By Peter K. Probot
July 05, 2008 12:08 am Lisa T. Corporation's faith in the fishing industry and a local lawyer's and bank's belief in both of them just added a 10-year-old, large dragger to the Gloucester fleet. The 87-foot by 24-foot by 11-foot Father Casimir, a former Gulf shrimper owned by Anchor Seafood and based in Palacios, Texas, will replace Lisa T Corporation's aging, approximately 79-foot dragger Midnight Sun, purchased in 1992. The new blue and white steel Western rig will be renamed the Midnight Sun. Fishing rules have whittled down the number of local groundfish draggers of more than 80 feet to fewer than five today. Formerly, such vessels once made up at least a third of the over-100-strong fleet. After several weeks at the dock, needed to build a pair of seven-foot-wide ramps and a gantry complete with two net reels on the stern and add on fishing gear, split trawl winches and a 32 KW gen-set, the new Midnight Sun and the crew of Capt. Tom Testaverde — son Tom Jr., brother Joe, and Bobby Gross — will seasonally hunt down whiting and groundfish inshore and offshore. Capt. Tom and Joe, third-generation U.S. fishermen and former vessel owners, began fishing with other brother Johnny as adolescents, "... on our dad's deck," said Tom. The late Capt. Rosario "Salvi" Testaverde then operated the day boat dragger, Linda B. "I started looking for a replacement through a broker four years ago," said Tom. "The Midnight Sun has been good; it's just old. It's being sold." Joe added, "To survive (fishing) nowadays, we will have to extend our range, and that means working in harder weather." "We also wanted safety," Tom said. The broker directed the Testaverdes to Anchor Seafood vessels. "Anchor Seafood was looking to consolidate its fleet of 16 vessels. I liked the shape of the Father Casimir right away. Joe and I also heard good stuff about its builder, the Jamieson Boatyard at Bayou La Batre, Alabama," Tom explained. "This vessel was well maintained, too," his brother added. Once the boat was purchased, "We (the whole crew) spent two months over there (in Texas)," said Tom. "The air was hot and muggy," he said. "We had the vessel sandblasted, painted, and all new zincs added to the hull there. We even put in all new Lexan windows and had all of the vinyl reupholstered." The vessel's interior is noticeably roomy, cheery and light, especially in the wheelhouse, engine room and living quarters, including the captain's room, crew's quarters, bathroom and galley, which has all electric appliances. The engine room, housing the main 540 hp Cat engine, 40 KW gen-set, along with a soon-to-be 32 KW gen-set and the refrigeration system's compressor, allows easy access around all of the units. The engine room is even fitted with new and used lube oil tanks that make changing the main engine's 37 gallons easy and spill-free. This system allows the crew to simply pump out the used engine oil into one tank and clean oil out of the other. "The whole boat is fully insulated with foam. You don't feel any vibrations," said Tom. A tall, stainless steel exhaust stack further expires engine fumes and noises high above the deck, and a pair of 55-foot-long "sissy sticks" help stabilize the vessel when lowered. Its central air-conditioning unit, that can also heat, controls the temperatures of the wheelhouse and living quarters. "The longest trip this boat ever made shrimping in the Gulf lasted 70 days," said Tom. The Midnight Sun's future trips should last a week or less. "We raised the American flag and also the Red Sox flag when we left port," said Tom. "We came back slow (by throttling back the engine over 300 rpms) to save fuel. The engine burned just a little over 3,000 gallons during the 9-plus day nonstop trip from Texas. We hooked up with the Gulf Stream south of Miami and gained an extra 3-5 knots (steaming) going with it." The homebound trip had many memorable moments. "We had to dodge all kinds of oil rigs in the Gulf," Joe recalled. "Tommy Jr., hooked several mahi-mahi on the way home," Tom added. "We ate two of them. Joey was grilling all the way (with a grill set up on deck)." "There were a lot of flying fish out there. They were flying (out of the water) like birds. One 7-inch fish even flew out of the water, hit one of the wheelhouse windows and landed on the deck. Tommy put it in the freezer," said his father. Tom Jr., has had a longtime interest in marine fauna. He maintains a saltwater aquarium at home that's often stocked with animals dragged up at sea by the Midnight Sun. "I have big hope (with the fishing industry); otherwise I wouldn't have made this sizeable investment. The fish are coming back," said Tom. Now if the government will only let the fishermen land more of those fish, that would not only benefit the harvesters, but also the shoreside infrastructure and seafood eaters instead of bottom scavengers like crabs and slime eels. "The vessel wouldn't be here if not for the generosity of the Cape Ann Savings Bank and local attorney J. Michael Faherty," Tom said. "They still have faith in the industry. They helped put the dream together."
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