Tag Archives: F/V November Gale
A lobsterman races the calendar in a COVID-disrupted season
Steven Holler walked off the back of his rumbling lobster boat, the November Gale, and stood on the pier. It was October, just six weeks before the end of the season, six weeks for Holler to make the money he needed to get through the winter. Even in ordinary years, fall was a money-making sprint,,, But this year was exceptional, thrown into chaos by the pandemic. Restaurants had closed and lobster prices plummeted. Some predicted doom for the industry. Holler could have opted to sit out the season, collecting unemployment and COVID relief checks. In fact he had stayed home in the spring. But, he was restless. He didn’t like the idea of sitting at home. So in June, Holler gambled and gave up government assistance in order to put his boat back in the water. >click to read< 09:39
Researchers Try To Build A Better Life Jacket To Keep Lobstermen Alive
Early on a July morning, Massachusetts lobsterman Steve Holler and his sternman Frank Lenardis haul lobster traps out of Boston Harbor over the edge of Holler’s boat, the November Gale, and dump the catch into a holding tray. “It’s a dance between me and him,” Holler says. “Him getting that done, me getting this done, because with his strength, his weight, he’ll knock me right on my rear end. He’s done it a few times.” This particular morning in July, everything goes smoothly. But Holler remembers one day in February when a routine haul went very wrong,,, >click to read<16:13
Steve Holler has been fishing for lobster since he was 14. He’s not about to stop now.
There’s one road into Houghs Neck, Quincy, and if you drive in on a Friday or Saturday in the summer, you’re bound to see the signs: “Lobsters fresh off the boat, 3-6.” Arrows point toward the Maritime Center and down a dock, where you’ll find Steve Holler’s boat, November Gale. Holler is a fixture in Houghs Neck, selling some of the freshest lobsters in the Boston area. He starts back up again June 2, and will keep going through August. Holler, 54, has been a commercial fisherman since the age of 14, when his uncle — a former Navy SEAL — pulled him off the corner, where he was hanging out with friends, and said, “You’re going fishing.”,,, Holler’s idea to sell lobsters fresh off the boat came when he realized he needed to do something different to stay in business. “I’m the only guy who does this, and for a reason,” Holler said. The 19-hour days aren’t for everyone. Still, the creative approach has paid off: It has more than kept his business afloat. He pulled up iPhone photos from some days when the line stretches all the way down the dock and up the beach. click here to read the story 10:01
