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Blackburn, Howard

The following quote is from "A biography of the fish that change the world: COD", by Mark Burlansky, page 116:

-- "But the most famous Nova Scotian doryman was Howard Blackburn, who immigrated to Gloucester. On January 23, 1883 Blackburn and his dory mate rowed away from their ship to longline halibut and became lost in a snowstorm. His mate froze to death but Blackburn shaped his fingers around the oars so that he would still be able to row after he lost feeling on his hands. He row 100 miles and reached Newfoundland with the frozen corpse of his mate on the stern. Although the misadventure cost him all fingers and most of his toes, he went on to sea in a sloops designed for his disability, set a thirty-nine-day, one-man Gloucester-to-Lisbon record, and even rowed the Florida cost with oars strapped to his wrists.--

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