Tag Archives: Port Dover
‘The season where hope comes back:’ Praying for a good catch on Lake Erie
George Gibbons understands that saying a prayer over his fishing nets may not guarantee a good catch or keep him and his fellow commercial fishermen safe on Lake Erie’s choppy waters. But it can’t hurt, either. “We’re a superstitious lot,” said Gibbons, who has been a regular at the blessing of the nets ceremony at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Port Dover since the early 1970s. The annual church service is dedicated to the fishing families of Port Dover, which was once a bustling freshwater port and still retains a small fleet of commercial tugs that will return to the water in March. >click to read< 13:37
‘15 minutes out mama’: The tragic story of Port Dover fisherman Michael Smith who drowned in Lake Erie
Frigid water shushing against the hull, spray peppering windows, as the fish tug bores through Lake Erie, clouds breaking to reveal the pale, fleeting blue of a mercurial March sky. On board, Michael Smith sent his wife a text like he always did to start the day: “Good morning beautiful, I love you.” They headed southwest around Long Point, the 40-kilometre sand spit that stretches nearly halfway across the lake. Smith recorded video: the wheelhouse, engine rumbling, tote boxes awaiting some of the first smelt of the commercial fishing season. He pulled open a steel door through which the trawling net is pulled, to show the water rolling by. He made it a ritual to kiss the net before releasing it to the lake. >click to read< 10:41
Missing Port Dover, Ontario fisherman embraced sunrises and the water
Fisherman Michael Smith lived for the mornings he could venture on to the water with the Donna F and watch the sunrise, according to cousin and fellow fisherman, James Misner. “There’s no trees and nothing in our way. It comes right over the water and we get to see a beautiful, perfect sunrise every morning.” “We’d go on there and say ‘good morning, Port Dover! It’s 5:30 a.m. Look at the sun coming up over the water,’ and a ‘we love our town’ type of thing.” On Monday, Smith set out early on the Donna F and did not return. >click to read< 06:46:16
Blessing of the Nets – Ceremony at Port Dover Harbour Museum honours commercial fishermen
PORT DOVER – We can all taste the results of the commercial fishing industry – delicious meals a plenty in towns like Port Dover. What the general public doesn’t witness is the risk each fisherman encounters on Lake Erie for weeks at a time. During those moments, it doesn’t hurt to have someone watching over you, which is where the annual Blessing of the Nets and Fishermen’s Memorial Service comes into play. Read the rest here (photo) 12:44
