Page 116 - Bulletin 8 2004
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and 234 coloured fisherman. It is interesting to note here that there were no black fishermen
in Kalk Bay at the time.
Because of motorisation larger and heavier boats were being built, but they were still
designed to be sailed. They were fitted with a mast and a small low deck-house above
which the boom carrying the mainsail could swing freely. When not under sail the boom,
with sail furled around it, would typically be lain centrally fore and aft and lashed to the top
of the deckhouse – producing the typical profile of the small motor fishing boat. (Fig. 3.9).
The emergence of the Kelvin 14 hp engines and the new deck boats meant that fishing
vessels could venture further from port, and life became more bearable for the skipper and
the crewmen. It took approximately two hours from Kalk Bay to the fishing grounds at
Cape Point.
The breakwater provided only partial protection to the fleet as the seas could still sweep in
from the open north side. (Fig. 3.10). So, some twenty years after completion of the
breakwater, in 1939, the new North Mole and wooden jetty were constructed in order to
provide a fully protected harbour. This also allowed for more mooring space. (Figs. 3.11 &
3.12).
Boat-owners and Skippers
Many families have been prominent as boat-owners and skippers. The now-established
Fernandez family, Leon Klein, the Ferreiras, the Michaels, the Edwards, the Fish family,
the Trimmel Bros., the Gomez family, the Cozyns, the Fortune family, the Williams,
Jameson, and Poggenpoel families, the Orgills, the Clarence family, the Emandiens,
Almazans, the Eckeles, the Erispes, the Sasmans, the Teichards, and others – all of them
kept the fishing industry alive and would create employment for hundreds of fishers in the
years to follow. The majority of fishermen came from the Kalk Bay area as well as from the
Simon’s Town, Red Hill, Glencairn, Noordhoek and Kommetjie areas. Some of the most