Peter, you mention that Alistair Budge was the skipper of Atalanta, can you tell me more as that boat name has never come up in conversation when I have asked about my Grandads fishing history.
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Peter, you mention that Alistair Budge was the skipper of Atalanta, can you tell me more as that boat name has never come up in conversation when I have asked about my Grandads fishing history.
Hi Ally You are not the first one to ask me about this I checked the customs register and Alister was given as skipper of the Atalanta for a short period before he bought the Ajax from Lossiemouth The Atalanta was owned by J Shearer of Thurso but was out on "deal" or hire fairly often to various skippers ..Alisters brother Benny also skippered her for a time .Ill try to get the exact dates for you when I get a chance
On the list I put on the thread I mostly only named one skipper though some boats eg Pentland Swell etc had a up to 6 different skippers named ..this was due to space (and my poor typing!!)
All best
PM
This surely must be one of the best threads ever on the org and will have brought back many memories to a lot of people. Maybe it is time someone with the knowledge and knowhow put together a book on the subject of the WK boats and the men who skippered and crewed them. A lot of this is slowly dissappering and as nature takes its course will be gone forever. There is probably hundreds of photos around homes in the county that have never been seen by the public and the storys passed from some of the (OLDBOYS) would fill a book on there own. These were men that really new there jobs and who sailed with just a compass and clock.All modern boats wheelhouses are filled with modern gadgets that once set will litterally take a boat to sea and home again once set. Takeing nothing from the modern fisherman it is still a very skilled job that probably does not get the credit it deserves but these old guys realy new their busness. They or their boats should not be forgotten in the mists of time I doubt we will never see their likes again or so many boats with WK on there bows Their skills here like in so many other fishing ports are gone.
The crew was D.H.PlowmanQuote:
Originally Posted by Alli
George Henderson
Kelly Stewart
James Bain who replaced DH when he broke his arm on the winch.
Sometime in 1954-55 in thick fog the Atalanta picked up the Arran Lad a boat
from the Frazerburgh/Buckie area who had broken down and been missing for about a week.
The "reward" was a huge haul of cod, 98 boxes, which was towed into Wick harbour and the crew of the pilot boat helped to empty the net, one fish at a time.
The engine was a Ruston air start 98?hp which was not easy to start in cold weather.
hi peter it was tbh that posted the picture and not me
just for the record tony
Hi Peter and Fly, thanks for the info. I asked my Dad and he remembered, he was only 10/11 at the time! Another piece of the family history added to the file thanks.
THE WEST SIDE i see now we have moved to scrabster and the same tales applies over there
bet the was many a yarn spun in the wifies. she had the trawler men to contend with too
i had a copy of a cassete it was ian sutherland interviewing angie meech and a man thomson .they were telling that it was salmon fishers that first helped to get them set up with the seine netthey were down off strathy and working two coil a side
it was rich only disruption was angies pipe as he kept scratching matches
you certainly needed the local dialect to listen to it [lol] tony
Certainly brought back memories for me seeing the Mhari Bhan mentioned
my uncle Jocky Bhans boat. A few years after he passed away my late mum got a little replica of the Mhari Bhan made for her (from an old photo of the boat lying in the harbour) a old mannie fae thurso made it for her it was brilliant every little detail was on it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bonami
Good post there Bon-Ami , my brother & father often said this, there should be a book written with some of the cracks they used to tell us when theyd come home stinkin of fish.
The Chance WK 126 was legendary for some of the things that used to happen , splicing the ropes through 2 different wheelhouse windows & not realising until it was done !!! Sinking in the firth & 1 old boy asking did they want a cuppa as the sweat was pouring off them as they were bailing out!!!
They also had dirty water, so the cook made the mince in lemonade but didnt tell anyone until theyd eaten it- he coyly asked did they enjoy it & the crew said aye but a bit sweet[lol] cue hysterics!!!
Another one was a certain boat had its radar fall off the wheelhouse roof!!! Or back to the chance again, the wheelhouse used to roll a bit further than the momentum of the boat!!!
It would be good to get some of those tales in a book, because Ive heard many & they always raise a chuckle
Tony That would be Alec Thomson that was with Angus Macintosh in the tape They were both in the Primula WK97 Pre 1939 Angus had a boat at the seine net called the Eastward which I think would have been built by Allans of Thurso he was awarded the DSM and Croix de Guerrre in WW2 due to his efforts in the Norwegian campaign then made a MBE He passed away 13th Feb 1992 aged 84 having retired at the age of 70
thanks peter that was the boats mentioned and it seemed seine netting was in its infancy when the cassete ,must see if i can find it
am i right in thinking that angie was cox on the lifeboat at one time?? tony
Tony Yes he was Coxswain of the Thurso lifeboat ..Did not Gilbert Reid succeed him?? Fly thanks for the history!!!
Dunbeath
Venus WK31 Skipper Mackay built Alexanders Wick 1929 sold to Stromness 1959
Harvester WK33 Skipper Cowie built 1929 Noble Fraserburgh sold to Swansea 1967
Amaranth WK242 Skipper Mackay built Stephen MacDuff 1934 sold to the Orkneys 1957
Tidy WK297 Skipper Sutherland built Banff 1908 sold to Wick (renamed Scot) in 1947,She was sold to Peterhead 1953
Fram Wk28 Skipper Noel Sutherland built Montrose 1969 sold to Mull of Galloway when Noel bought the Moira from Alec Calder of Lybster I think she is still going in Sligo Ireland as SO915
The Venus and Harvester were delivered within a week of each other to the village ..The Harvester had no wheelhouse when new !!!
One boat I forgot about was the green painted Foxglove WK12 which used to lie at the "cellars" for a couple of years in the 1980s She was owned by Shearer of Clyth in 1983 and was bought from the Milne family of Whitehills She went to the west coast and is now lying wrecked at Kerrera near Oban A MFV she was built in Bideford in 1945
PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by peter macdonald
The Enterprise was actually built for Jock Rosie Keiss. His daughter Jean
named her at her launching. He was the ex-serviceman.
Fly many thanks for the correction . I saw a picure of the crew of the Enterprise recently taken in 1955 when they picked up the crew from the Aberdeen trawler Gava which went ashore on the Pentland Skerries ..Malcolm Steven George Swanson Wull Steven and one other whose name escapes me for the moment
Again thanks
PM
has the Golden Strand skipper J Sutherland been mentioned
Thats right peedie man She was Norwegian built in 1981 and I think came to James from Shetland She was later sold to Ireland and I think sank a few year ago in the Irish Sea She was WK164
What number was the Olive Leaf Peter? was she no WK.164? or am I wrong? I have no pics of the Golden Strand to refer to but I am sure she had a different number ?
Amy the Olive Leaf was WK 457 The Gleaners 11 was WK164 The Olive leaf was called the Margerita at one time in Buckie and was built in 1955 by Herd and Mackenzies She was sold to Ireland when she left Wick Another one that was WK164 was the Godetia She was sold to Shetland in 1954 Jocky Sinclair skippered her
Hope that helps
PM
Not sure if this boat has had a mention, father and son, saw a picture of it in a pub on the caledonia canal as it was passing through, it had a WK no.
Does anyone know about it.
was the SPRAY the only wick boat that was comissioned by the admirality during the war . she was based in stromness as an examanition boat or some thing tony ???
No Tony the Girl Mina was taken in as well She was used in Scapa but spent most of the war around Oban
Absolutely fascinating thread .
I too come from a fishing port and fortunately a local family have kept a record of the boats and crews in words,documents,photos and films, this has now been attached to the town website and sure had me off down memory lane.
I wonder if at some point Wick Heritage Centre might be able to do a similiar excercise or if that is some thing already in hand having perused their fabulous photo collection.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peter macdonald
Could it possibly be Bobby Sutherland?
Fly Spot on!! That was the name Ill see if can put the picture on here
I think the Smiling Morn was also on War service The boat that became Chance WK126 in 1954 was also in Scapa during WW2 when she was owned in Lossiemouth Her name during that period was the Screwtater
PM
the spray was skippered by a chap from yarmouth but he was a brother in law of the thomsons of lossie.alister sutherland from wick was on her
and robbie coghill and jimmag somebody from keiss
there was boats from every port right down the east coast
in most cases they left the nane but took the numbers off tony
Love this thread. Two fishing boats I know of in my Caithness family :
Sweetpea owner Neil Stewart he was also a coxswain and think he was one of the people honoured for his bravery concerning the Norway boat mentioned previously.
Kate crew I know of John Manson & Donald Leith (my gr grandfathfather)
Does anyone know if there is a list recorded somewhere in the Caithness Archives recording the boatbuilders names and years of the fishing boat been built. My Jack family where mostly boatbuilders.
hi old neil stewart had the sweet pea wk 12 and young neil would have been with him. young neil was cox on the lifeboat for years and was also assistant harbour master and then harbour master
he had several awards. have seen them but dont know what they were for tony
Was surfing and found this by accident from the Old Pultney website so acknowledgment to them, contains footage of herring days plus advert/info on the whisky production as well. Worth a little look and listen. http://www.oldpulteney.com/playclip.php?id=heritage4
Choost wan "m" in Brims please, Peter!Quote:
Originally Posted by peter macdonald
From my old photos
Wee Donald Looks like the Branch WK294 from Helmsdale She was sold to Ullapool in 1972 and finished up in Northbay Barra She was bought to Helmsdale by John Innes in 1964 having been registered ME158 She was built in Fraserburgh in 1951
peter macdonald = memory that could outstrip an ellephant or access to a lot of records-what ever way-well done you,very comprehensive an well presented.
Can claim to know r.swanson (num),an there would be loads more, but memory will not sretch that far. I went out once with my brother in law alla swanson (an that was enough for me) I was never designed for boats, memories of deadliest catch, but I cannot recall the boats name. sandy plowman figures along about that time too.But again a blank is in place.But as I said before well done for your smashing posts.
Was ther a boat called the Souter Lass or something similar. It was green. I remember as a boy getting a shot of steering it towards Lybster Harbour on one of the harbour trust days. edit, actually may have been thinking of the Restless wave, was that green? Think it was the "sister ship" of the silver cloud.Quote:
Originally Posted by peter macdonald
One Lybster boat which mean alot to me is the Maple Leaf, Owned by Jock Canadian. My old man used to work on it occasionally. Is Jock still alive.
Average Aye the Restless Wave was green as was the Alban
Two Lybster boats i could not remember the numbers of were the Glad Tidings WK372 and Valena WK99
A couple of Wick boats I cant remember but was told of were the Sunbeam , Sprig and the Bonito WK20 which George More had before he bought the Bluebell The Speedwell was WK3 not as i had written
Horseman its a bit of both re memory and records The memory is fine for stuff like this but if you ask me what happened last week I would not have much of a clue !! The records I have are scribbled down bits of paper Olsens Almanacs various books etc
Ive really enjoyed putting the bits and pieces on here if nothing else to remind people how it once was
PM
Another Wick boat I don't think has been mentioned (or just have'nt noticed it) is the Moray Lass, can't remember the skippers name but remember Wull Tait worked aboard her at one time. She was a green boat with the accomodation forward. Can't remember the registration number!
Jim WK167 and the skipper was the late Donald Harper
You can't get much better than that! An I remember she had a pointy bit up front;)
hi num was ullas uncle and him and i were pals for yearsQuote:
Originally Posted by horseman
he wanted me to take a berth when they got the golden eagle but oh declined for me tony
Willie Tait was my father and he part owned the Moray Lass with Donald Harper and Jimmy Jappy. As a bairn in the early 70's every Saturday morning was spent on the Moray Lass. It seemed to be the gathering point for all the other fisherman to gather for a coffee and to get all the crack. This was quite profitable for me as all the men would give me a penny at least after a good week and I would then head off to George Lyall's. Happy days.Quote:
Originally Posted by jm.mack
I wonder what happened to the Moray Lass after she was sold around 1980?
What about the Plough, two Sealgairs,two Kestrels that Ron Aitkinhead had.