My grandfather took off all his clothes. Being all he had, he wanted to take care of them. Presumably, there was no National Seashore ranger awaiting shoreside, ticket book in hand as his grandfather emerged jack-naked from the water. We don't exactly know how the senior Mr. Reis got from there to here, but could be, he rowed. Not every doryman who fished the Grand Banks from a mother ship came home.
Seas have a way of rising awfully quick, but out there, the biggest killer was fog.
Probably the most famous doryman of all is Gloucester's Howard Blackburn, who with a fishing buddy found himself in just such a predicament one foggy day on Georges. No way could they find their ship. The snow began to fall, blinding them even further. Seeing as he had little choice in the matter, he let them. Howard's buddy died before they got there, but Blackburn rowed from Georges Bank to Gloucester.