Manny Vinagre
FROM
FIGUEIRA DA FOZ, PORTUGAL
ARRIVED 1973
“All of my family was fishermen. I am proud to be the last fisherman of the family.”
“My whole family came over here. I had an uncle who fled here to America. He worked on the steamers. When he fled from the Salazar regime, he fled here to New York and he never came back. He married an American and stayed here. Afterwards, they called my father and my family and then my brother called me over.”
“You had more of a chance here. Here there were already a lot of Portuguese fishermen. There was a better chance for me to find work here and earn money on a good boat here.”
“I went to Gloucester [MA]. All of my family lived there. At that time, Gloucester has a good fishing industry, but it’s not my language. So, I’m gonna follow my language which is the Portuguese language, it’s New Bedford. I had a lot of friends here and I recognized a lot of people. That’s why I come, I moved from Gloucester to here.”
“We are getting ready to rig my boat the F/V Sea Siren.
I love this picture because of the American flag.”
Cod Fishing on the Grand Banks:
“We spent six months out there. Six months without a shower and eating cod every day. At four in the morning we’d go out on the dories. At around three in the afternoon the boats would be called back to the mothership. Everyone would bring in the fish that they caught. After we’d take out the fish on the mothership and the whole crew, all 80 fishermen would process the fish. Split and salt the cod without any breaks. It didn’t matter how much time we’d been out there.”
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