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23rd January 2021, 04:36 PM
#1
fishing boats
never went to sea in a fishing boat ...always fancied but things always got in the way ....i see tom you mention queenie boats .....were they short trips what was feeding like ....and most of all was the money any good overall...as i realise the weather and bad luck can be a prob ......how many hands did they carry ...if you have a minute i would find it interestingas a guy recently passed asked me if i was interested in having a share in a prawn boat a few years ago ....which i refused as i had my share of businness good and bad ...and just didnt want harrasment again
i know ivan trawled for a while are there any other fishermen aboard ....can remember the drifters coming down the tyne with a sternsail always in red to keep there head into the wind but they were always colliding with other vessels i think drink had been taken...... i am interested in that life ....the nearest i ever got to small boats was a barley ketch in oz but never even got to sea in it ,,,,,,that is a story in itself but never mind ...regards cappy
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23rd January 2021, 06:18 PM
#2
Re: fishing boats
Originally Posted by
cappy
never went to sea in a fishing boat ...always fancied but things always got in the way ....i see tom you mention queenie boats .....were they short trips what was feeding like ....and most of all was the money any good overall...as i realise the weather and bad luck can be a prob ......how many hands did they carry ...if you have a minute i would find it interestingas a guy recently passed asked me if i was interested in having a share in a prawn boat a few years ago ....which i refused as i had my share of businness good and bad ...and just didnt want harrasment again
i know ivan trawled for a while are there any other fishermen aboard ....can remember the drifters coming down the tyne with a sternsail always in red to keep there head into the wind but they were always colliding with other vessels i think drink had been taken...... i am interested in that life ....the nearest i ever got to small boats was a barley ketch in oz but never even got to sea in it ,,,,,,that is a story in itself but never mind ...regards cappy
hi cappy
i never set out to go on a fishing boat, it just happened, when i was just turned fourteen i was always fighting in the street and at home, generally because everyone else was, but anyway i was getting a hard time from my elder brother a merchant seaman whom was about all your ages now,twelve years in fact, which was a lot ,
a mate of mine had been on holiday to the isle of man with his family the year before, and what he told me prompted me to go and find out myself.
i ended up in ramsey, literally walking along the town quay, and spoke to one of the fishermen, he said if i would like to come out the next day he would see how it went,there was only the skipper and me so thats how it started.
i liked it i cannot tell you why but i did, so i worked with him for a while and got my sea legs, and slept on the boat.
he was only out for the day so plenty of free time.
anyway i eventually moved onto a brand new stern trawler (queenie boat,) money and food was ok, we would go out for a three to five days, docking in northern ireland most times home port was ramsey but work port was port st mary i loved it on that boat. that was the one that came fast on a undersea object. skipper always said it was a submarine, i have no reason now or then to doubt it.
as for drink and fishermen, i found them no worse or better than merchant navy men whom i went on to sail with both on the trawlers and the merchant navy, and there was only through drink one time i had to go back in to our own port ( lowestoft ) because two idiots tried to drink the compass fluid, and left the boat in a unsafe position. oh
the big thing for fishermen was that in all hull, fleetwood, lowestoft. etc which i have personal knowledge, is that where merchant seaman go ashore and have a drink, in those towns i have listed the fishermen owned their towns and you couldnt possibly understand or even suspect or reason what we where able to do.
tom
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23rd January 2021, 06:57 PM
#3
Re: fishing boats
Originally Posted by
thomas michael
hi cappy
i never set out to go on a fishing boat, it just happened, when i was just turned fourteen i was always fighting in the street and at home, generally because everyone else was, but anyway i was getting a hard time from my elder brother a merchant seaman whom was about all your ages now,twelve years in fact, which was a lot ,
the big thing for fishermen was that in all hull, fleetwood, lowestoft. etc which i have personal knowledge, is that where merchant seaman go ashore and have a drink, in those towns i have listed the fishermen owned their towns and you couldnt possibly understand or even suspect or reason what we where able to do.
tom
interesting how we make a decision in our youth and it stays in our minds but is not what we might do for the rest of our lives.thanks for the info .......
Last edited by Doc Vernon; 23rd January 2021 at 07:39 PM.
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23rd January 2021, 07:03 PM
#4
Re: fishing boats
Originally Posted by
cappy
interesting how we make a decision in our youth and it stays in our minds but is not what we might do for the rest of our lives.thanks for the info .......
hi cappy
the wife has just imformed me that the lockdown maybe increased for a further ten weeks.
tom
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23rd January 2021, 07:09 PM
#5
Re: fishing boats
Originally Posted by
thomas michael
hi cappy
the wife has just imformed me that the lockdown maybe increased for a further ten weeks.
tom
well i can sure do without that.....but can only play the cards we getcappy
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23rd January 2021, 07:17 PM
#6
Re: fishing boats
Originally Posted by
cappy
well i can sure do without that.....but can only play the cards we getcappy
hi cappy
thats another saying of mine when you get dealt a hand, you have to pick it up and play it.
tom
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24th January 2021, 09:36 AM
#7
Re: fishing boats
Talking about cards can’t remember if put here or not. Every wednesday in village have a Bingo night with dinner. There must be a principle here somewhere. For every pint of beer you buy you get 2 free raffle tickets for cutting the Ace of Spades. We had the winning ticket and I sent the wife up to cut the pack. Wonders of wonders she cut the ace of spades. The prize was $840 which she immediately put in her handbag . Dilemma who legally has a right to this money , the raffle tickets were mine and I had to suffer drinking the beer to achieve this $840 ? JS
PS I reckon I’ve been talking in my sleep about Lloyd’s open form and she’s been taking notes that possession is 9 points of the law. Especially as have only received 10% up to now. JS
Last edited by j.sabourn; 24th January 2021 at 11:22 AM.
R575129
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25th January 2021, 03:22 AM
#8
Re: fishing boats
Well John, to a point she is correct, possession being 9/10th of the law.
But it could be a case of marital accomplishment where a spouce has the ability to take from a partner that which they do not have the right to on the understanding that any effort of the other party to retrieve the afore mentioned goods will be put into a situation where all services will be withdrawn.
So the ability to cook, do your own dhobi and make your bunk will come in very handy should you proceed with any attempt to retrieve the loss.
Good luck in any attempt mate.
Happy daze John in Oz.
Life is too short to blend in.
John Strange R737787
World Traveller
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25th January 2021, 06:00 AM
#9
Re: fishing boats
Everybody is now flying their blue ensigns outside their front doors . Have decided a white sheet will have to suffice. JS
R575129
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27th January 2021, 11:21 PM
#10
Re: fishing boats
I worked on side trawlers out of Lowestoft in the sixties between deep sea merchant trips. Boston Deep Sea Fisheries and Hobsons Trawlers.
We fished the North Sea from Dogger to German Bight, trips would be approximately 15 to 20 days depending on the catch. The average tow
was two and a half hours, after hauling, the net usually had to be repaired and shot immediately. If the damage was extensive we'd shoot the spare
trawl, then gut and sort the catch to be stowed in the pounds with crushed ice, (which had to be chopped and crushed with a felling axe about 6 days
into the expedition) and repair the damaged net. Then you could catch a bit of sleep unless it was your turn on the wheel or time for "up trawl" then we'd
haul in the bag and do the same thing again. Hauling was done with vessel sideways to the wind or tide, so in poor weather it could be very wet work.
That was basically the job, very hard work for up to 3 weeks at a stretch. There's a lot of heavy gear banging around on a trawl deck and many serious
accidents were the result of fatigue, as is still the case today. Care of the catch was paramount. One skipper, if he saw anyone carelessly
mishandling a fish, he'd scream in pain wring his cap in his hands and do a sort of a jig. Still now, when I see a fishmonger carelessly toss a
piece of prime cod I point out to them and everyone in the shop how it got there. Then I walk out.
When traveling always I've marveled at the infinite variety of designs developed for unique fishing methods but also to handle the different sea conditions. North Sea
trawlers are fine examples of this, there are unique designs for all nations fishing those waters. The North Sea can be very dangerous with not a lot of sea-room. In
bad weather, with wind over tide the seas are short but high and can snatch the gear from the sea bed, missing fish or turning it over making fishing impossible.
There were two methods of riding a storm. Laying and Dodging. Laying had the boat side ways on to the the weather riding up and down from trough to peak. Skipper and
a man on the wheel everyone else turned in. Dodging meant riding each wave as it came head on, Skipper, a man on the telegraph and one on the wheel, pretty scary
to begin with. We were in the North Sea in February 1965 when Boston Pioneer, FD96, was lost with all hands, we spent several days on a search pattern until a Nimrod located
their capsized life boat, then of course we had to make up for lost fishing time. The food was great, never heard a complaint; real mess tucker, fresh bread every 4 days,
mixed deep fried fish for breakfast every morning. Accommodation was a large saloon with rows of 2 tier bunks and a mahogany table with deep fillets. It wasn't practical for the company to
supply mattresses, the Lowestoft men had their own, I always slept on spare cod-e netting. Always a nice warm fug of a coal fire, diesel, disinfectant, bilges and the air blue
with Boars Head tobacco. Bloody lovely! No one had time for the merchant seaman's obsession with personal hygiene. It was work and sleep boys.
We wore all wool trousers, jumpers and sea boot stockings, wool is very good insulation when wet, 1 size too big, thigh boots, a large oilskin frock and sou'wester.
The boot soles used to get worn down on sea shells and debris, so we used to cut fresh treads that were more efficient than the original Dunlop design.
After 3 weeks tossing around out there you were so used to balancing on the moving deck and negotiating all the hazards, that as soon as you stepped on the dock you
began to stagger, it could last for several days. People used to avoid us thinking we were pissed, which some of us weren't. On standby you stayed at the Royal
National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen. Those were the days of trade union struggles T and G, not Seamans Union, the mission were always on the side of the bosses,
the fishermen hated them, but they were the only place the company would pay for digs. They used to lock the doors half an hour before closing time! Needless to say we
were paid a pittance. We were given a raffia bag with a few fish. Some would sell it, most used to give it away, we'd seen enough fish. The fishermen I worked with were fine
men who would always support others out of work or blacklisted. The work and lack of sleep was diabolical of course, but I must say I can't think of a finer place to be at 4-am
than on the trawl deck, in good blow, with rain in it. After a winter season in the North Sea, the 8 till 12 to Abadan on a Norwegian tanker, was a cross between a 5 star hotel and a hospital.
Well; that's how I remember it.
Konrad Fredericks AB.
London
Discharge book R 808730
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