Tag Archives: Stanley Larsen
Have Faith: A fisherman’s journey of deep belief
Stanley Larsen’s fishing boat, Four Kids, pulled up to the dock in Menemsha a little after 10 am last Thursday, under a bright blue sky. Stanley steers it so it eases up next to its sister vessel, Richard & Arnold.,, Stanley was born and raised here, and has been a fisherman since childhood; he helped his dad lobstering from the time he was a kid. His father died when Stanley was in his early 20s, and then he carried on the family tradition, going out on long trips, steaming six, eight, even 10 hours at a time in his dad’s old boat: “I’d head down to Nantucket, out to New Bedford, south of the Island. I’d have fishing magazines that I’d probably read about 10 times, and I happened to be going through [his dad’s] drawer one day, and came upon the King James Bible. I just started reading it.” >click to read< 17:06
Unmoored and unsure, fishermen make do – Direct boat sales stem the tide for some.
Saturday, folks came to Menemsha to buy directly off the decks of local scallop boats. Business was brisk. Captain Sam Hopkins, aboard the Endurance, mongered to a steady queue of masked customers. Like the nearby Martha Rose, sea scallops off the Endurance sold for $15 per pound. “It was really nice to have some local support and have people who bought scallops right off the boat,” Hopkins said. Lobsterman Jason Gale has also turned to direct boat sales. From the deck of the Watch Out at Lake Street Landing he sold lobsters at $8 apiece, regardless of weight, on Saturday. Gale said he put a 10 lobster cap per customer and sold out. photos, >click to read< 15:59
Stanley Larsen – By Birth and by Choice, a Lifetime at Sea
At 4:30 a.m. Menemsha Harbor is glassy and the only sounds are the hum of Menemsha Fish House’s vibrating refrigerators and the early-morning summer bird opera. The Little Lady slices through the flat water, heading out for a morning of dragging. Stanley Larsen in his boat Four Kids is not far behind. He just has to sort out a few things with the engine first.,,, It’s a late start. Stanley usually likes to get going at around 3:30 a.m. “Then I can go further offshore and do longer drags,” he explains adjusting his baseball cap. “I like a two-hour drag. Closer, I can only do 20 or 30 minutes and then I’m in the mud.” >click to read< 19:50
Scarce bay scallops are costly
Last year the Vineyard bay scallop harvest boomed. Prices hovered around $20 per pound. Not so this year. Bay scallops are scant, and at Menemsha Fish Market they were retailing at $38 per pound on Monday. “Nobody went out today,” Larsen said Monday morning, “nice day, too — because there’s no scallops.” Until recently, bay scallops were $35 per pound at the Net Result in Vineyard Haven. As of Monday, they hovered at $30 per pound, which still ranked as the second most expensive seafood there after fresh lobster meat, at $50 per pound. >click to read<19:32
Starting a squidding venture on a famed wooden dragger: Stan and Eric’s excellent adventure
Some folks may think Stanley Larsen, owner of Menemsha Fish Market, could have a screw loose, or perhaps it’s a midlife crisis, but standing with him overlooking the painting and freshening-up of his recently purchased wooden dragger Richard & Arnold, you know this new love in his life runs deep. It’s been raining a lot, and the famed wooden dragger just arrived from Provincetown, its home since 1982, when it was purchased by Capt. David Dutra. According to his wife, J.J. (Judy) Dutra, in her book “Nautical Twilight,” “the boat was built in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, by Casey Boat Building Co. in 1924, and began fishing in 1927. She’s 52 feet on the waterline and 60 feet overall, with a beam of 15 feet. She draws seven feet, a deep keel for such a small boat, but that’s what makes her seaworthy.” Larsen is excited to own a piece of history. >click to read<15:07
Menemsha Fishmonger Sees Hope for Future in Blue Mussel Farm
The Vineyard’s first offshore blue mussel farm has a new owner with a long-term vision for the local fishing industry. Stanley Larsen, owner of Menemsha Fish Market, recently took over a shellfish grant for the continued operation of the aquaculture farm, which was established off Chilmark in 2006 with federal and local funding. Read the rest here 13:37
