John Verissimo

Saving Sully: Tales of a New England Fisherman John Verissimo

This is a story about people and personalities not about regulations. I was lucky to have met many different personalities along the way in my career. Fishermen are no different than they were back in the whaling days, just modern men and women in today's world on the ocean. I worked as a fisherman for twenty- three years spending part of the time in the off shore fishery and inshore as well. We all know that the people doing this job spend long days and nights working in conditions unheard of to your average person. Having said that, it takes a special person to do this and in my opinion you just can't help but respect that person for the everyday adventure they take on out there. We all lost many friends over the years and have seen enough of the Seaman's Bethel. But I would like to share some of the experiences I had along the way and some of the unforgettable people I was proud to call friends. I like short stories. That's why I have written in this manner. I was hoping to give you a different look, not just the hard and bad times, but some of the fun ones as well. Some of the people became like family to me. I hope you enjoy this handful of stories. I have many more to tell.