The old fisherman never tires of his expeditions on the sea .
I have some very old photos of my husband, my father and some deckhands in the early days fishing the seas. I figured I would love to write a blog of the memories I have of these happy times.
Drawn by an unending urge, the ocean call is too strong for the fisherman to deny.
It never leaves him or forsakes him.
He arises a great while before even the hint of a dawn sky. Alone and cold he heads for the cool dampness of the fishing boat. A smell of salty air greets him and his ear hears a familiar sound, waves jostling too and fro competitors in a never ending race for the shore.
Finally a cold sun hits the eastern skies. Distant floating buoys of pink and yellow are spotted near the horizon with the naked eye. We drift awhile closer and closer with the silent tide.
The seabirds follow from a distance, waiting for their breakfast to be brought to the oceans surface.
Nets are hoisted and lines and hooks are pulled by swarthy hands.
Fish, from deep in the ocean, 200 to 400 metres straight down, as the crow flies, whoops…as an octopus swims.
Fish are sorted, cut and boxed, the mornings work begins in earnest. The day is long and hard, no lunch break, no morning or afternoon tea, the tides, the winds and the fish cannot enjoy any idle time.
As the sun begins to turn towards the west a deep exhilaration touches the cool fisherman’s heart, money made to keep the kids at school and a few bob for the wife to spend at the local drapers store.
(No apology here for the choice of older style language!)
No one who has fished the great oceans of the world will ever find a reason to not return
Happy days to say the least,
As he ages, the salty sea dog must now only visit the waves in a recreational way. But it’s still a repeat of the long ago, a reminder, an echo, a yearning to touch the waters, and catch the blessings the great ocean offers.
Setting off in the early morning
A pink float and a pink sky.
Out at sea on winters day setting the nets. As you can see many of these old photos are quite blurry, but stiil able to be enjoyed
Making nets for the fishing days ahead
A winters day and the long line floats to the surface
A summers day and the long line floats to the surface.
A killer whale swims by.
Seagulls trying to eat the catch of the day!!
The old fishing boat with the Kaikoura mountain range in the background.
Looking back…
Even these old photos mean something. Nothing or no one can stop the relentless, fleeting moments of time. Maybe a camera can? A photograph can hold on to a cherished memory and a bygone era, stopping time in its tracks for a second or two. Fisherman have a strong connection to the seas as I have witnessed from my family members. These old photographs certainly do it justice, and make history a blessed thing..
