In 1911, the Tordenskjold, a 75-foot schooner hewed from old-growth fir, left the Ballard docks for a first season of halibut fishing off Alaska. Back then, sails supplemented the power of a feeble two-cylinder gas engine, and crew fished from small dories that launched over the side into the perilous North Pacific waters. Today, the Tordenskjold runs on diesel, and the dories are long gone. But this boat still heads north each spring to join in a halibut harvest that over the past century has helped establish Ballard as a hub of the North American fishing industry.
Early Wednesday, as the Tordenskjold prepared for a 99th season, the boat mustered in formation with six other fishing schooners for a rare fleet parade through Lake Union, the Ballard Locks and out into Puget Sound. The occasion was a video documentary commissioned by the Fishing Vessel Owners Association and a fishermen's union that will chronicle the history of the fleet.
"I don't think I have ever seen all the boats together like this," said Marvin Gjerde, the 61-year-old skipper of the Tordenskjold. "We usually head off to Alaska one or two at a time, and once we leave town everyone is on their own."
These schooners — despite their age — are some of the top-grossing boats in the North Pacific commercial halibut harvest. This year's U.S. catch will likely be worth about $160 million, with Washington fishermen, largely based in Puget Sound, expected to claim nearly 30 percent of the fish.
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