NEWPORT BEACH : Exhibit Tells Tale of Dory Fishermen

Decades of seaside tales are housed inside the tiny, sky-blue building that holds the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum, and the latest exhibit there tells perhaps the oldest tale the city has to offer, that of its famed dory fisherman.

Lining the walls and filling glass display cases are photos and findings of the nation’s last dory fleet, re-creating the story since its beginnings in Newport Beach 100 years ago.

This year marks the centennial of the dory fishermen--named for the small, flat-bottomed boats with flaring sides--who have operated in the waters near the Newport Pier since before the pier was there. The show is celebrating that tradition as part of the city’s annual SeaFest activities.

“In calm or stormy weather, you’ll find their small boats putting out there through roaring surf before daybreak, sometimes going out as far as 10 miles,” reads the text of a Los Angeles Times photo essay dated Aug. 4, 1940, that stands at the forefront of the colorful and informative exhibit.

Faded, rough-edged postcards dating to the early 1900s and the bustling 1920s surround the newspaper clipping, with greetings from the fishermen in their boats and in front of the fish store by the pier.

Snapshots and text tell the history of the craft in Newport Beach, from its beginnings on a former American Indian fish-trading post to its current role in catching fresh fish for shoppers and nearby restaurants.

The exhibit describes how in the early days of the century, fishermen would row out before dawn to “secret” spots in the ocean and await the morning’s westerly wind to sail them home after a few hours at sea.

The pictures show crews of men, wives and children waiting at shore, lugging the small, brightly colored wooden dories back onto the sand, where the fishermen would unload their catch while the rest of the family cleaned the fish and prepared them for sale.

Today, fishermen continue to rise in the wee hours of the morning and head out to the ocean, where they stand in their homemade boats, bait up to 1,500 hooks and drop nets the old-fashioned way. But in the face of technology, they have changed some traditions.

The 40-year-old blue wooden boat on display at the exhibit has little in common with the fiberglass, motor-powered dories used today. Pictures of Jeeps and four-wheel drive trucks show how the boats are now pulled onto shore.

The show also explains that while fishermen of days past relied on their memories to find their favorite fishing spot, their modern counterparts use computerized systems to set the course.

Still, as the exhibit shows, the dory fishermen still hold on to some traditions to the letter. They remain a close-knit clan of about a dozen or so men whose families and relatives make up the core of the group.

Also, their creed--to sell fish slightly below market prices--remains, as does the 100-year-old tradition of operating the group through a democratic council. Each fisherman gets a vote on all issues, ranging from the selling price of the fish to who can join the group if a member decides to sell his boat and leave.

The exhibit also tells of the city’s interest in preserving the fishermen by ensuring their rights to the land near the pier in 1967 and declaring the area a historical landmark in 1969.

“We try to do exhibits that present the history of the harbor,” said Catherine Nash, executive director of the museum. “It’s important to preserve the history. . . . They’ve been doing it for 100 years.”

The museum, which is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, will carry the exhibit through November.--LISA MASCARO