MA, a non-profit organization. The FREE festival, a family friendly, educational celebration of New England’s commercial fishing industry, features live maritime and ethnic music, fishermen’s contests, fresh seafood, vessel tours, maritime authors, cooking demonstrations, kid’s activities and more. It all takes place on working piers and waterfront parks in New Bedford, MA, America’s #1 fishing port, on the last full weekend in September. Navigate to us www.workingwaterfrontfestival.org