This morning in Nelson the annual 'blessing of the fleet' is happening. Nelsons fishing fleet is one of the largest in New Zealand and some years ago I was part of that industry. In an effort to 'get out of the office' for a while I worked for about five years as a deckhand on two different deep-sea trawlers. During that time several deckhands from other vessels were lost at sea. Some of them I knew, most I did not. However the thought was always with me that it could have just as easily been me. The job had inherent risks and on more than one occasion I remember thinking I was next. On such incident we were fishing for Hoki in the Cook Straight (the notoriously rough stretch of water between New Zealand's North and South Islands). We were paying out a mid-water net over the stern ramp when my foot got caught in the netting. I was dragged 3/4 of the length of the deck and over the stern. On my way over I managed to grab the gunwale with both hands and shake my boot loose. The boot went down with the net and I was dragged back on board by a fellow deckhand. The sea was very rough at the time and it was the middle of the night. If I had gone over board (and somehow managed to free my foot before being dragged under by a huge net weighing around 1 ton), by the time they got that net back on board and swung the vessel around to look for me there would have been little hope of finding anybody.
The picture below is of an old wharf which was restored by a charity set up by sea-men to help families of fishermen lost at sea. It features a specially commissioned statue of a fisherman at the helm and is the centerpiece of Nelson harbor entrance. The blessing of the fleet is happening there this morning. I won't be attending (I hate crowds) but old friends and colleagues are still on my mind today.
9:04:19 AM 
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