- Joined
- Oct 22, 2018
- Messages
- 147
- Points
- 253
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Camaret was primarily a fishing port dedicated primarily to sardines, which were caught in open boats in the Iroise Sea. There was also a small fleet fishing for lobsters and crayfish, although shellfish fishing remained marginal compared to sardine fishing, which, thanks to the establishment of canning factories, had become industrialized since 1870. In 1865, the railway line reached Brest. A few years later, fishmongers had learned to transport shellfish wrapped in straw or shavings in wooden crates. Marketing was able to reach the larger cities, especially Paris, where demand was growing. Some fishmongers familiar with the Spanish coast and aware that red lobsters were abundant and sold at low prices in Galicia and Asturias began importing shellfish, establishing their trade with the port of Vivero, Spain, although lobster and crayfish were more difficult to market because they had to be kept alive. About 300 nautical miles separate the tip of Brittany from Cape Finisterre, which, with average weather and favorable winds, could be sailed in 3 or 4 days by the fishing sailboats of the time.
The activity took place between Galicia and Asturias, around San Ciprien and Vivero (in Galicia) and Tapia (in Asturias), at a distance of about 12 miles, in the small ports of "La Marina Baixa" (Lugo province). Around twenty floating hatcheries were installed by the French in San Ciprien in 1881 (which were later authorized) and two or three in Tapia (Asturias). The quantities of lobster exported became significant. When the Breton ships arrived, the local and national Spanish press reacted quickly, first in 1879 by denouncing the presence of the first French sloop buying lobsters, and then, in 1880 and 1881, by reporting the presence of eight vessels carrying tons of shellfish. The Vivero fisheries commission conducted an investigation that led to a fishing regulation in September 1881, prohibiting the fishing and sale of shellfish from September 1 to March 1. Beginning in September 1881, lobster boats changed their schedule, and trips became more rare during the prohibition periods. Some boats transported sardines to Brittany, while others went as far as Peniche, Portugal, to search for lobster.
A few years later, in 1885, for the same reasons of resource protection, the Spanish government decided to toughen these measures with more restrictive regulations, prohibiting lobster fishing within 6 miles. Six miles from the coast, the seabed exceeded 100 meters, making lobster fishing difficult and difficult. This decision pushed lobstermen to move further south toward the Atlantic coast of Galicia, first toward Vigo and then toward Portugal. Subsequently, Camaret fishermen, building increasingly stronger boats, exploited the Rochebonne Bank, the English and Irish coasts, and began to extend their fishing zone southward. In 1905, three 15- to 18-ton vessels carried out a campaign in Spain and Portugal. It was a failure, first in Spain, where the limit was set at 6 miles, then in Portugal, where the limit was only 3 miles, which was a cause of rejection by Portuguese fishermen. Around 1911-1912, larger fishing vessels began to exploit the coasts of Spain and especially those of Portugal.
Fishing was carried out with cylindrical traps, built with chestnut slats, closed at each end by a net. The lobster, attracted by bait, entered the pot through a narrow neck. The pots, held in pairs by a rope, rested on the bottom, weighted with two stones. The net was connected to one or more buoys on the surface that served as markers. The pots or traps were hauled in several times a day. They were baited with two pieces of fish—gurnard, horse mackerel, sea bream, and sometimes sardines—placed on either side of the neck. To reach the fishing grounds, lobster skippers followed the line of commercial steamers that took them across the Bay of Biscay from the tip of Brittany to Cape Finisterre in Spain. This was a common practice; at night they saw their lights, and during the day their smoke. It was a simple navigation but sometimes dangerous in fog or bad weather. The navigational tools available to lobstermen in 1933 were limited: a nautical chart, a compass, a sounding lead to determine the depth near the shore, and a barometer. The skipper's experience did the rest. Lobster fishermen were great travelers.
In the mid-1930s, there was a certain recovery in the lobster industry, coinciding with the appearance in Camaret of the first square-s tren boats, which foreshadowed the modern lobster boat type, although they still retained a substantial sail pattern. But for the first time, the hull shapes, fuller aft and ending in a transom with a vertical sternpost, were effectively adapted to motor propulsion. At the same time, the older sloops, which were gradually being equipped with more powerful and reliable engines, abandoned their classic rig, which remained unchanged until the mid-1940s. At the bow, the bowsprit was eliminated; generally, only a staysail and a reduced gaff mainsail were set, over a boom and peak shortened by a third. At the stern, they mounted a baticule fitted with a triangular sail, and a small wheelhouse located just forward of this mast housed the pilot's station and the steering wheel. In addition to the advancement brought about by motorized propulsion, the adoption of a motorized winch made the task of retrieving the traps on board much less arduous.
I wanted to represent this evolution of the lobster sloop by building two models of the same vessel at two different times in its existence: In the first case, around 1930, with the classic sloop rig it was initially fitted with, with a single mast, a large mainsail with a boom and peak, raised by a jib, and, towards the bow, a staysail and bowsprit with a jib. The second model shows the same vessel after its motorization in 1946, without the bowsprit, maintaining the staysail, and reducing the gaff with the boom and peak trimmed. It also had a stern-mounted jib with a triangular sail, with a small wheelhouse that housed the pilot's station and the steering wheel.
The activity took place between Galicia and Asturias, around San Ciprien and Vivero (in Galicia) and Tapia (in Asturias), at a distance of about 12 miles, in the small ports of "La Marina Baixa" (Lugo province). Around twenty floating hatcheries were installed by the French in San Ciprien in 1881 (which were later authorized) and two or three in Tapia (Asturias). The quantities of lobster exported became significant. When the Breton ships arrived, the local and national Spanish press reacted quickly, first in 1879 by denouncing the presence of the first French sloop buying lobsters, and then, in 1880 and 1881, by reporting the presence of eight vessels carrying tons of shellfish. The Vivero fisheries commission conducted an investigation that led to a fishing regulation in September 1881, prohibiting the fishing and sale of shellfish from September 1 to March 1. Beginning in September 1881, lobster boats changed their schedule, and trips became more rare during the prohibition periods. Some boats transported sardines to Brittany, while others went as far as Peniche, Portugal, to search for lobster.
A few years later, in 1885, for the same reasons of resource protection, the Spanish government decided to toughen these measures with more restrictive regulations, prohibiting lobster fishing within 6 miles. Six miles from the coast, the seabed exceeded 100 meters, making lobster fishing difficult and difficult. This decision pushed lobstermen to move further south toward the Atlantic coast of Galicia, first toward Vigo and then toward Portugal. Subsequently, Camaret fishermen, building increasingly stronger boats, exploited the Rochebonne Bank, the English and Irish coasts, and began to extend their fishing zone southward. In 1905, three 15- to 18-ton vessels carried out a campaign in Spain and Portugal. It was a failure, first in Spain, where the limit was set at 6 miles, then in Portugal, where the limit was only 3 miles, which was a cause of rejection by Portuguese fishermen. Around 1911-1912, larger fishing vessels began to exploit the coasts of Spain and especially those of Portugal.
Fishing was carried out with cylindrical traps, built with chestnut slats, closed at each end by a net. The lobster, attracted by bait, entered the pot through a narrow neck. The pots, held in pairs by a rope, rested on the bottom, weighted with two stones. The net was connected to one or more buoys on the surface that served as markers. The pots or traps were hauled in several times a day. They were baited with two pieces of fish—gurnard, horse mackerel, sea bream, and sometimes sardines—placed on either side of the neck. To reach the fishing grounds, lobster skippers followed the line of commercial steamers that took them across the Bay of Biscay from the tip of Brittany to Cape Finisterre in Spain. This was a common practice; at night they saw their lights, and during the day their smoke. It was a simple navigation but sometimes dangerous in fog or bad weather. The navigational tools available to lobstermen in 1933 were limited: a nautical chart, a compass, a sounding lead to determine the depth near the shore, and a barometer. The skipper's experience did the rest. Lobster fishermen were great travelers.
In the mid-1930s, there was a certain recovery in the lobster industry, coinciding with the appearance in Camaret of the first square-s tren boats, which foreshadowed the modern lobster boat type, although they still retained a substantial sail pattern. But for the first time, the hull shapes, fuller aft and ending in a transom with a vertical sternpost, were effectively adapted to motor propulsion. At the same time, the older sloops, which were gradually being equipped with more powerful and reliable engines, abandoned their classic rig, which remained unchanged until the mid-1940s. At the bow, the bowsprit was eliminated; generally, only a staysail and a reduced gaff mainsail were set, over a boom and peak shortened by a third. At the stern, they mounted a baticule fitted with a triangular sail, and a small wheelhouse located just forward of this mast housed the pilot's station and the steering wheel. In addition to the advancement brought about by motorized propulsion, the adoption of a motorized winch made the task of retrieving the traps on board much less arduous.
I wanted to represent this evolution of the lobster sloop by building two models of the same vessel at two different times in its existence: In the first case, around 1930, with the classic sloop rig it was initially fitted with, with a single mast, a large mainsail with a boom and peak, raised by a jib, and, towards the bow, a staysail and bowsprit with a jib. The second model shows the same vessel after its motorization in 1946, without the bowsprit, maintaining the staysail, and reducing the gaff with the boom and peak trimmed. It also had a stern-mounted jib with a triangular sail, with a small wheelhouse that housed the pilot's station and the steering wheel.
