A mackerel schooner sails in early spring morning fog as another schooner silently disappears into the misty background. The smell of brine is heavy in the chilly air as the ship´s dory secures the beginning of the net from the seine boat, whose crew of ten begins "tossing the twine" in a methodical effort to encircle the day´s catch. Blossom´s experiences a board sailing vessels have provided him with a sensitivity to the moods of the unpredictable and sometimes tempestuous nautical environment.