Buoy now ashore
A couple of days ago, my marine app showed an unfamiliar vessel, rounding the point. Now, the tourist season is done, so I waited for my answer. Within a day, the harbour master noted that the buoys were gone from our sector. These are large affairs; think of a small truck, half-in and half-out of the sea, on the vertical axis. And the coast guard doesn’t leave them in place year round, due to the heavy ice which can form. So, every fall, the big iron goes back to shore. Repaint time. Given that most of you won’t even know what I’m referring to, here’s a photo.
Keeping a harbour open for the fisher folk requires regular maintenance. There’s the dredge, to remove the inevitable sand drifts. Can’t fish if your boat is hard aground.
And there’s the infrastructure. Breakwaters, wharves, bridges. Why, our little harbour is a busy place for much of the year. I don’t have the exact stats, but (at a rough guess) there are close to ninety boats that find a safe refuge, every spring and summer. Most will return to the captains’ yards over the next few weeks. Before the ice starts to form. We are controlled by the climate, and wind and ice are important deterrents to easy work.
Important revenue stream, for this area. Even if you don’t eat lobster regularly, the catch is always sold to someone. And then, there’s the tuna. Same deal. All around this area, if you aren’t farming, you are fishing. Or both. It’s been like that for a couple of centuries already.
