Northwest Nautical History – Bristol Bay sailboats
Jan 11 2013 in Boats, History by John Sabella
For decades leading up to the early 1950s, fishermen in Alaska’s Bristol Bay, the site of the world’s largest salmon fishery, worked in tiny, open sailboats. They left the cannery dock at 6 a.m. Monday morning and returned with their catches at 6 p.m. Saturday; they lived onboard all week, cooking over a kerosene stove and with just a small, tentlike structure for cover. It was a lifestyle few people could now imagine, but for the men who lived it, those days made for an unforgettable experience.
In this excerpt from John Sabella’s 1994 documentary The Great Age of Salmon, seafood industry pioneer Stan Tarrant vividly brings the era to life. The complete program is available here.
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Ahoi said on February 8, 2013
This is a great series and I thank you for it. I worked at Ilwaco Boatworks in the early seventies when there was still a lot of commercial fishing, trolling and gillnetting and the fleet well maintained and looking good and always some men working on nets somewhere along the waterfront, hard weathered men who chewed and spat and chatted with one another. There were still a few old double ended gillnetters around then and I worked on a couple but most of them were transom sterned and with engines faster because the stern wouldn’t squat like the double enders did. I had no idea then it was the beginning of the end.
John Sabella said on February 8, 2013
Hi Ahoi, I appreciate your comments. The same, unfortunately, is true for Lake Union and the Seattle Ship Canal. There’s still marine industry there but it ain’t like the old days. John
Marge Beil said on April 5, 2013
Are you available to give group talks? Port Ludlow? Plse advise
Thanks Mbeil
John Sabella said on April 5, 2013
Hi. Just sent you an email. I like to show a video then do a question and answer. What group are we talking here, how many people and what sort of venue? John
Marge said on April 8, 2013
John
We would like to have you as a speaker and share some of your info perhaps this fall. Dine and Discover does not meet in the summer but will again in fall. Depending on where you come from we would put you up here in Port Ludlow for the night and of course give you an honorarium. You can reach me at 360 437 0212 or leave a message with my husband. Usually 80-100 people attend as a potluck so dinner would be included for you and your spouse
Best regards MBeil
This is mostly a retired group from all over the US Lots of retired military, Boeing, Professional people.
Eric Sorensen said on January 14, 2013
Great post. The gillnetter is the logo boat for the Center for Wooden Boats and a mainstay of their free Sunday afternoon sails. It’s great to see one in action in its historic milieu.
John Sabella said on January 15, 2013
Hi Eric. Thanks for the note. The Center used to carry our documentaries in the gift shop. They haven’t ordered in awhile. Maybe they need a nudge. John
Christine Smith said on January 11, 2013
Wonderful video. Our boat, the David B, was built for Libby, McNeill and Libby in 1929 to tow their Bristol Bay boats. I love the sight of the sailboats being towed, and especially the sound on the monkey boat’s engine. Thanks for sharing!
John Sabella said on January 11, 2013
Hi Christine. Thanks for the note. I don’t think many modern people can even conceive of how tough those old birds were, living in the open sailboats for weeks at a time. We have several documentaries about that era including The Great Age of Salmon and the PAF and Sockeye and the Age of Sail. You can watch them on pay per view for $4.95. Here’s a link to the Maritime History section of our website: https://www.johnsabella.com/category_listing.lasso?category=400
John