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.