The sponge adventure (part 1, excerpt 32)
This is the first part of a story called The Sponge Adventure. Captain Bob and his two comrades Dave and Amos fish the Gulf of Key West in Bob’s ocean-going trawler Sea Breeze. Dave is interested in the old ways of sponge fishing and has a small skipjack fishing boat that he has just restored.
“Let’s tear Capt’n apart. I am ready for another batch. “
David had injected the prawns into the funnel and then flicked the switch that switched on the conveyor belt that brought the catch into the packing hall. The men dumped their catch on the docks in the city of Key West. The packer and processor was the Singleton Fish and Ice Plant. In about an hour, their shrimp heads would be removed, packed in wooden boxes, and frozen for shipping. The Singleton factory was once the largest in the world.
David was a 27 year old African American. He had a skimpy haircut, was five feet nine inches tall and thin, but muscular from the hard work of a shrimp trawler.
They had been in the Gulf for three days on Captain Bob’s ocean-going trawler “Sea Breeze”. Talk about a prey! This morning they had stumbled into a mess of prawns. It was the pink shrimp. They had been on the “Midwater Trawling” * directly off the coast near the Dry Tortugas Key.
Their hold was full and they had walked in immediately to unload, clean, and pack it. It had taken a couple of hours so far to shovel the prawns into the large stainless steel unloading bucket and crank them to the hopper where David was working.
“Here it comes.” Captain Bob held the unloading rope while his other mate Amos operated the unloading winch and boom.
Amos, was a 42 year old African American who had been with the captain since purchasing the Sea Breeze. In fact, they had worked together on another trawler before. Amos was 6 feet 2 inches tall and well built.
The stainless steel bucket swung out over the boat and stopped directly above where David was working.
“Leave it out, Capt’n,” David roared. The 80 pound shrimp fell into the funnel.
Pink shrimp * are primarily harvested in the waters of Florida. There are three other species in the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic: Brown, White, and Royal Red. * Shrimp renew themselves fairly quickly. Their life cycle is 13 months. That’s a fast rate of reproduction.
Captain Bob was 54 and about five feet tall. It was filled in but not bold. He had a round face with a full black beard that showed slight signs of graying. He was of Anglo of German descent.
David yelled: “The packer wants to know how much more Capt’n?”
“Tell him a few more loads,” said Bob. “As soon as I have the last thing for you, Davey, come on board and we’ll clean the boat.”
The Sea Breeze was an ocean-going trawler. * She was 60 feet long. This boat was built according to the lines of the Greek shrimp boats. Instead of the V-shaped hull, it had a rounded cross-section. The bow was high with a deckhouse forward. That left the stern for hauling in the nets. The rounded hull shape made a deep and slow roll at sea and a boat that could withstand rough seas. It was built in 1960 by the Diesel Engine Sales Company (DESC) * from St. Augustine, Florida, one of the largest manufacturers of shrimp boats in the USA.
Captain Bob’s boat was a traditionally built boat with a pine keel, white oak frames, and cypress planks. One note: when the cypress planks became too expensive, the shipyards switched to yellow pine. But Bob was lucky his boat had the cypress.
Captain Bob Mitchel has had this boat for the past five years, since 1964. He has been in the fishing business since graduating from high school in 1933. His fishing was temporarily postponed in 1941 when he joined the U.S. Navy. Bob worked on a destroyer until the end of the war in 1945. Then he returned straight to Key West and resumed his love of the ocean.
After that, Bob saved every penny he could. He was lucky enough to find some silent supporters to let him run the show. Now Captain Bob owned 51% of his own fishing boat and business.
“We finally cleaned it up. Thank you guys. It was a lot of hard work, but we made some money, ”exclaimed Bob. “Start them, Amos, and let’s bring them to our slip.”
The 300 hp Detroit diesel engine sputtered, coughed and started … and the heart and soul of this boat roared! They left Singleton’s Docks and drove out into the canal and then to the marina that Sea Breeze called their home. The marina had three sections: commercial, fishing trips, and private. Amos closed it. They tied to the dock post and jumped onto the pier.
As the three of them walked out of the parking lot, Captain Bob said, “Tell you guys what … give me some time to do the paperwork. Stop by the house in the morning and I’ll have your checks ready. ”He just didn’t know how long they would be out, so Bob could never get the boys’ checks written in advance.
“Here is my car. See you tomorrow … around 9 a.m. Capt’n? “
“Sounds good, Amos. See you.”
“You want to go with us?” asked Amos.
“No thanks, Amos,” said Bob and Dave at the same time.
Both lived within walking distance of the marina, six to eight blocks.
“Well, I’m glad it’s Friday David. I’m tired, what are you going to do this weekend? ”Said Bob as they walked on.
“I’ll be working on the skipjack,” replied David.
From the author:
My second full-length book, Florida Keys’ Watercolor Kapers, is 336 pages. There are 12 stories from 6 pages up to 72 pages. It is fully illustrated with 88 watercolors and sketches. The watercolors I did in Key West after finishing my 750 mile hike from Georgia to Key West. (See book or Don Browne’s News Recordings SouthWest Florida Online, A Walk Across Florida.) Reading these stories will bring you Key West, the Keys, and the Caribbean. These stories span the early 19th century through 1969. bkranich.wixsite.com/bobkranich
See similar http://swflorida.blogspot.com/2021/07/florida-keys-watercolor-kapers-by-bob.html
The post Southwest Florida Online - Sunday Morning News: Florida Keys' watercolor capers by Bob Crane first appeared on Daily Florida Press.
from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/southwest-florida-online-sunday-morning-news-florida-keys-watercolor-capers-by-bob-crane-4/
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