Category Archives: Fishing

Tongers of Tilghman Island

I’ve been reviewing lots of photographs from decades ago. Many are all but forgotten and bring back memories, like images I took when working out of Tilghman Island, Maryland.

While crewing aboard the dredging Virginia W, there were times when large portions of Chesapeake Bay froze, leaving the fleet of sailing skipjacks tied up at the dock.

Hand tongers however could reach areas still free of ice to get their harvest. Less efficient in catching oysters, it’s environmentally more friendly to benthic marine life on the bottom.

The shafts on hand tongs can reach lengths of 20 feet or more.

Tongers load the culling board while another crew member saves the good oysters and dumps the detritus overboard.

A more efficient way to use tongs is hydraulically. Called patent tongs, they’re much larger and mechanically harvest more than hand tongs. At the same time, this method can be more destructive to organisms on the bottom.

Working with hand tongs is brutally physical. Imagine the workout you’d have at the end of a day. These watermen worked from a classic Chesapeake Bay dead-rise boat, Mina Conway. For them it was just another day at the office!

Looking Back

Nearly a lifetime ago I began searching for a better way of life. Out of school and more on my own, I was content, but the suburbs of DC was not where I wanted to be. Surfing had given me a taste of Hatteras Island and after some trips there, I was inextricably drawn back to the island. It was uncrowded, relatively undeveloped, and there were waves. An extended visit of 6 months turned into 50 years. Where did that time go? 

All along the way, I nurtured an interest in photography. I loved the environment, and culture. Before long those things embraced me and wouldn’t let go.

Nowadays I spend time evaluating and organizing what I’ve done as a photographer. There are lots of images… too many count.

A recent job got me digging in, editing and printing for a permanent display in our neighborhood Community Building. I made a photograph of some of those finished prints on my work table to see how they looked. Collectively it’s a record of the past. Documenting history was never my intent as I shot the surroundings, but time passing made it that way. 

I’m grateful for what the island has given me, the experience of finding my niche, and encountering a colorful cast of characters. It’s been a great run!

Out of Order

Since being constructed in the sixties, Rodanthe Pier has long been a vantage point during  storms. This image dates back to the Fall of 1999. After a series of poundings from the ocean, including Hurricane Dennis, much of the pier had collapsed. The pier house was completely destroyed. These gentlemen weren’t locals, but may have fished there at times.    

I don’t think pay phones exist around here any more and this particular one may have been one of the last vestiges of that technology. Needless to say, the pier was closed and the phone didn’t work. I can only imagine the many folks that used this telephone. Surfers called their buddies if the waves were good, or teenage girls huddled around it talking to friends.

Remnants of the original pier house was strewn all over the beach. Bobby and Dickie Ferrell had built it with cypress from their Currituck sawmill. The weathered siding was still beautiful. I salvaged many of those boards and saved them for projects around my house.

Much shorter than it used to be, that old pier has been rebuilt and repaired constantly. Not only has it been a fishing experience but a social one as well. Its battle with the sea continues.

Puerto Madero (part 5 of 7)

With first mate Billy looking on, Trent plots a course to our next destination. Just over the Guatemalan border in Mexico, Puerto Madero is mainly a fishing port supported by a deep inlet. It’s a four day trip.

With no breeze, we motored from Gulfo Dulce into a crystal calm sea.  Fifty miles off the coast, schools of porpoise rode the underwater wake made by Challenge’s 9 foot draft. We reeled in two 30 pound mahi, and by late afternoon were approaching waters off of Nicaragua.  

In the Gulf of Papagayo smooth seas rolled under us, the sleek aluminum hull plunging through. Sea birds soared and flying fish were kicked up by Challenge.

Now we’re a hundred miles off the coast of Nicaragua. Sea turtles were floating lazily on the surface. A pod of pilot whales seemed to escort us for a mile or so, at times crossing the bow.

That steamy night I slept on deck, El Salvador ninety miles to starboard. I awoke for a 4 AM watch. It’s my 38th birthday. Still no wind, motoring is making for a tight fuel situation. Our pals on Escapade have excess fuel, but are a day behind us, and  Puerto Madero is 200 miles away. It’s uncomfortably hot with no relief except for the occasional bucket of sea water over the head. By my afternoon watch, we’re off the coast of Guatemala, still no wind. Jacque has made a cake and the crew sang as I blew out a candle in the cockpit.

Next day, after a brief check by the Guatemalan Coast Guard,  we caught some breeze to sail within a hundred miles of Puerto Madero.

With a little wind, we made 6 knots, and by nightfall entered the big inlet to Puerto Madero.

When Escapade arrived, they rafted up with us.

Fishermen were busy mending nets and others just hanging out. We bought fresh shrimp from them right at the dock.

Was this man catching conch and drying them right on his boat?

Streets in Puerto Madero were unpaved and the town lacked for provisions. The nearby city of Tapachula proved to be a much better option.

We took advantage of Tapachula’s thriving commerce and got the necessary supplies at the central marketplace.

My highlight (pun intended) was finding a human flame thrower.

Next stop Acapulco, then on to Cabo San Lucas.

 

Rodanthe 1975

I spend lots of time looking through old images. They bring back bygone memories. It’s taught me that a photograph taken today, later becomes a document of history. Interesting old photos appreciate with time because they can never be taken again. In the Summer of 1975, something possessed me to shoot a sign directing folks to the booming pier complex at Rodanthe. Nearly 50 years later, I realize how my hometown has changed.

All the buildings in the background are gone, washed away or relocated. The open field of sand, grasses and wildflowers is now covered with McMansions. The sign indicates that Elvin Hooper had caught his world record channel bass less than 2 years prior.

How I miss those days!