Once again, I posted a question on Facebook asking fishermen what sort of gear and personal items they would never go to sea without, and the list is interesting. Coffee, cigarettes, and weed are important for a lot of fishermen.
"Cigarettes! I’ve never seen ‘100 feet of steel real estate turn so nasty and negative in my life. Just a bobbing blob of hate,” says Boston-based fisherman Archie MacLeod Jr. In most fishermen’s experience, it’s true.
Life without small comforts is hell, but Kirsten Delane, who fishes salmon off Oregon, counters that “A good attitude is all you need.” Even if you’re scrounging for butts in the ashtray.
For those who have had to pull rabbits out of their hats to keep a trip going, it’s all about tools. Chris Lillehoff never goes to sea without his Sawzall. “I have found it works for cutting anything quickly in desperate scenarios,” he says.
Sallott, N.C. shrimper Rachel Long isn’t taking any chances. “Tools: portable welder, side grinder, impact drill, battery charger, Sawzall, hose clamps, zip ties, electrical tape, duct tape, extra bilge pump, extension cord.” That’s just a small part of her list, which also includes a number of items for wooden boats, such as “5200 (marine sealant), scrap wood for emergency patches, nails/screws, hammer, cotton—to shove in seams of leaky wood boat.” Besides numerous tools and spare parts, Long suggests carrying a “paper chart of your area and compass,” all of which she notes have helped on her get home.
For personal gear, Long carries spare rain gear/boots/gloves, pain killers, horse liniment, braces for knee/wrist/ankle, hot hands/feet when it’s cold, polarized sunglasses, extra towels/clothes, and of course, first aid kit with a thermometer, glucose monitor and blood pressure monitor.
Terry Hayward, of Broad Cove, Nova Scotia, will never be caught again without a ditch kit. “When we went down in 2012, we had to get off fast,” says Hayward. “We had all the required things—food, water, EPIRB—all that. But all my personal papers, captain’s license, training certificates, all that I lost. You can put all that on a thumb drive and have it in a plastic bag along with your passport, credit cards. I tell the young guys now to have all that ready to put in your survival suit, along with a pair of shoes because they pick you up in the suit and then you’re in a strange port, it’s good to have all that stuff.” Hayward also recommends having your meds in a ditch bag. “We had two guys who were diabetics, we were lucky we weren’t in the water long, if we had been it might have been different for them.”
"A dozen Atlas 660 blue gloves,” says Joe Kenney of South Harpswell, Maine. “Those are my go-to gloves in the winter. Nothing worse than wet gloves in the winter, so get enough to keep your hands dry the whole trip.”
Chris Scola of Montauk, N.Y., likes to have a Vicky (Victorinox) fixed-blade, serrated-edge knife close at hand, and Caroline Howlett of Massachusetts requires some jewelry. “The ritual in having my own jewelry helps to keep me steady on deck. It’s the last thing I check now on my person after getting my gear on.” She notes that it’s a luck thing too, and we all need that.
