bonus, often a substantial sum, which, after a discussion over conciliatory 

 glasses of wine and outside the conditions of the Charte-Partie, is finally 

 agreed upon. 



It is a little after the season's fishing, in November or the first part of 

 December, that a representative of the outfitter, the captain or fishing mate, 

 undertakes his tour of recruitment by calling at the home of a possible crew 

 member. It is the captains with good fishing records and with a way of com- 

 mand assuring the loyalty of their crews which makes the task of hiring easy. 

 For the other captains, laborious negotiations and an open purse are neces- 

 sary to assure a crew, more often than not one of second choice. 



The outfitters are in perpetual competition and pay according to their 

 worth for the best captains and fishing mates. Each measures his choice by 

 the yield of the fishery. 



When the captain has recruited his men, he returns their hiring papers 

 to the outfitter. The latter then draws up his crew list which he submits to 

 the Bureau of Maritime Inscription. About a month before sailing, the new 

 crew is summoned by this Bureau for a review of the employment contract. 

 The text of the Charte-Partie having been read and commented on by the 

 chief district administrator or his representative, and the conditions having 

 been accepted, the advances are paid, and the drawing up of the crew posi- 

 tions is agreed upon. Employment is henceforth definite and the fishermen 

 cannot avoid the obligation of sailing when they are called by the outfitter or 

 the captain. 



While the captain is recruiting the crew, the vessel is being prepared, 

 usually under the personal direction of the outfitter. Repairs to the hull and 

 to the gear are made; the rigging is entirely overhauled; the sails are re- 

 paired or renewed; the fishing gear is checked and partly replaced; provi- 

 sions are stored. 



The equipment needed for a three-masted vessel, 350 to 450 tons, is 

 considerable: 3 mooring anchors, 360 meters of chain, 2 steel anchorage 

 cables, 800-1000 pieces of line to a dory, 150-200 buoy ropes, 100-200 dory 

 anchors, 150, 000-200, 000 leaders with the same number of hooks, 12 to 18 

 dories, 150-200 dory oars, 2 tow lines, 1800-2000 bait bags (for Buccinus ), 

 25-30 dory compasses, 100-120 baskets for line and for bait, 100-200 buoy 

 barrels, and a sufficient quantity of indispensable items such as squid lures 

 and jigs together with hand lines, gutting and heading knives, etc. 



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