Preview: Beautiful West Coast Fishing Boats, PACIFIC – A Retired Halibut Longliner

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Climb aboard the F.V. PACIFIC, a retired halibut longliner, to meet Don Macmillan who successfully fished her for many years; and now sails her as a cruising boat modified for family use.

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42 Responses So Far to “Beautiful West Coast Fishing Boats, PACIFIC – A Retired Halibut Longliner”

  • Brent Williams says:

    Awesome, another beautiful boat. There is a lot to be said for simplicity, a lot of times that’s the best. You can have all your electronics they are nice. If you can’t navigate by charts and compass, your electronics are useless when they crash or fail.

    Brent,

  • Jon Crawfurd says:

    Loved this video! The owner and the boat are both exceptional!

  • Chris Heape says:

    Fabulous! Thank you so much, I learnt a great deal! I am familiar with Cornish fishing, and this fills out a whole new chapter for me. I have come a cross bits and pieces before, but it all fits in nom. GREAT!

  • Peter Ivers says:

    What a wonderful boat and some of the beauty of this boat is the history attached to it.. The Viking way to build a vessel by eye and feel, if it looks good and it feels right it works. love the final comment, “Not on my watch”… Thanks again OCH…from down under…

  • Conbert Benneck says:

    Thanks for explaining how long-line fishing is accomplished. Reading about “fishing boats” is one thing; but you never get an explanation as how the whole process worked. Thanks for your most interesting description. You’ve widened my horizon.

  • Kathleen Roach says:

    She is beautiful and perfect as she is. Thanks for sharing her and her history.

  • Tony Grove says:

    Beautiful boat and story about west-coast fishing.

    • Eric Blake says:

      She’s one of the most epically gorgeous boats I have ever seen

  • John Swansey says:

    Bravo! Really attests to the “soul” boats can have, and why some of us are drawn to them.

  • Michael Raddell says:

    28 skates, 1,800 ft per skate. 28×1800=50,400
    50,400/5,280(1mile in ft)=9.54 miles! that’s unbelievable, no wonder they are called longliners

  • john huntingford says:

    that old wagner gear was built to last forever.

  • Ian Anderson says:

    Thankyou for yet another beautiful vid. Don’s commentary style and content exceeds anything you could hope for from a media professional! Any chance you could revisit Pacific in a year or two so we can keep up with her wonderful story? If she goes missing, I will have kidnapped her to Tasmania . A perfect fit…

  • Thomas Morgan says:

    Absolutely beautiful and a most interesting owner

  • David Calloway says:

    Wonderful. The man and his boat really belong together. Kudos

  • Robert Baird says:

    I will never forget cruising on Pacific with Michael & Debbie McMenemey. I am moved by Don and his family’s commitment to Pacific. She truly is a gem! Thanks OCH for a great video!

  • Ronald Coddington says:

    Big thanks to you guys and Don Macmillan for this great video. Excellent description of the fishing life this boat was designed for. I can see how powerful those fishermen must have been to haul in and process those huge halibut, fish after fish, etc. for hours. And today, what a great cruiser Pacific is. We can see from the photos how she runs a bit down at the bow due to the loss of the equipment weight in the stern. But otherwise a beautiful boat. And we old guys forget how long ago 1970 was. This is an old boat well kept. The interior views call to mind cruising in the fifties and sixties aboard my Dad’s old wooden Chris Craft and others along the way. So glad some folks are able to bring that era back with these old wood trimmed out beauties. Thanks again guys. Keep up the good work.
    Ron Coddington

  • David Young says:

    I have to congratulate you guys on the quality of this video. Don’t get me wrong, Pacific is a fabulous and a tribute to the taste of Maynard, Mike, Debbie and her current owner. She is nonpareil. But I don’t know how many of our subscribers appreciate the combination of videography and editing that make a piece like this so compelling. You are doing an inestimable favor to the all the great wooden boats that deserve preservation as works of art and craft for future generations.

      • Kit Laughlin says:

        I could not agree more. Probably my all-time favourite OCH video, so far. A true short documentary. Sincere thanks to Don and Eric, and the behind-the-scenes production team.

  • Jason i Jablonski says:

    Thank you for another great, informative video! I also found great interest in learning how the boat and gear were used. Great story of Don and his obvious deep connection with a nicely done, solid boat. These videos are a relaxing way to start a day.

  • Doug Simpson says:

    What a beautiful boat! She certainly has the right owner. Don don’t change a thing! Great video and really enjoyed the history and pictures of her fishing days.

  • Anthony Caruana says:

    Watching this just made my day and I let out a cheer at Don’s closing sentence.

  • Paul Stephens says:

    Wonderful video, really nostalgic. I didn’t want the presentation to stop. I have a 1971 Nauticat and it has given me some ideas. Keep them coming.

  • Chris Noto says:

    Great boat and a great story, emblematic of their time, well told. Thanks, as always, OCH. And thanks, too, to Tobi Elliott, for her part in this production.

  • Don McMillan says:

    She’s a real beauty thanks for shearing Her. I like the captians name . Sincerely Don McMillan

  • Joseph Zawodny says:

    Thank you for this wonderful presentation. As a young boy off the coast of New Jersey my summers were spent on boats like this. Not as big, but workboats nevertheless. This is the kind of presentation that makes me so nostalgic. Keep finding boats like this. I am glad I am a member of OCH.

  • eric pomber says:

    A great boat and story they reflect all that is special about a wooden boat and the sea. Thanks to the OCH team for another winner.

  • John Simlett says:

    Real boat, real people, marvelous video. Thanks Eric, Steve and the team. The emphasis on utility and simplicity is almost a rule on how live a real life – taken me 80 years to find out.

    This is one of your top videos, I think, not that they aren’t all great

  • Alex Zimmerman says:

    A no-nonsense boat that is wonderfully fit for purpose, but also has great lines and proportions.

  • Robert Collier says:

    Another HOME RUN from Off Center Harbor! ‘Just oozes that boating feeling that pulls all of us to the sea—
    Bob Collier

  • peter strietmann says:

    This says it all…

    “Change this or change that, not gonna happen on my watch.”

    -Don Macmillan

    • William McCaffrey says:

      Great story, boat and fisherman! Glad boats like this have a Sea Shepard that can take proper care of her. Job well done Don!

  • Doug Bell says:

    No joke, that boat is fantastic. Tough, strong and safe. It is to the Pacific Northwest coast as the Lobster boat is to the Atlantic Northeast. I was mesmerized listening to the captain explain the long-line and giving us the tour. I’m headed out to Port Townsend this weekend to meet my wife and spend a week looking around. Can’t wait. I’ll be looking for “Pacific.” Thanks!

  • Jim Van den berg says:

    I also started my day with this video, great boat, wonderful love the functionality, robust seems like a mild term to describe the boat. Im totally impressed by the boat the skipper and a well done video

  • Kathryn Gillenwater says:

    Thank you, Eric. What a beautiful boat. I started my day with your video, your voice and much excitement for what our future holds. Hello to all and hugs to your family.

    Kathryn Gillenwater

  • Philip Myer says:

    Now that is a real boat, with a wonderful, quietly spoken but oh so knowledgable skipper- thanks Eric and Steve, the video along with the boat just oozes Pacific Northwest character.

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