S/V ‘Santa Maria Manuela’ and the White Fleet
A living memorial to Portugal’s cod fishing history
A beautiful and historic sailing vessel, the ‘Santa Maria Manuela’, recently made a brief stop in Falmouth on its way to a Maritime Festival in Brest. This ship, now restored and taking passengers on adventure holidays, was once part of the famed Portuguese White Fleet that fished for cod on the Grand Banks of the North Atlantic.
Launched on 10th May 1937 in Lisbon, Portugal, alongside its sister ship ‘Creoula’1, the building of these ships was considered a grand national achievement.
Remarkably, both ships were built in just over two months. Made of steel to carry more cod and handle the dangers of ice better, they were state-of-the-art for their time. The White Fleet then had over 50 ships, showing how vital cod fisheries were to Portugal.
In 1993, the ‘Santa Maria Manuela’ was nearly scrapped and dismantled until only its steel hull remained. Fortunately, a foundation was set up to restore her to her former glory. The project began in 2007 and took four years to complete.
I last saw the vessel in Cartagena, Spain, about six or seven years ago. Her history fascinated me. I hadn’t heard of the Portuguese White Fleet back then, although we had visited several ports several of its old home ports, like Figueira da Foz, Aveiro, and Lisbon during our voyage down Spain and Portugal’s Atlantic coast. What we had seen though were plenty of places selling ‘Bacalhau’, the same salt cod the fleet used to provide. It mostly comes from Norway now, and Portugal consumes 20% of the global catch of cod. We’d see it stacked in the supermarket, usually with an old lady sorting through the pile, smelling and weighing each in her hands until she’d found one she liked.
The White Fleet got its name because the ships hulls were painted white, with the ship's name and Portuguese flag displayed prominently to avoid being torpedoed by German U-boats during World War II. Portugal, of course, being a neutral nation in WWII.
The fleet would leave each May for Newfoundland's fishing grounds and not return until October. St.John’s in Newfoundland became a second home port for picking up fresh supplies or dropping off sick and injured crewmen.
Fishing methods were basic. Each ship carried dozens of small dories on deck, which were lowered into the water at the fishing grounds. A fisherman would board with his lunch, a conch shell for a fog horn, a compass, a baler, and fishing gear. They would then spend up to 12 or 13 hours streaming and hauling hooked and baited long lines. Occasionally, a single fisherman could catch half a ton of cod in a day. It wasn’t unusual for over enthusiastic fishermen to find their dory sinking from excess weight.
After hours of fishing, they’d return to the mother ship to eat and drink before continuing work scaling and salting the day’s catch in the ship’s hold.
Alan Villiers, an Australian writer who experienced this life first-hand, described their work in his book and National Geographic articles.
A tough life, you say?...A dog's life, that's what it is! My God, there is no harder life upon the sea! All fishing is tough, but that's the toughest, hardest way to make a living that I know. Those fellows will be lucky to be back home six months from now. Aye, and some of 'em won't be coming. I warn you, shipmates, things are tough all over Europe now, but don't ever ship in one of them! Those Portuguese use one-man dories. Keep out of them!
During my research, I found a wonderful video from 1967 showing these fishermen's hardships vividly. It ends dramatically on the Grand Banks as an older wooden vessel, the ‘Dom Denise’, starts taking water when her seams open under the weight of their catch. The crew has to abandon ship after first setting her on fire to prevent her from drifting and becoming a danger to other shipping.
Tragically, ‘Dom Denise’ was one of two ships that season that would never return home; every year saw one or two vessels lost, along with several fishermen who drifted away never to be seen again.
The 1970s saw the end of an era for the Portuguese White Fleet, when Canada began to protest foreign overfishing and exploitation of its fishery. Following a bitter international dispute over territorial fishing grounds, the last ship of the White Fleet left St. John's on July 23, 1974.
The ‘Santa Maria Manuela’ is surely a magnificent living memorial to the brave, hard, salt-encrusted men of the White Fleet.
LINKS
https://www.santamariamanuela.pt/
CBC Article - Portuguese on the Grand Banks
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‘Creoula’ was also saved from the breakers yard. She’s now a sail training vessel for the Portuguese Navy
Fascinating history lesson!! Thank you! Watermen, fishermen, tough as anyone.