Friday, March 30, 2012

Crabbing





Thursday I had the honor and privilege of accompanying these two gentlemen on their crab route.








I'm reasonably sure they'd never--ever--refer to it as a crab route, but, hey, they might want to consider it.








The clear weather, abundant sunshine, aromatic breezes, and thrill of a new experience inspired me to take over 300 photos in the three or so hours we were out there.








There is much to tell about this trip.









If I do not win the 590 million dollar lottery for which I purchased seven tickets, I wish to pursue a way to earn a living as a tag-along amateur photographer on a crab route workboat.









If I do win the lottery, after making sure the local schools
and others in need were taken care of, I'll spend my days photographing the people of Mathews County.

And pay them for the honor.








I could have stayed out there all day long.








The captain (on the right) gave me a hug
and a kiss when it was all over.

That was as good as winning the lottery to me.








These two together are quite the team.





Johnny Pugh  







Captain AJ Hurst's reflection in the window


More to come next week but in the meantime a million thanks to Johnny and AJ for allowing me aboard and for being ever so patient as I took several hundred photographs.  I would have taken 600 except my camera started smoking and sputtering before drawing its last, long, labored breath.

My beloved camera is officially dead.
Funeral arrangements were not available at the time of this blog post.
Contact Foster-Faulkner for the particulars.

I'm grateful for these final photos, however.
Very, very grateful.

Have a great weekend, and be sure to come back Monday to learn more about the inner workings of a crab route crab boat operation
as seen through CBW's eyes.


That is, unless she goes belly up at Saturday's 10K.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

These photos are so beautiful, and the 300 shots you took are an important chronicle of a way of life deserving of our respect.
Wishing you armloads of support, Edwin Starr gospel music and tons of good luck in the 10k. You inspire me.
LLC

deborah said...

Enjoyed looking at the photos you put up here and on your FB page - there is nothing easy about working on a crab route...what an honor it was to be allowed on their boat! Thanks for sharing with us.

Wish I could be at your 10K to cheer you on, I would wear a crab suit and hat to keep you laughing the whole way:) Best luck tomorrow!

Mental P Mama said...

A dying breed they are....great shots! And I will be with you in spirit tomorrow!!! You go girl!!!

Jamie said...

I miss being out on the crab boat and pulling pots. Smelly dead fish bait, not so much. Good luck on your 10K! Midge has a 5K Zombie run tomorrow, she's a Zombie. I'm so proud.

Debbie said...

Johnny looks like Nick Nolte :) I loved these and now that I know you are doing the 10k, will cheer you on as well!!

Now, if you win the lottery, are you still going to be able to run with shaking legs? :)

Dghawk said...

I am soooooo jealous, but glad you got to go crabbing and had a wonderful time. At least they had an automatic puller....and a bigger boat! My friend's boat is so small, if he had put an automatic puller on it, it would have tipped over!

Very sorry to hear about your camera. Now how will you take your beautiful pictures at the 10K tomorrow. Good luck on your run and have fun and stay safe.

Dghawk said...

Oh! I forgot. Do you have time for a nap between the run and the party tomorrow night?

Again good luck......on both!

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Thanks, everybody, it should be very interesting tomorrow...

Paxie, if I win I'll definitely still run but I might turn a few cartwheels and break out into spontaneous song and dance along the route.

DGH-No time for a nap, tomorrow is going to be a true test of endurance...

Happy weekend, everybody.

Country Girl said...

These are fantastic, CBW! But oh no - your camera is beat?! This is bad news. Good luck for tomorrow, girl!!

Anonymous said...

Great photos, as always. So sorry to hear about your camera's untimely death. Oh well, at least posting my condolences gives me a reason to say hello. I've been reading your blog for quite awhile, and been meaning to tell you how your photos start off my morning on a great note. My name is Betsy. I'm new to blogging and not sure if there's a protocol to follow or what I should or should not post about myself--so hope I'm not committing some big faux pas. For now, I guess it's enough to say that the crabbing photos are tres cool and I hope the race went well. Oh, and someday I want to meet Gustav! --Betsy

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Thanks, CG - I survived the race!

Betsy - Great to hear from you, thank you for commenting. If there were any rules/protocol to blogging, you can rest assured i'd ignore them here--It's a free for all! No rules. The race did go well, I achieved my goal of not walking during the 6+ miles even if my pace was as slow as some walkers. I'm in a bit of denial about the camera, but hopefully they can fix it.

Thank you so much for commenting!

Anonymous said...

CBW--hope all went well today (Sat.) in the 10k race for you and CB Mom---Edwin Star was singing: " Come on feet don't fail me now/ I got 10 more miles to go/ I got 9-step on, step on 8-step on, step on, 7-step on, step on, six, six six..I got 5 more miles to go..."
And I hope you held up through the adolescent Sleepover Marathon..you are a great mom. LLC

Chesapeake Bay Woman said...

Thanks, LLC, for the song and the well wishes.

After the race and the hour ride home, I successfully endured the teen gathering and managed to sleep like a baby even if they were cranking all sorts of music well into the night.

Hope your weekend was a good one and your week even better.

AverettLadyNana said...

Well girl, ya know I loved these pictures!!!

Daryl said...

Fabulous .. woman I see another book in your future