What's The Consensus??

Not much going around the waterfront today so I thought I'd pose the following question.

Which of the two templates do you prefer for this blog? The current one-


Or this one I have used a few times in the past-


What is the consensus among the readers of the blog? Please comment in the comment section. Thank You.

Casa Blanca

Two fishing boats made their way into the harbor early this morning and tied up at the end of the Town Pier. One was a western rigged dragger named Casa Blanca pictured above and the other was a western rigged sea scalloper named Trunfo. I have never seen the Casa Blanca in here before. I have seen the Trunfo here before though. I believe the Trunfo has a 400 pound sea scallop license and is selling to Sayle's Seafoods. Not sure where the Ruthie B is now. I know she's not out fishing because I spoke with one of the crew members today. I'm thinking she's in New Beige getting fuel for the next trip out.

The area of the old shipyard looks like a war zone now. The area in front of Sayle's Seafood is all torn up. The contractors are being pretty cooperative with the neighbors. They are able to keep the road open while performing the work. Here's a picture I took this morning of the work going on down there-


I counted 10 guys out scalloping today. 4 of them were fishing in a spot that hasn't been hit all season. The beach where they were fishing off of was loaded with jap moss and sweet meats.
Here's what sweet meats look like

Here's what jap moss looks like
The area finally opened up and it looked like they were catching a lot of scallops there. It was a little breezy out on the water today as the temp almost made it to 60 degrees! Looks like next week this warm weather pattern is going to change and become a little more seasonable.

A tugboat and a barge loaded with stone dust for Myles Reis Co. came in sometime late last night and tied up at Steamboat Wharf.

I was chatting with a shellfish warden from the Marine Department today. He told me that work on the new Children's Beach boat ramp is slated to begin on Monday. I suspect that AGM Marine will be doing the work.

!!Exclusive!!

George Riethof sent me this today-

George's Muskeget Seal Pictures

George took to the air yesterday and grabbed some spectacular pictures of the seal colony on Muskeget Island. Thanks, George!

A Blast From The Past

I was going through one of my old photo albums today and came across the above picture. I took the picture 27 years ago at Straight Wharf. The boats pictured are wooden eastern rigged draggers. And there is a steel western rigged there also. I remember back then seeing as much as 30 fishing boats tied up at Straight Wharf during a storm. All those boats are long gone. Either they were abandoned or the Government bought them as part of their vessel buy back program.

I spotted a sea scalloper coming in early this morning. I have never seen her here before. She has strange lines. Wide and rather low slung. Most likely she's a southern boat which has been converted to sea scalloping. Her name is Vila Nova do Corvo 1.
Click here for a description of the name
Here's a shot of her-


12 boats were out scalloping in the harbor today. The Summer-like weather brought a lot of the guys out. This warm weather just keeps going on and on! At this rate, we'll be scalloping in our Bermudas and short sleeves. As a weather buff, I find this weather pattern boring. I need a good blizzard. At least I have no heating bills this "Winter."

All Smiles

I took the above picture back in 2004. I was out scalloping in the fog towards the end of the season and came across the two scallopers rafted up having a gam. These two guys are hard core scallopers. They go out every day regardless of the wind and weather. They always end up having a great season as a result of their hard work.

Not much going on around the waterfront today. Four guys went out scalloping. The strong NW wind kept a lot of them off the water. The four who ventured out tucked up into Third Bend where there was a lee.

Looks as though AGM Marine is done driving the pilings for the house on Old North Wharf. They are now working on a dock in the Easy Street Basin.

The Ruthie B is still tied to the Town Pier waiting for the wind to lay down. I spotted a dragger at Straight Wharf tonite but was unable to catch her name.

There was a nice moonrise over the water tonite. I believe it's full on the fourth.

Dead Humpback Whale

George Riethof e-mailed me the above picture he took from his airplane yesterday of the dead whale. Like myself, George is an avid photographer. He takes some great shots of the Island from his airplane. Thanks for the picture, George!

I went to see the dead whale for the first time yesterday afternoon. It was washed up on Low Beach near the Loran Station. It is rapidly decomposing at this point. There are some bones from it on the beach around it. I think eventually it will break up as a result of the pounding surf. I'm hoping that when the people from the New England Aquarium were here, they were able to get some samples so we can learn how it died.

The past several weeks, I have noticed a huge amount of bait fish in the Boat Basin. I have never seen so much of it in all the years I've lived here and kept a boat in the basin. I'm not sure what kind of fish it is. Here's a picture I took on Sunday-

Can anyone ID these fish? If so, please do so in the comments section. There are several Loons which have taken up residency in the Boat Basin this year. They are feeding on the bait fish. If you go down to the area of Straight Wharf where all the bay scallop boats are docked, you will see them. I counted seven of them there last week. Sometimes you can see them diving under the water and feeding on the fish. Here's a picture of the Boat Basin Loons-

They all appear to be first year birds.

Only four guys went out scalloping today. This is way down from previous counts I've taken. I'm thinking that the guys that didn't go scalloping today partook of too many tankards full of their favorite spirit last night and were unable to make it to their boats early this morning. I'm sure they'll be back at it tomorrow drilling away.

The Marine Department was dispatched to a bay scallop vessel which was in need of a tow this afternoon at 3:30. The vessel was disabled just east of Abrams Point. The scalloper was able to get his engine started before the Marine Department arrived on scene. The scalloper made his way back to the Town Pier unaided and in good shape.

The weather this "Winter" still amazes me. Right now it's 51 degrees! It may even reach the mid sixties later in the week. I have never seen it this warm here. It feels more like June 1 than January 1. I would like to see it snow at least once before the Winter is over.

Thanks, everyone for reading and commenting on my blog. I'll talk to you all next year.