Posts

Posted on

Uncle Rollie

I think everybody has a uncle that you loved and were a little scared of at times. In my family that was uncle Rollie. He did have a heart of gold but if you crossed him, you better get out of the way.
Boy did he catch his fish as a captain and then as a boat owner. He started as a captain on the Liberty Bell, to the Neptune then to the Cape Cod and the Ana Maria. Uncle Rollie one of the first to go fish in Africa with the Neptune and later the Cape Cod. He owned the Mary Lucille which was the old Louis Seaver. Later after he did well with the Mary Lucille and fixed it up as nice as he could the unthinkable happened, it sanked.

He then bought the City of Lisbon and renamed it the “new” Mary Lucille. I was young when uncle rollie was running the boats so I do have a few memories but one of the funniest memories I have was when the first Mary Lucille was coming in to customs.  If you’ve ever been to customs it use to be at the end of broadway pier. Well there just about getting ready to throw the lines to tie the boat up when “Prince“ decides to go for it. Prince was my uncles German Sheppard, you know the type with a head the size of a horse weighing about 100 lbs it seemed. Well Prince saw the familys on the dock and decided to jump he did so good except he was about 2 feet short. Into the bay Prince went. Well after all the screaming and yelling they plucked Prince out of the water. Here comes the funny part. Whenver a boat would come to customs so did a harbor police it seemed. Well this cop decided to stop and get out, but he maded one mistake leaving his door open. Yeah Prince thought it would be great to jump into the front seat and shake it all off. he just sat there and wouldn’t move. Ofcourse their was more yelling and screaming and maybe a ticket I don’t remember all I do remember was Prince was wet and he wanted to dry off in the police car.
The boat got cleared at custums they moved the boat and we went home with a story that the whole family still remembers. Uncle Rollie soon retired from fishing and has know moved on to heaven. He will never be forgotten. God Bless you Uncle Rollie your missed ….

Posted on

Zolezzi’s Fleet

The Zolezzi family was another family with multiple boats in the fleet and also their own fuel dock. Many of my father’s trips either began or ended at that fuel dock. The Marietta and Mary Antoinette may have been relatively small boats but they sure did catch a lot of fish…
Lone Wolf
 
 
 
Mary Antonette                                                                                     Marietta
Jeannine
Posted on

Castagnola’s Fleet

The Castagnola Family was another respected fishing family who owned some of the most prominent boats in the fleet and may I add some of the best looking boats too.

Antonina C.

Uncle Louie

Andrea C.
Conte Bianco
Posted on

Mr. Madruga: a Legend

Growing up in the tuna fleet there were always people to meet and places to see but there were a group of people that were above the rest, and one of those was Joe Madruga. He was a power in the tuna industry. Fortunately I got to know him very well when my cousin married one of his sons Matt. Mr. Madruga owned a total of 14 boats and as many as 6 at one time. The Madrugador, Conquest, Frontier, Montana to name a few. The Thing about Mr.Madruga was that he deserved respect but you were just at awe of him. I personally never called him by his first name, he was just Mr.Madruga to me. When he would walk in the door with his cigar and cowboy hat I just found myself like a kid in a candy store. If you got lucky and he was talking about fishing that was even better and I would always try and sit and listen to his stories. You see we only have our elders for a short time before there gone and we need to be a sponge and get everything we can learn from them. Life’s short and unfortunately Mr. Madruga has now moved on but he’s in a special place in heaven. I am very lucky to have known Mr. Madruga who was a legend in the tuna fleet and to be lucky to have listened to him tell his stories. The tuna fleet was stronger because of men like Mr. Madruga, God rest his soul.

The attached picture is just one of many boats owned by Mr. Madruga.

Posted on

Lost a day but gained a lifetime.

Sometimes you hear a story and your really not sure how much it will stick with you and then 30 years later you are still talking about it. On one trip my father came home on the Aquarius and said we could have arrived a day earlier but had slowed the boat down. I of course asked him why like any son would. He told me that there was a hurricane on his tail and he could have made it in front with no problem, in fact another boat filled up at the same time and continued on the same course and made it home safely. My father weighed all the options and said “what happens if something goes wrong with the boat we would be a sitting target for that storm”. So dad slowed down and took the long way home behind the storm and then on to San Diego. Yeah they may have arrived later but he then said a line to me that stuck forever. “I may have lost a day but I gained a lifetime”. I guess I kind of live that way myself. The fastest way isn’t always the safest or best way…

The attached picture is of the Aquarius making it into the San Diego bay that day.

Posted on

First Post…

All my life, the men in my family have spent their lives on the ocean, my father, uncles and later my cousins and, eventually even myself. The ocean has always been an integral part of our lives. My dad was a navigator for as long as I can remember and he always taught me to respect the ocean since I was a little boy. I’ve always had a passion for pictures of the tuna fleet because of all the memories of watching the men leave and then return after many months away. Many family members anxiously awaited the return of their fathers, husbands, brothers and sons, so their arrival was always treated like a holiday.


When I was young, there was nothing better than to skip school and go down to the boat when my dad was in town, whether it was working on the nets at the Embarcadero and filling the needles as they sewed the nets, or riding on the boat as we moved it from one dock to another while cruising the bay. I also enjoyed the trips to San Pedro with the other guys to unload the boat. It may have only been a six hour trip but when you’re a little boy in the middle of the ocean, your mind starts to wander you begin to understand how Dad might have felt being a fisherman, because it was at those moments that I felt like a fisherman too, and all of those stories my dad had shared with me began to make sense. I also remember the torpedo sandwiches we’d have for lunch or fishing off the side of the boat. But most of all, it was the memories of hanging out with my Dad because when the boats were away, they would be gone for weeks or months at a time. 

On our way to San Pedro on the Proud Heritage..