Coming of Age on the Open Ocean

Michael Tougias
Author of Ten Hours Until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do.)

Today’s teenagers—my own included—often appear to be more coddled, protected, and even naïve, than those of a generation ago. It could be my memory has filtered certain things out, but when I was 15 I worked in both a grocery store and had my own lawn mowing business. And when I wasn’t working I was never home. I was in the swamps and woods in the Meadows along the Connecticut River, just a few miles from my home in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. We fished for trout, carp, and suckers, and went in search of the three-foot long lamprey eels that swam up from the ocean and spawned in the brooks each spring.

My boyhood freedom and maturity, paled, however, when compared to those of Skip DeBrusk, who was 15 years old in 1951. Skip worked on a commercial fishing boat out of Plymouth Massachusetts, and chronicled his adventures and the lessons learned in his superbly written book Codfish, Dogfish, Mermaids and Frank. The fishing vessel J.L. Stanley, was captained by Frank Savery, who shared with Skip not only his knowledge of the sea, but also lessons on leadership, courage and the importance of staying in school. Amazingly, Skip writes that Frank Savery was a man “whose very essence belied the 7 years he spent in Alcatraz. I wonder if of all the ships at sea there is a young man aboard under a Captain such as I had. A man who had a love of education and poetry, who taught confidence through example.”

While working aboard the Stanley, Skip fished the waters from Georges Bank to Stellwagon Bank, and steamed into ports from Provincetown to New Bedford to New York City. The work, as you might expect, was grueling, but that is not what stayed with Skip these many years. Instead, he remembers the wonders experienced, and he writes of them in smooth, detailed prose, such as the warm night he dragged his mattress up on deck to see the stars. “The heavens had been trawled by the master dragger and all the clouds were hidden. It became difficult to distinguish the celestial heaven from the watery one that gently lifted me up and down. Looking over the side, I saw clouds of plankton, their phosphorescence lighting up as brilliantly as the cosmic ocean. Without separating beaches, the two seas of velvet fused into one.”

And on recalling the work of digging clams, Skip writes, “I fell silent, remembering not the labor, but the beauty. On certain days early in the season, the mud glistened with the colors of water, earth and sky. Like a bucket of paint containing all the primary colors, it looked gray at first. Closer inspection revealed the reds yellows and blues, hidden from the casual observer. Like any great artist, the Master did not over mix, but left traces of the original pigments for our pleasure.”

Intertwined with these intriguing passages of nature’s awe, Skip chronicles plenty of excitement and close calls, such as when a rogue wave hit the Stanley. “CRASH! Suddenly I was thrown from my bunk, and found myself upside down in the dark, enmeshed in a sickening tangle of arms, legs, mattresses, loose bunk boards, broken glass, bedding, boots, tomatoes clothes and pans. Frigid water was already up to my knees.” When Skip groped his way onto the deck, he found the previous days hard won deck load of fish was gone, but at least he had his life.

What really attracted me to the book, and I’m sure other outdoor lovers as well, are the things we learn along with Skip. I now understand that stripers can cut the line with their gills, and that they have four nasal passages, so its best to wash your hands before handling the bait. And lessons, from Captain Frank, go beyond fishing. “This is as good as it will ever be,” said Frank one evening on while fishing, “We will never have a world better than it is right now. Wars will become ever more destructive, more pollution, more crime, a few very rich and more starving poor. We need to take pleasure from every day, no matter what it brings. Especially enjoy days like today and remember their sweetness.”

Now those are thoughts I’ve always felt, but could never quite articulate. Imagine the impact of such wisdom, mixed with responsibility, hard work, and adventure on a 15 year old. I wish all kids learned of life by being participants rather than observers.

Codfish, Dogfish, Mermaids and Frank is available at Amazon.com.

"Codfish, Dogfish, Mermaids, and Frank"
By Skip DeBrusk
http://www.skipdebrusk.com/

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