DORY
Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 8:37 pm
The 52s, 100s and 140s of this Portuguese issues depict dories used for fishing on the Grand Banks off Newfoundland.
She are known as Banks dory or Grand Banks dory, and it is a small, open narrow-flat bottomed slab-sided boat with a narrow transom. It was first used for fishing on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland after the 1850s.
She were carried on the mother-ship on deck, nested, mostly 5-6 high.
Alan Villiers in the book “The Quest of the Schooner Argus” gives the following information on the dory:
At 4 o’clock in the morning they send those dories over the side, when the weather made it possible, and manned by one man they fish all day with lines, when back on board the mother-ship they have to clean and salt the fish. A very hard life without much sleep.
They were very little (dory) with flared-out sides to give them good stowage room for gear and cod. On the bow she carried a large white number
Fitted out with oars and a little mast which could carry a small colour sail, and after launching via a davit she skimmed out from the mother-ship in all directions.
The necessary equipment on board the dory was a sea anchor, oars, mast, bailers, pail for the bait, compass, pail to hold the long-lines, knives and homing stone. The mast and sail were removable also the thwarts, mast-step and portable bulk heads. The long-line was mostly a 600 till 1000 hooker and was pulled in over a pulley wheel on the fore part of the dory.
The launching was going very quick and orderly on board the ARGUS 51 dories were launched in 20 minutes.
A little after five o’clock in the afternoon the recall signal was made on the mother-ship, it was nearly seven when the last dory was back. It was that day not a lucky day most dories did not have more as two cod on board and many were empty when she returned.
The Portuguese fished mostly with 1 man dories, but there where also 2 men dories. When fishing was good she had to return to the mother-ship to discharge the fish, before returning to catch an other load.
Sometimes they sailed so far away from the mother-ship that it was not more visible, and by rolling in of a heavy fog they needed all there seamanship to return to the mother-ship.
They must have been very good seamen, I know this waters well, and even for us on a good well built freighter, the live was not easy, with very cold temperatures, fog, ice and icebergs, stormy weather, and in winter freezing spray. How live was in an open dory must be much worse. Some of the dory-men were lost, but others after a few days were found back.
Not a length of the dory is given but it must have been around the 4 meter.
The sailing vessel in the background of the stamp of 140$ is the GAZELA PRIMIERO.
On Portugal 2000 sg?, scott?