From the departure the crew was divided into port and starboard watch- 

 es of four hours, the port watch under the second mate, the starboard under 

 the Salter. The captain, cook, and the ship's boy were the only ones ex- 

 empted from standing watch. 



During the day, the men not on watch readied the fishing gear: gaffs, 

 pikes, dory anchors, oars, buoys, bait-bags and baskets; then they rigged 

 the dories with their diverse accessories. Finally, a few days before reach- 

 ing the banks, they rigged the trawl lines. 



Each dory received 12 pieces of line of 7 5 fathoms each, a total length 

 of 3 kilometers of line about 4 millimeters in diameter. Leaders were at- 

 tached at intervals of 1-1/2 meters, these being a meter long and 1 milli- 

 meter in diameter, steel hooks of English, Norwegian, or French manufac- 

 ture, no. 13-1/2 or 14, attached at the end of the leaders. Thus there were 

 around 1500 hooks the dorymen had to bait each day. 



On nearing the banks, the captain took advantage of a good day to dry the 

 white sails used in sailing to and from the banks. At the same time, he took 

 down the top-gallant mast which was stowed away with other rigging between 

 the main and mizzenmasts on the deck. In place of the white sails, smaller 

 sails, especially treated to withstand a stay of many months on the bank in a 

 climate of fog and perpetual humidity, were used. For this purpose, these 

 sails were usually dipped in a mixture of oil and tar. 



Rare were the captains who resorted, during the crossing, to astronom- 

 ical observations for longitude, even if they had the means and the capacity 

 to do it. As a rule, the navigation was done by estimation for longitude, with 

 observations of latitude when atmospheric conditions permitted. But, how- 

 ever imprecise the estimation of longitude, after the end of three weeks or a 

 month of crossing, the captains, as well as the crews, did not fail to recog- 

 nize the "signs" which announced the proximity of the banks. These were the 

 birds which appeared at a distance of 25-30 miles from the banks and which, 

 becoming more and more numerous, were an infallible indicator. The color 

 of the water, the aspect of the atmosphere, the cooling temperature coming 

 after the appearance of the birds furnished additional signs. 



Soon surroundings confirmed arrival on Platier and allowed the captain 

 to locate the position of the vessel almost exactly on the banks. The vessel 

 took a position, which the captain determined in the light of his experience, 

 for the beginning of fishing. 



84 



