June 28, 2018 — On Wednesday, as the U.S. celebrates the 242nd birthday of its Declaration of Independence, fisherman Capt. Dave Marciano of “Wicked Tuna” and Tom Orrell of Gloucester-based Yankee Fleet, are going for the hat trick.
For the third consecutive Independence Day, the two men who first met when a much younger Marciano worked for Yankee Fleet, are teaming up to provide a boat full of veterans — some of them still carrying the wounds of their service — with a free day of fishing on one of Gloucester’s iconic charter boats, the aptly named Yankee Freedom.
“We’re going again,” Orrell said Wednesday. “Same as last year.”
The fishing trip for veterans and their guests has become one of the city’s staples among July Fourth celebrations.
The lineup is a familiar one. There are parades, bonfires and fireworks. There are barbecues, ball games and trips to the beach.
And now there is the Yankee Freedom, which accommodates about 70 anglers, heading out from the Head of the Harbor on the morning of the Fourth for the recreational fishing grounds of the Atlantic.
The event has become almost as wildly popular as the “Wicked Tuna” fishing reality show that has made Marciano a celebrity, if not a star.