Pushthrough – Research

The Bluenose Schooner

As a Maritime Historian, I have a seafaring passion for writing Historical due to my British/Canadian heritage. I have explored the Canadian Maritimes many times thus far, from the shores of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island to the rocky coasts of Newfoundland, especially “Pushthrough” to St. John’s (2001) for my extensive research. Further research included a transatlantic journey to Great Britain and France, (2009).

I have visited numerous maritime cities, towns, and museums along the entire Atlantic seaboard, specifically St. John’s, Newfoundland, (Signal Hill and St. John’s Memorial Library), Gloucester, Massachusetts and its Schooner Festivals, Mystic Seaport and its whale watches, to Bar Harbor, Maine, Annapolis, Maryland, the Titanic Exhibit at the Mariners Museum of Newport News, Virginia, the Titanic Cemetery of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Lunenburg, Louisbourg, and Peggy’s Cove Light House, Nova Scotia, and have experienced the extreme tides of The Bay of Fundy. During my quest, I explored the town of McCallum, Newfoundland, with investigative research and interviews with the Headmaster of St. Peter’s School, and Captain Albert McDonald, of St. Albans, (formerly of Pushthrough). I met fishermen and children of the French Island, St. Pierre, and last but not least, I hired a private boat to transport us to what now remains of “Pushthrough, Newfoundland.”

Along with my research, I have met the cast of Deadliest Catch, renowned Canadian and American artist, Peter Sculthorpe, and Gloucester’s maritime artist, Jeff Weaver. In 2008, I toured from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Gloucester, Massachusetts to interview Captain Phil Watson of Canada’s prized Bluenose II. I have been privileged to interview in depth, the protagonist and inspiration of Pushthrough, Jeremiah (Jerry) Sutton, 1910.

Note: Jeremiah Sutton is highlighted in the historical non-fiction book Fast and Able, by Gordon W. Thomas, Commonwealth Editions, referenced as loss of life: Jerry (Jeremiah) Sutton Age 30, Native of Hermitage Bay, Newfoundland, drowned from the dory on Grand Bank, July 8^th, 1910. He is also listed among the Fisherman’s Memorial of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Interview with Captain Phil Watson on The Bluenose II, 2008

Jeff Weaver’s “The Pinky Schooner”