At the helm was Hisakichi Tsutsui, a replacement for the ship’s regular captain, who was ill. Tsutsui, although licensed as a fishing boat captain, was one of the youngest members of the twenty-three-man crew. Most of the men regarded the fishing master Yoshio Misaki as their leader. The Lucky Dragon was heavy and slow, powered by a 250-horsepower engine that was assisted, when the wind was right, by sails carried on two short masts. It was cold, and two days out they struck bad weather that lasted four days. After the storm subsided, Misaki gathered the crew together and told them they were not going south to the calm fishing grounds near the Solomon Islands—as everyone had been told—but were instead making for Midway Island, which was far to the east and known for treacherous seas that grew steep on their long fetch across the open Pacific Ocean. Nobody wanted to go that way, but in the end they agreed with Misaki that the fishing was likely to be better in that direction. The men weren’t paid a straight wage, but instead shared in the proceeds from the catch, so the more fish they brought home the more they would earn.
What do You think about On A Farther Shore (2012)?
