tales-of-Fogo-Island

BoatsBefore the days of long liners, wooden 'bully' boats were used in the codfishery. Most bully boats had two masts, two sails, a jib and a small motor.Bully boats came in a variety of colors and most were given names. Almostevery family involved in the fishery owned a bully boat. For example, oneBurke family of Tilting owned a bully boat called the 'Gertrude', a Dwyer familyowned one called 'Black Beauty' and the Ludlows of Joe Batt's Arm owned abully called the 'Lucky Strike'.Bully boats could hold an average of twenty-two quintals of round fish. Mostpeople that fished from a bully used hook and line. Some families built theirown boats, or arranged for local boat builders to do the job for them.When they needed a larger boat, some families worked together to build aschooner. This was the case for the Decker family of Joe Batt's Arm.The "Candace"In the fall of 1925 John Decker Sr. and his five sons, John Jr., David, Eli,Ephraim, and William went 'in the bay' to build a schooner. They took theirfamilies and moved to a small cove called Starve Cove on Chapel Island. Thiswas a good place to build a large boat. After many long days, their boat wasfinally ready for the water. They launched the schooner on the first high tide inMay 1926, and named her the 'Candace' after the Queen of Ethiopia.Later, when motorboats and long liners replaced the schooner, local menlearned how to build these vessels as well. Boat builders often worked outsidein 'all winds and weather'. One man commented, "I used to get cold justwatching my father working on the boat. He'd haul off his gloves and work withbare hands as the snow drifted around him."