Tyler Fields and NorthWest20

mystic (2)HelenMcCollBowThose of us lucky to have been able to spend time in Newport, Or., probably know this boat in the picture below, even if they don’t know much about her. Her name is the Helen McCall, and she was an unusual boat for these parts; she had been built to participate in the Maine sardine fishery, but somehow her owners had made their way to the Pacific. She’s a wooden boat and I’m not sure when she was built, but it was a long time ago, especially by the standards of how long wooden boats last.

She hasn’t fished in awhile and now she’s out of the water, continuing to deteriorate. The hull will be burned one of these days and piece of Oregon fisheries history will be gone.

But we’ll have these pictures, and the other pictures on this page as well, because all sorts of people are interested in fisheries history and one of them is an Oregon State University history senior with a passion for both boats and history. As Tyler Fields puts it:

Northwest Twenty started before I could tie my own shoes. My father and I would spend endless hours walking the docks of fishing towns up and down the coasts of Oregon and Washington. We would stop and watch boats slip past the buoys and slowly out of sight. Once the calm of the harbor returned, we would continue down the dock until another boat caught our eyes. More often than not, a quick question asked of a deckhand would lead me into the wheel house and, if even for a moment, the chance to feel like a captain.
Over the last twenty four years, my love and passion for boats has led me from rivers to oceans and kayaks to the decks of a tall ship. Northwest Twenty is my attempt to share those memories and experiences. Through photography, I want to take you to the end of the dock, onto the deck of a trawler, and behind the wheel in a rolling pilot house.

Frames with Frames, Sheers in Shots, and Lines through lenses


TuginRiggin (2)

Check out Tyler’s blog at:

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