Farewell to a Fishing Legend: Captain Lázaro Larzábal

I couldn't say whether the death of Lázaro, coinciding with that of Pelé, the greatest footballer in history, and Ratzinger, Benedict XVI, the greatest theologian the Church has had in centuries, is a coincidence or the result of divine destiny for three indispensable and irreplaceable men in the development of their activities.

Lázaro Larzábal, alongside Eustaquio Arrinda, can be considered the best captain of the cod fisheries of the Grand Bank, not only for his results but for the application of solutions in pair fishing that are still relevant today in this technological century.

Tough, intuitive, adventurous, practical and analytical, disciplined and a fisherman, or perhaps I should say very disciplined and tremendously passionate about fishing.

I met Lázaro in the Falklands in 1990, the "León Marco VI" had a mutiny on board with the crew facing their captain, he arrived from Spain to Stanley via Punta Arenas, took command, convinced the crew to row together in one last attempt, and in an area unknown to him, with the support of his first officer, he focused on a rugged zone where he marked fish but faced many breaks; in 30 days he loaded 1,200 tons into the freezer and set off for Vigo. His then shipowner, the vilajoiense José León Marco, who also passed away recently, called the adventure a miracle.

"In this fishing world, you only succeed when you are in love with your profession," he told me in August 2018 when I was fortunate enough to meet him and spend a day in Baiona with Lázaro and Rosa García Orellán, the author of his biography, to whom I will never be able to thank enough for giving me the opportunity to meet a living legend at that moment, now elevated to the status of a myth.

In our fishing world, so hermetic and ungrateful, Lázaro, the captain of Newfoundland, will be remembered by those of us who are truly "in love with his profession".

Photo: provided