May 2011 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 21. A LOBSTER TRUCK DRIVER'S RECOLLECTIONS
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The procedure for a trip would be along these lines. The truck would be checked out and fueled. We had a 25 gallon seat tank and a 50 gallon saddle tank. The load and sched- ule would be arranged. We’d unload empty crates at home at our wharf if we were loading there, or unload crates at Campobello if I would be meeting the boat from Grand Manan there. Some ice would be taken on before loading. Depending on my time of departure, if I would be leaving in the afternoon or early evening, I’d have a delicious dinner (noon) that Lois and Mama had prepared, and maybe lie down for a little while in the afternoon, and play with Ann and Steve before saying goodbye and leaving. I’d walk up to the wharf and we’d load her there at our wharf or I’d get underway if I would be going to Campo. I’d wave and salute the folks at home with three horn blasts as I went down by home before heading across the bridge. I’d go through Lubec and cross the International Bridge and stop at the Border at Canadian Customs. Once entered in Canada I’d go past the Roosevelt Cottage and on to Welch Pool and go down on the big Provincial wharf. I’d get the crates unloaded and be ready for the boat to come in from Grand Manan with my trip of lobsters bound for Boston. The boat would arrive, they’d hoist the crates up to the tail- gate and then they’d be loaded. In the big trucks it would be 144 crates, as I noted earlier. We’d lower the empties down to the boat. I’d close the doors of the body. I’d climb into the cab and start the engine, and get underway. I remember the trucks creaking rather loudly as we turned up off the wharf and up to the road. I’d go back to the Border, stop at the American side, get my papers approved, and get clearance to enter the United States. By then it could be early evening or much later, depending upon the boat schedule. I had about a seven hour drive to Boston. * * * * *
We loaded in several places in the course of doing business. We also unloaded
in places other than Boston. There were vari- ous dealers in Boston where we unloaded, but most of the time we would go to James Hook and Co. or Hines and Smart. At Hook’s I could back right into the loading dock from Northern Avenue. At Hines and Smart it was a different matter. They unloaded at the end of a long narrow alley way that was usually complicated by a big stake body truck parked partway down in the alley, leaving just barely room to back our truck past it. As I remember, I knocked off one of our corner clearance lights once in all the trips. To get into the alley I had to have our truck perpendicular to Atlantic Avenue, thus blocking the entire street and the railroad tracks that were there. Before the International Bridge was built to connect Campobello with Lubec, we’d meet the boat in Lubec.
On a trip to deliver lobsters to Deer Isle the International blew her muffler. I have to say I enjoyed hearing that engine with a straight pipe!
I loaded at lobster pounds in Beals. They would be Alleys’ at The Mill Pond, The Flying Place, Deep Cove, and Black Duck Cove. When Henry Smith was keeper of The Flying Place he used to give me dry fish that was some good. If we had to load from float- ing crates that weren’t at our wharf the crates would be towed to the beach at Sawyer’s Cove, Jonesport (where the Town Landing is now), strung on long lines. The truck would be backed down the beach to water’s edge and the crates would be hauled out of the water and lifted up onto the tailgate and then they’d be stacked. Stacking them was a wet job when they came out of the water, so my pants and shirt would be wet in the front. I’d generally wear my hip boots for that job. When we’d get to our destination and it was time to unload, I’d open those big rear doors and listen to the very pleasant sound of the lobsters “singing”. They’d be bub- bling, meaning they were in good condition and had survived the long trip. When I’d get into Boston early in the morning, maybe two or three o’clock, I’d sleep for a while in the seat in the cab. We had no sleeper cabs.
ASMFC MEETING SUMMARY Continued from Page 20.
Two separate discarding incidents oc- curred off the coast of North Carolina during the striped bass ocean trawl fishery. The first occurred on January 20th
when one trawler
caught 3-4,000 striped bass, as estimated by the captain and the second incident occurred on Feb 3rd
, with an estimated 250 floating striped bass counted on the water by the NC Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). Throughout the season DMF enacted regu- lations to raise the daily quota from 50 fish to 2,000 pounds, allowed transfer of striped bass to other permit holders and limited tow time to 30 minutes in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
The nominations of David Sikorski, Douglas M. Amorello, and John Pedrick to the Advisory Panel were unanimously ap- proved. For more information, please contact Kate Taylor, Fishery Management Plan Co- ordinator, at
ktaylor@asmfc.org or 703/842- 0740.
Motions
Move for approval of the CT striped bass commercial quota utilization plan. Mo- tion made by Mr. Simpson and seconded by Mr. Fote. Motion carries (16 in favor). Move to instruct the Striped Bass PDT to begin drafting an Addendum to Amend- ment 6 aimed at reducing striped bass fishing mortality (F) up to 40% and further protecting the spawning stock when it is concentrated and vulnerable. Provisions of the Adden-
dum, if passed, will be implemented prior to the start of the 2012 fishing year. The Draft Addendum will include, but is not limited to, the following options: For all jurisdictions, proposed bag limit reductions in recreational fisheries to reduce F; For all jurisdictions except those fisheries in Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River, proposed adjustments to minimum sizes allowed in the commercial and recreational fisheries to in- crease striped bass spawning potential; For recreational fisheries in Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River, proposed revisions in the target F rate to complement proposed cuts in coastal recreational fisher- ies; For all jurisdictions, proposed reduc- tions in annual coastal commercial alloca- tions to reduce F; For commercial fisheries in Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound , pro- posed revisions in the target F rate to comple- ment proposed cuts in coastal commercial fisheries; For jurisdictions bordering the Hudson River, Delaware River, Chesapeake Bay, and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River, proposed reductions on fishing for striped bass in known spawning areas during the spawning season by at least 50%. Motion made by Mr. Diodati and seconded by Dr. Kray. Motion carries (12 in favor, 2 opposed, 2 abstentions).
Move to approve David Sikorski, Dou- glas M. Amorello, and John Pedrick to the Advisory Panel. Motion made by Mr. Au- gustine and seconded by Dr. Kray. Motion passes by consent.
Hook’s usually unloaded early, so maybe about 5 AM one of their crew would knock on the window to let me know it was time to unload. Dealers had crews to help unload and get the empties back. When I was parked at Hines and Smart or Hook’s I could look right at the clock in the Customs House tower. At that time that tower was the tallest building in New England.
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A man can get pretty hungry loading and driving trucks. Helen’s in Machias (the origi- nal one) was a favorite eating place. A number of times it would be too late at night to stop there. On up the road about three hours was another legendary place, Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro. It was open 24 hours a day. Truckers liked to stop there, and there was a large gravel parking area right across Route 1. On homebound trips a great stopping place was the Bel Aire Diner in Peabody, MA. They had good truck parking. On car trips, Lois and I made a point to stop there up until a few years ago when it was closed. * * * * *
Most of the time our trucks ran perfectly and we had no problems, thank the Lord. On occasion, though, we’d have a mechanical problem. One afternoon Dad and I were head- ing out of Jonesport to go to the ice house to go to Campo to load. I’d noticed a strange noise under the hood as we crossed the bridge, and thought maybe it was a fan belt. I was jogging along and listening and all of a sudden the engine started vibrating and making a loud noise. We stopped, of course, and discovered the engine had thrown a connecting rod through the block. We ar- ranged for a replacement truck, and, in a few days, got a new short block for our truck. On another trip in one of our new trucks Dad and I were headed for Boston with a load. A little
east of Bucksport, and late in the evening, I noticed the brakes were getting soft, which obviously was not good, especially in a loaded truck. As it turned out a repair garage nearby was open so we went in there. He found that a brake line had split, and replaced it, so we were back on the road in a few minutes. One hot sunny morning I was on the New Hampshire Turnpike with a load headed for Boston. The engine had been running well through the night. After backfiring a little, all of a sudden the engine stopped! She wouldn’t start again, either. I’d been able to steer into the breakdown lane. I could see the N H Turnpike toll gate up ahead and another driver gave me a lift to the gate. From there I called Dad and told him that I was broken down and that he should call the dealer in
Continued on Page 22.
ACADEMY N E W S
Continued from Page 9.
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