Urk

In the small Dutch fishing harbour of Urk, the modern-day world, with its fishing quotas, mechanisation, hi-tech computers and increasingly fierce foreign competition, has transformed many aspects of life. Yet, some of the age-old customs persist. The boats stop work on Sundays, the fishermen still wear the town’s emblem earring and sing in the choir, even though the blare of pop music is to be heard. The women work in the fisheries, and the fisherman’s life is handed down from father to son, despite the tempestuous North Sea and the loss of young lives. Pride, faith and fatalism prevail. As one fisherman says, “I never leave home without saying goodbye, because if you lose your life at sea, your mother would always regret not having heard that goodbye.” And when tragedy strikes, the whole Urk fleet unites in a recovery mission, and Urkers mourn the loss of another son.