Great story and family heritage, I call that old school no 50' Hatteras in the background just man and his skill vs. nature doing it the hard way. I have alot of respect for that old school lifestyle, it reminds me of my grandfather, he taught me alot about the real world. You and your family should put these memoirs into a book, it would make for a wonderful story and interesting reading.
WELL....HELLO ZORBA....I MEAN PETER THE GREEK! I HOPE YOU CAN COME TO THE STATES SOON BEFORE YOUR BROTHER EATS ALL THE FISH IN THE 'LANTIC.............HE IS HELL ON THE GROUPERS!!!
THANKS FOR SHARING SO MUCH OF YOUR FAMILY WITH US
THIS IS PROBABLY THE SINGLE MOST INFORMATIVE FISHING THREAD/POST IN THE WORLD......
MANY PEOPLE HAVE CONTACED ME AND EXPRESSED HOW MUCH THEY HAVE ENJOYED NICKS VERBAL EXPESSIONAISM HERE...
CURRENTLY THIS STORY IS THE WORLDS LONGEST RUNNING FISHING THREAD ON ANY INTERNET SITE WORLDWIDE ....NONE CAN MATTCH THE QUALITY, HUMOR, VISUALS THAT YOU GUYS HAVE SHARED
THANKS
LOOKING FORWARD TO VOLUME 15.....23...89....AND SO ON
Sea Biscuit - THANKS for the fix... man, just it time. It was getting close to a "hostage situation"' over here!
Again, thanks for taking the time to put a great story and heritage into words... and words worthy of the story. I REALLY appreciate how similar (yet different) your family's fishing heritage is to mine. My Grandfather, and his father and so on, were watermen on Virginia's Eastern Shore... a time before GPS, Sonar, graphite rods... and even monofilament.
The only recommendation I can offer to you is to print and save these stories and pictures... you have a gift for story-telling. A gift that should be able to be appreciated by your grandchildren... and their grandchildren.
Peter the Greek - WELCOME! Please relay to Capt Yannis our wishes for a speedy recovery.... there's fish he's yet to catch.
Thanks for the kind words and welcome, thanks also to Sea Biscuit.
Peter left me in charge here this morning, annointing me secretary. He took the sheep out to pasture and picked some wild asparugus ('vries). He's gone to town to give them to someone, being that they're a rare find and he's claimed the whole area as his, love it! And of course have some good "tsipouro" conversation!
Tsipouro is probably the Greek version of moonshine. Being female, I have been "accepted" into the local ouzo and tsipouro taverns after an amount of time and "tests". I was the first woman to sit in some of these places. I personally don't touch the stuff- it could fire a rocket.
Hello sweet Melissa. Thanks for joining us. Please help us get Peter more involved in this website and comfortable with the internet medium. He has a lot to contribute and we all look forward to having him arround.
I have sent you a private message (PM). Click on the Private Messages link on the upper right hand side of the page to access.
My love to the girls and all the animals.
Nick
Captain Yannis did not seem impressed when I told him that Nick and Peter were catching good. In his smile there was a hint of pride for his elder son's success with what was his only family inheritance, fishing.
Nick had a young family to feed. A sweet girl named Pathenia after her paternal grandmother and a cute little boy named Denis, after Nick's younger brother. The baby boy was born only days after Nick's brother got killed. According to Greek tradition, he should be named Yannis, after the old captain and grandfather. But they named him Denis and charged him with the sacred responsibility of keeping the lost son's name and story alive.
Most Europeans take their summer holiday in August. By the middle of September the tourist season slows down in coastal Greece. It's really a shame because the best of what such areas have to offer is yet to come. Late September marks the beginning of harvest season. Grapes, citrus, figs and garden veggies are ripe, all at the same time! In a tradition that dates back more than 4,000 years, the Greeks gather nature's bounty (raised and wild) and start preparing for the winter. The sea is still warm. The nights pleasantly cool and the days sparkling like diamonds. 80 degree afternoons, no humidity and never a cloud in the sky.
The restaurant is now busy only on weekends. My captain is still not in a fishing mood, but can read my desire to be on the water like an open book. He tells his son Nick to take me along for a few more trips and "train" me further so I can be a good mate. Nick says: "yes sir" and my brother Peter is rolling his eyes! I know what he's thinking. "This is my gig. What if the dufus messes it up? He could bring us bad luck! He is the competition after all!". If he told cousin Nick of his thoughts, cousin Nick never mentioned it to me. The old man had spoken and that was that!
Taking me along did not mean that they had to pamper me though. If I was to make myself useful to this self reliant and highly successful fishing team, I was to be the entertainment.
One particular night in rose bay, the waters were a little murky, because of the nearby river. A fantastic estuary, this area is full of mullets, bass and crabs. We knew the fish were there, but could not gig what we could not see. So out goes a half stick. The dead fish from that half stick are chum for more. A few minutes later Nick hits the spot with a double. We take a few nice mullet and bass and drop anchor on the spot. There's plenty more dead fish to keep the area chummed up, so Nick decided to put out a shark rig while we try to sleep for a couple of hours. The shark rig is nothing fancy. Big hook with a sliced mullet on it, a trace of rusted wire and a couple of handlines of heavy mono connected together. I wonder how we will know if the shark takes, but I'm too sleepy to ask. The studs are busy plotting while I lay down on the bow and close my eyes. Soon I'm snoring, but I can sense someone putting a makeshift pillow under my head and covering me with an old blanket. It feels cozy. I have no idea how long I slept, but I remember waking up! The "pillow" under my head took off and my head banged the bow boards hard! WTF? Nick and Peter are looking at me in the dark, laughing so hard they have tears streaming down their face. Peter is pulling in the anchor, while Nick is paying line out over his shoulder. The boat is moving! No one is at the oars and the motor is not running. The shark is taking us for a ride. In the light of the moon I can see that we are following my "pillow" offshore. It is a old plastic jug the boys had tied the line to, covered in cloth and rested my head on!
We landed that fish two miles later. It was a large bull shark. Fat and mean, he weighed in at 110 kilos (242 lbs). Watching Nick (who is strong as an ox) battle that fish was awe inspiring. Captain Yannis was very pleased with this catch. He bought the fish from Nick and served a "shark special" all weekend at the restaurant. Good money!
I do not have pictures of that shark, but posted below is a picture of Peter with a fine catch of red porgies from that September. The fish were taken on longlines baited with octopus and were special enough to make the lotto!
Cheers,
SeaBiscuit
Last edited by SeaBiscuit; 12-03-2007 at 05:29 PM.
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