New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
The 2014 Working Waterfront Festival (September 27 & 28) featured a variety of competitions throughout the weekend. Participants competed in whaleboat and survival suit races; a tug boat muster; net mending, splicing, link squeezing, and scallop shucking contest; and a Seafood Throwdown. Each event showcased a variety of industry skills, engaging the public in learning about different aspects of the fishing industry.
The Buzzard’s Bay Rowing Club hosted whaleboat races on Saturday morning starting at 8:00. Tropicans won “Best Dressed” and “Most Theatrical” while Shiverin’ Timbers were deemed “Most Enthusiastic”. Complete race results are attached in image below.
Area tugs converged on the harbor Saturday afternoon for the annual tugboat muster organized by Charlie Mitchell captain of the Tug Jaguar and emceed by his brother Bob of R. A. Mitchell Company. While not a formal contest, tugs of all sizes showed their skill and strength with demonstrations of hawser tossing, turning, and pushing.
Rodney Avila and Ted Williams of Hercules SLR US presented safety demos including a life raft deployment and man overboard drill, as well as a survival suit race to give visitors a sense of the dangers of commercial fishing and the safety protocol that fishermen practice to remain safe at sea.
On Saturday groundfishing skills were highlighted with a net mending competition emceed by net designer Tor Bendiksen of Reidar’s Manufacturing and a rope splicing contest emceed by Barbara Merry of Marlinspike Artist. Winners of the net mending competition were Meghan Lapp, Geoffrey Hatfield and Sarah Fortin while Kevin Curole of Grand Isle, LA won the splicing contest.
On Sunday scallopers took center stage with back to back link squeezing (emceed by Mathieu Lemieux of Blue Fleet Welding) and shucking (emceed by Richie Canastra of BASE) competitions. Results of the shucking contest were as follows: Jonathan Hynd of the F/V Act IV took first place, Sergey Yuminov of the F/V Julie G took 2nd place and Justin Lawrence of the F/V Sea Ranger, Harvester and Patience took 3rd place.
Contest prizes were provided by Latti and Anderson LLP, Hercules SLR US Inc., Slave of the Sea, Marlinspike Artist, and Buzzard’s Bay Rowing Club, and the Working Waterfront Festival.
Sunday culminated with a Seafood Throwdown pitting the Port of New Bedford against the Port of Gloucester. In keeping with this year’s fishing family theme, our Throwdown chefs were home cooks from fishing families. With whiting as the surprise seafood ingredient, Vera Carvalho who works at Smithwick and Mariner’s Insurance Agency created a soup with an “explosion of flavor” to edge out her competition, Nina Groppo of Gloucester Fisherman’s Wives Association. The Seafood Throwdown is a collaboration between the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance and the Working Waterfront Festival.
