The sea was angry that day my friends, as storms rocked the boat up, down and side to side. Each time the boat lifted and dove back into a series of six-foot waves, my stomach tightened into more knots.
"Don't worry Paul, the water will calm down in a few minutes," first mate Vincent Vierra said as we made our way out to sea.
Famous last words because 15 minutes later I was having flash backs to the movie 'Perfect Storm' as the waves got taller and taller and the boat rocked even more. It was at that moment I realized I would never be cut out for the life of a shrimper. As the guys ate corn dogs and watched television, I went outside to pay homage to the side of the boat called 'Winds of Fortune.'
And that was how I started and pretty much spent my day on a shrimping boat.
Back at the helm of the boat, Capt. Wayne Magwood maneuvered through the 8-10 swells using only his foot to steer and calmly explained he had been through worse.
For Magwood, shrimping is a way of life. Magwood has been shrimping for about 40 years and his father was a shrimper before him. Being his own boss and a love of the ocean are just some of the reasons he loves his job. The Magwood family sells their shrimp locally to restaurants and out of their store in Shem Creek.
Magwood explains the life of a shrimper with a borrowed line from Forrest Gump. Shrimping is like a box of chocolates -- you never know what you are going to get from nature, the water or from the nets. From hot weather to stormy seas and an occasional memento in the nets, every day is different on a shrimping boat.
He pulls out a dollar bill he has saved after finding it in the nets while shrimping one day. He said once the crew found a $50 bill in the nets but it turned to dust after it dried. Among other articles found in the nets, Magwood recalls a flashlight, covered in barnacles, that still worked.
Soon, we reached our destination and the boat stopped as the crew lowered the nets. The waves tossed the boat around and the winds grew stronger making it harder to stand on the wet boat deck. Undeterred, the crew set up the rigging and the buckets as the boat did its best to knock them off their feet.
Quickly they lowered the nets and were back inside for another round of corndogs and television while I paid another visit to the side of the boat as sea sickness hit me once again. Back inside they offered me food and water saying it happens to everyone. Laughing, Vierra said sea sickness is a great weight loss plan.
Once the nets were lowered, we sat and waited. For the next half hour, the boat did all the work trolling across the bay dragging the nets. What happened next I never expected. The nets were pulled and emptied on the deck and while shrimp fell to the floor they were accompanied by jelly fish, stingrays and one hammerhead shark.
Granted, the shark was only a couple of feet long but I was breathing easier after they tossed it from the boat. Even after the shark was gone, the crew still had to sort through the stingrays and jellyfish to collect the shrimp. Not a fun job especially if a stingray catches you with a barb.
After the shrimp were collected and the remaining sea life was freed, the nets were dropped and the process started all over again. Normally, the shrimpers cast the nets for a longer amount of time and usually they have to wait until the start of the season to fish so close to the shore. On this particular day though, Magwood was accompanied by members of the Department of Natural Resources who wanted to collect a sampling of shrimp so the boat was allowed to drag the nets close to shore but for only 30 minutes at a time.
The staff from DNR rode along with Magwood and his crew to collect a sampling of shrimp so they could determine if the bay could be opened to shrimpers. The shrimping season does not start until shrimpers get the ok from DNR, until then they have to cast their nets a couple of miles off shore. The season usually starts in May and can last through January and even longer.
Shrimp are collected and stored and thrown into the large orange baskets.
DNR inspects the shrimp to ensure they have spawned enough times before the season can begin. As the crew collected shrimp, Jason Powers, wildlife biologist III, and Nathan West, technician III, collected their own shrimp to weigh, measure and examine for eggs. The process protects the shrimp population but also ensures plenty of shrimp will be available.
Soon the ocean was calm and my stomach was back to normal albeit empty. Magwood aimed the boat back to shore with only 30 pounds of shrimp to show for a long day of work. Obviously this is not the day he hoped to pick from his box of chocolates.
Magwood said it is getting increasingly harder to make a living as a shrimper as overseas competition and high gas prices have forced many local fishermen out of business. Years ago, Magwood said nearly 100 ships dotted the landscape on the first day of shrimping season. Now, only about a dozen local shrimpers will join him along the Charleston coastline this season.
Though he still has a list of local restaurants buying his shrimp and customers visiting the docks daily to buy fresh seafood, Magwood worries that the life of local fishermen could be short lived. Locally, groups like the South Carolina Shrimpers Association Marketing Board promote the industry in hopes of preserving the tradition of shrimping.
I admit if I had to jump on a shrimp boat everyday, the industry would surely meet its demise. After spending the day tossing about the bay, I have a new respect for shrimpers and will never look at shrimp in the seafood aisle or at the restaurant the same way again.
Paul Zoeller is a freelance photographer new to the area. Do you have an idea for a new blog or a question about a current blog? If you do contact Zoeller at paul.zoeller@mac.com.
