Arthur James Heading Out

Every spring around March, the seiners of the mackerel fleet would fit out and prepare to head south to meet the schools of mackerel off the Carolina capes. Then, through the summer, the fleet would pursue the schools north along the coast, finding them by autumn off Nova Scotia.

This is a view of the schooner "Arthur James" leaving Gloucester just after the turn of the century. She is heading out of the harbor at sunrise with a blustery northwest wind. Behind her is the fort section of town. Around her, at anchor and throughout the harbor, the fleet prepares to get under way. With a full load of salt and one seine boat on deck and another towing astern, the "Arthur James" is bound south.