Festival Will Pay Tribute to Rugged Fishermen

At this very minute she stares seaward clutching her boy and girl. She is the stone silent reminder that she never lost faith; hope never diminished that the love of her life would reappear through the inlet into the harbor, safely home. Her wish will never become reality. The love of her life, the man who supported her and their family, remains at sea, lost to a watery grave. Such was the tragic loss experienced by so many Cape May County families of commercial fishermen. The statue described above is the Fishermen’s Memorial in Cape May.
That monument to stalwart men who answered the call of the sea bears the names of those whose existence was dictated by the tides, weather and fish migration. Theirs was one of the world’s most dangerous occupations, exercised at the whim of nature. Because they knew the sea could provide a good living, they ventured out in gray, often treacherous waters that could sicken land beings by the mere thought.
Most had calloused hands, some missing a finger or two or possibly a limb, lost to machines that pulled fish-laden nets from the depths. Those losses were among the lesser price they paid as dues to work the water and harvest its riches.
Their lives were often fraught with anxiety over bills that couldn’t be paid because their last “trip” didn’t produce enough to cover all the expenses. Others, captains of their own boats, had to worry about gathering a crew, ensuring engines worked, cables were stout, food was aboard, nets were mended and the seaworthiness of the craft was passable to all Coast Guard regulations. Such were the lives of those whose names are chiseled into the stone overlooking Cape May Harbor. They were farmers of the sea, living a life on the edge, and who paid the price when waves overwhelmed them, and carried them into eternity.
This year, for the first time, Cape May Port Commercial Fishing Festival will be held June 6-7 on the Lobster House dock in Schellenger’s Landing. The celebration will highlight the work and world of commercial fishermen. The event is free, tours are planned to let those who enjoy seafood see how it is captured from the deep.
A feature of that celebration, sponsored by Cape May Maritime Museum, will be a reconstructed, 60-foot vessel, the Roann. The craft is an Eastern Rig Dragger fishing vessel. It will make the trip to the local wharf from its homeport since 1997 in Mystic (Conn.) Seaport.
There have been past events, namely Coast Day, which highlighted the importance of the sea to this area. They were hosted by the New Jersey Marine Science Consortium and were held in the autumn. They drew large crowds. This is somewhat similar, but had its roots solely within Cape May County.
Kevin Maloney, president of Cape May Maritime Museum, appeared before freeholders May 26 to explain the event. Admittedly, notification to the public was short, but the lineup of exhibitors obviously began some time ago because of the number of them.
A story elsewhere in today’s edition explains the Roann in more detail. What made that class of vessels special in the world of commercial fishing was that vessels like Roann, one of the last surviving examples of those fishing vessels, replaced sailing schooners, according to the Mystic Seaport website.
Roann was built by Newbert & Wallace of Thomaston, Maine, a company that built dozens of draggers and was well known and respected for high-quality, durable construction, the website states.
Think about heading to sea aboard a boat 60 feet long. Those who have never been to sea may believe that’s quite a sizable craft. Compared to the mighty ocean in which Roann and other vessels like it worked and work, they hardly qualify as a speck.
Stacked against the likes of modern cruise liners, which carry upward of 4,000 passengers in the lap of luxury, it is difficult to imagine life aboard such fishing vessels. More modern craft are bigger, but life is much the same as on those earlier boats.
Deck work is every bit as treacherous. When waves seem like mountains and their troughs like valleys, commercial fishermen must work unhindered or face no payday.
No song is dedicated to those invincible men of the sea whose names are inscribed on that wall in Cape May, as is the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore boat that sank Nov. 10, 1975 during a gale on Lake Superior.
As Gordon Lightfoot’s song of that Great Lake’s vessel goes, “And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters.”
She stands, a statue, overlooking Cape May Harbor with her two children never losing faith, never losing hope, yet always facing the brutal truth of the sea and those who choose to work it.