{ title: 'The leader. (Freeport, N.Y.) 1941-1987, January 20, 1972, Page 13, Image 13', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071064/1972-01-20/ed-1/seq-13/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071064/1972-01-20/ed-1/seq-13.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071064/1972-01-20/ed-1/seq-13/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071064/1972-01-20/ed-1/seq-13/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Freeport Memorial Library
: ' . S ' ■ WATERFRONT LEADER . W-SEVEN I Pictures and story by Anthony Albarello % One of the oldest fish m arkets in Nassau County is located on the west side of Woodcleft Canal in Freeport. Ben Braooo has been running it since 1945 and calls it, appropriately enough, “ Captain Ben’s fis h Dock.” Ben is fifty seven years old and now has his son Je r r y in the business with him, The heart of “ Capt. Ben’s ” is a 45 ft. diesel dragger called the Sturgeon. The Sturgeon sails from Woodcleft every day of the year, weather permitting, at 4:00 A.M. Twelve to fifteen m iles outside of Junes inlet, the nets go over the side and the day’s work begins. Ben and Jerry know the fishing grounds like the back of their hand. It is necessary to know the location of sunken wrecks and other obstructions on the bottom to avoid costly repairs to the nets or losing them entirely. The Sturgeon makeS three drags per day, bringing up an asso r t ed catch each tim e, of roughly 1000 lbs. Three thousand pounds of edible fish daily would provide an abundant living for father and son, but approid- mately 70% of the catch consists of trash fish, crabs and assorted sea life that is promptly discarded, leaving 900 to 1000 lbs. of salable fish to be brought back to the dock at the end of a hard day’s work. All the fish are disposed of at Ben’s Dock and sold retail, direct to the custom er who sometimes goes home with fish so fresh they are still Cutter to be Decommissioned The Coast Guard law en forcement cutter Rockaway, 'based at Governors Island in New York City, will be decom missioned January 20 as part of a government-wide savings program. She is the first of 10 cutters on both coasts and on the Great Lakes to go out of service bet ween January and March of this year Besides the Rockaway, five other east coast cullers will go plus three cutters on the west coast and one at Grand Haven, Mich. In all, some 1,700 military personnel will be affected. To offset the loss of ships on the east coast, three Pacific based cutlers will come to the Atlantic, two from Honolulu and one from Long Beach, Calif. They will take up duties in Wilmington, N.C. and Norfolk. Va. When decommissioned, the 311 - foot Rockaway will be kept at Governors Island pending per manent disposition. The Rockaway was com missioned in 1942 as a U.S. Navy seaplane tender and serves as a mobile base for a squadron of seaplanes operating in the North Atlantic and later in the Panatna Canal zone. , She made nine unescorted Atlantic crossings and once delivered classified radar equipment to England for use in the Normandy invasion. She also helped support the in vasion of France in 1944. As a North Atlantic ocean station vessel, the Rockaway patrolled areas along maritime shipping and airline routes and provided navigational aid to passing vessels and planes, gathered weather data and served as a ready search and rescue unit at sea In October of 1966, the Rockaway was redesignated an oceanographic research vessel and was outfitted with special data gaihering and evaluating equipment. Her mission included outlining the sea floor on charts, collecting microscopic forms of plant and sea life, recording sea water temperatures plus gathering meteorological data. In September of 1971, her mission was changed again and she began a full-time enforcement program of national and international laws and fishing agreements. The Rockaway, whose crew of 12 officers and 135 enlisted men, i.s commanded by Commander Ralph W Judd, who look com mand of the cutter in June of 1971. All men are being reassigned to new duties, mainly in the tri-stale area of New Jersey. New York and Connecticut LAKE’S YACHT SALES. Inc. FR A N C H ISED O E A L G R : • P o ,t • Lyfnan • p a n iu ry • PacBmaker • ego H a rbor • D rlfl-R -C rur a Palmer ^ n g ln e , • C b rv,lar Engine, “ Yacht Brokerage - New & Used Boats 361 W O O D C L E F T AVE F R E E P O R T N.Y, 11520 (516) 378 50 7 0 flopping In the bag. None of the fish wind up In the com m ercial markets and Ben has custom ers who have bought his fish for many years. At this time of the year, the nets are yielding cod, whiting, ling and flounder. In the spring and sum m er p o rgies, sea bass, fluke and o ther warm water species will be available at Ben’s Fish Dock, weather permitting, of course. F reeporter’s may pass Capt. Ben’s with never a second glance, blase about its charm and oblivious of Us attraction to Long Island visitors. Judge ior your self someday by paying a visit to Capt. Ben’s Fish Dock at 325 Woodcleft Ave nue, Freeport. IF O'I , ' ! NatT A ii'n of Engine & Boat Mfgs Y acht A rchitects & B rokers A is'n BENNETT MINTON. JR. YACHT BRO K E R - SH IPY A R D Over 20 Y rt. Broker in Used Boats in Freeport 616 FR 8-6643 516 FR 9 - 9 1 3 2 Ret 163 H UDSON AVENUE F R E E P O R T , L.I., N.Y. 1 1 5 2 0
