IT’S just after 2am on a cool November morning in 1977 and the crews of Fremantle’s fishing fleet are slapping through the waves towards WA’s lucrative grounds—except Frank Mazzeo.
Despite being an ambitious young skipper and this being the opening of the season, Mr Mazzeo is curled up in bed with his wife, Filomena. It’s easy to imagine a cheeky grin or two pulling on his face even though he’s sleeping, for he’s about to put a bullet through the fleet.
The bullet is the Aquarius, a leisure boat he’s converted into a trawler that, at 24 knots, is more than twice the speed of any other. It means he can sleep in till 5am and arrive at the fishing grounds before his rivals, and be back home tucking into dinner while they’re still chugging through the night.
“Back then everyone was doing 9 or 10 knots, but the Aquarius did 24 knots,” Mr Mazzeo proudly told the Herald this week, 37 years later. “After that the boats came up—15, 20 knots—and not one of them does less today.”
Born in Tonnarella, Sicily and arriving in Fremantle in 1953, Mr Mazzeo recalls that after the initial dropped-jaw responses to the Aquarius’ speed there was some jealousy. Fishing’s always been a tough, uncompromising business with tough, uncompromising characters, but with the extra speed and reach he was able to keep out of harm’s way.
Aquarius’ star shone brightly but briefly. Four months later she caught fire and Mr Mazzeo and his crew (brother Dominic and brother-in-law Giuseppe) had to abandon ship and be rescued by the Ricciardi family, fishing nearby.
Mr Mazzeo chartered a boat to finish the season but the owner warned he had to meet a prior commitment to take an international act out to see the seals at Carnac Island.
• A good day in the 90s pulling in a massive haul of scallops. Photo supplied
It turned out to be ABBA, who had just hit mega stardom after the release a few months earlier of Fernando. Mr Mazzeo says despite the hysteria, the Swedes were down-to-earth and everyone had a great time (he accidentally copped an eyeful of one “down below” but we’ll not reveal who).
He was invited back to their hotel before that night’s sell-out performance at the entertainment centre and, despite a security guard’s raised eyebrows over the fisherman crashing the biggest band in the world’s party, he soon had them all chowing down on crayfish.
The Aquarius wasn’t Mr Mazzeo’s first major contribution to Fremantle’s fishing industry. He’d used his second boat, Santa Rita, to explore deep water which extended the crayfish season beyond December.
Previously, fishers thought white crayfish disappeared after the season, but Mr Mazzeo dropped a few pots out further and discovered that where rock and coral gave way to a sandy bottom, there were plenty of crays still to be found.
Later he fished the coast around Bunbury and Cape Naturaliste, discovering new red crayfish grounds and was active helping immigrant fishermen get their licences to break into the industry.
He says two other highlights of his career were sailing the Sea Tang from Cairns around the Gulf of Carpentaria and back to Fremantle, and taking a star turn in the Aussie film Justice, which starred Marcus Graham and Kerry Armstrong.
After four decades behind the wheel Mr Mazzeo hung up his skipper’s hat in 2000, but he retains a strong association with the industry through the annual Blessing of the Fleet. He was first invited to join the organising committee in 1965 and he and Nick Visaggio are the only two still active from that era.
This year’s Blessing of the Fleet will open the Fremantle Festival on Sunday October 26. It starts at 9.45am with a mass at St Patrick’s Basilica, followed by a procession to Fishing Boat Harbour at 2pm. There’s a cracker display at the Esplanade reserve at 3.15pm and fireworks at 8pm.