Tag Archives: Bristol Bay sailboat era
Libby’s No. 23 – Double-ender offers peek into the Bristol Bay sailboat era
The double-ender sailboat is a relic of the non-motorized Bristol Bay fishery that disappeared in the early 1950s. One of these boats is on display at Lake Clark National Park in Port Alsworth — a 30-footer built in 1914 in a West Coast shipyard, named Libby’s No. 23. Libby’s No. 23 was one of the thousands of wooden sailboats manned by two-man crews back when the Bristol Bay fleet was totally at the mercy of the wind and the tides. “Not only did you have to be a good fisherman in this era, you had to be a darn good sailor,” said John Branson, the historian for Lake Clark National Park in Port Alsworth. You had to be a skilled sailor back then, he says, because mistakes could cost you dearly. Audio report, read the rest here 10:25
