This is another great Martinac Boat and part of Joe Madruga’s fleet. In this picture, they were off Point Loma doing a trial set prior to setting out on its maiden voyage
Conqueror
First Photo!
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Well, they say that everything has a beginning. For me, It was this photo I took of the Dominator, in San Pedro while unloading. At the time, I was aboard the Proud Heritage and it was around 1975-76. Who would have thought I would eventually end up with over 1,000 photos of the fleet? Hobbies start at the weirdest time!!!
Jeanette Diana, Jeanette
Joe Finette owner. The Jeanette Diana was a high liner one of the top boats in the fleet ,for years .Unfortunalty the boat sank unexpectly in the western pacific , thank the good lord everybody was rescued . Jeanette is now Joes boat, it is the old Elizabeth CJ .My late cousin simply put it this way about Mr. Finette , he is the “nicest man you will ever meet”
Enough said…
Constitution…
The Constitution (later known as the Mariner) was another great boat of its time. At the helm was a great skipper and man, Joe Daluz. Joe was a top skipper for many years and had a great passion for it. Not many men could say they caught more fish than Joe. The Constitution was where his heart was, and I’m proud to call him my friend.
Gina Anne
Back in the good old days, Gina Anne, was tied up at the embarcadero. In it’s day, the Gina Anne was probably the fastest boat in the fleet due to twin engines. Later, it was named the Yolanda Z.
Merry Christmas…
Merry Christmas, To all in the Tuna Fleet around the world. I apologize for the delay in my post.
I have been going thru some personal hardship due to a death in my family; I will be back posting after the New Year …
Campbells Shipyard…
The San Diego Campbell San Diego
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| Elizabeth C.J later named Maria C.J |
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| Uncle Louie |
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| Margaret Z |
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| Hornet III |
The Tuna Industries impact on San Diego
When the tuna boat fleet left San Diego, not only did the boats leave but so did thousands of jobs. Like Campbell’s shipyard, the Tuna canneries, to the hundreds of little shops that worked on tuna boat related items. Such as fuel docks, supply stores, food, and even the little deli that use to supply the lunches for the crews. I personally remember driving down Shelter Island and taking my dads navigation sextant to the shop; Baker marine to get it serviced (yeah they didn’t always have computers, navigators really used to work) and right across the street was Mauricio and sons where the boats would bring there skiffs to get fixed. There were businesses like that all over San Diego. But back to the canaries, you had Van Camps and Bumble Bee , Westgate, starkest where each place employed around 3,000 people.
I could only guess at how many jobs Campbell’s and San Diego Marine shipyards employed due to the tuna boats. It’s safe to say San Diego lost thousands of jobs when the Tuna industry left San Diego. There were estimations of around 30,000 to 40,000 jobs. You didn’t need to be Portuguese or Italian to work in the industry, simply put if you were in San Diego in the 70’s or early 80’s somebody you knew worked in the industry. It is just a shame it’s gone. Below are photos of what our waterfront use to look like…
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| Cabrillo/ Top Wave |
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| Mermaid |
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| Gann Discoverer/ Jeannine |
Ed Gann
Simply put you can’t talk about the San Diego Tuna Fleet without the name of Ed Gann. He was a monster, his boats were always beautiful, and some of the most modern. He owned somewhere around 52 boats in his lifetime. Although I did not personally know him but I am lucky to say I knew his niece and if he was anything like her he must have been a great guy. We lost Mr. Gann this year as we have lost a number of icons in the fleet. He will always be known as one of the greatest in the tuna fleet worldwide…
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| Capt Vincent Gann |
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| Bold Adventures (1st one) |
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| Bold Fleet |
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| Bold Adventures |
Good Times!
As I’m going through some tough times in my personal life I sit back and think when that happens you always end up thinking about the past and reminisce. And when I think about how things were with the fleet in San Diego
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