Georgia Shrimp Boats...Working Art in Motion

Well, it feels as if we are into the dog days of summer and it is only the first part of July.  We should be totally deep fried by August and then burnt to a crisp by the end of September!  In all honesty, I prefer this to snow...this girl can't handle the cold anymore.  Well enough of that, I was trying to think of a topic for today and as I was coming over the Sidney Lanier Bridge I saw a few shrimp boats heading out for the day and I thought that's perfect!  I love photographing the old wooden shrimp boats.  They have personality, if they could talk; the stories they could tell:

This photo was taken probably eight years ago or better when the Brunswick City Dock was full of the shrimp boats that helped build the culture of Brunswick.  This particular bunch of boats caught my eye because of the first one...the Himroid.  Which is how I feel about my husband's boat and it isn't a shrimp boat or any near as big!  The Himroid sank in the Brunswick River not far from the Sidney Lanier Bridge.

       

 The photo on the left is an old one also of the Dock behind Knights Seafood.  I don't believe any of these three are still in service.  The Sunrise shot is in Darien and I am happy to say I have seen both of these boats recently.

 This is a shot of part of the shrimp fleet in Darien.

This boat The Mary B was once owned by Jeff Brannen and was named after his wife Mary.  Mary had asked me a few years ago to photograph this boat and it seemed I could never find it while it was out working.  Then this spring I was out on Jekyll in the early morning and there she was.  I met Mary's son at one of the festivals and he bought this picture for his Mom.  I later found out that Mary passed away that night after a hard battle with cancer.

On that same morning I also was able to photograph this boat the Gambler as it passed by Little Cumberland Island.  The Gambler is currently docked in Woodbine, Georgia and is still currently shrimping.

Here is the Miss Harley shrimping of the coast of St. Simons Island.  She is no longer in service.  The other is the Kevin and Bryan along the shoreline of Jekyll Island, they came in so close I thought I could climb on board.  The Kevin and Bryan is docked in Darien and I believe it is still in service.

 I find the wooden shrimp boats very interesting, a piece of working art.  I find it very peaceful watching them heading out in the early morning.  I realize it is a lot of hard work for the people that work these boats.  This one is the Hard Times heading out past Jekyll.  I think the name says it all.  The price of fuel going up, imported shrimp running the prices down, high cost of insurance and the long hard days can make for some Hard Times.

And all to often they meet their demise, some times just wear and tear, the carelessness of others, the victim of unseen sandbars or they fall prey to the ocean....

 The Sunhippie was originally out of Key West, Florida but wound up on the hill in Brunswick to be scuttled.  She looks as though she put in many years of service.

 

The Capt JW was at the dock, when another boat came in and pushed against the pylons and she sank and was later stripped down of all valuable parts and she eventually wound up in the same heap as the Cobia shown below.

  I was told at one of the Art Shows, where I get to meet many of the people who work and own these boats, that the Captain of the Cobia had a heart attack, wound up running aground and passed away.

This last one is All that Remains of the south end of Jekyll of the shrimp boat the Marianne.  Well, this is just a small collection of some of the shrimp boats I have photographed.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  Keep the shrimpers and their families in your prayers and remember friends don't let friends eat imported shrimp.  Wild caught sweet Georgia shrimp Only!!