The Bosun's Watch

PRESS RELEASE
NEW FISHING INDUSTRY DVD LAUNCHED

A NEW DVD, filmed at sea onboard various fishing vessels, from inshore crab boats to deep sea trawlers, which is sure to be of interest to local fishermen has just been launched. Craig Taylor from Orkney has released his 8th volume of the ‘At the Fishing’ series this week.

The latest DVD runs for more than two hours and includes footage from the 1960’s to the present day, featuring fishing vessels ranging from inshore creel boats to deep sea trawlers. As with the other DVD’s in the series the compilation is not filmed by professional cameramen, but by fishermen themselves while at work on various trips at sea.

Included in the compilation is the following footage:

•Galilean GY 603 – short cine film recorded onboard the Grimsby trawler off the coast of Iceland in the mid 1960’s;

• cine film of north east Scotland boats, including footage of the launch of the Progress BF1 in 1967, as well as other vessels fishing, including taking a haul of sprats in the Beauly Firth;

•Rivo K 391 – converted cine film recorded in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s mainly shows the Rivo. As well as the Westray based trawler there is also some footage of Pierowall, in Westray in a gale. Other boats on show are the Our Catherine, Bon Ami and the Monica Croan;

•Seagull BF 83 and Osprey BF 500 shown pair trawling off the west coast of Scotland in the 1980’s;

•Seagull BF 74 – launch of the 68 foot fishing boat in MacDuff in 1990 and filmed on a fishing trip;

•Vandal LK 337 fishing in deep water in the Atlantic close to St Kilda, west of Scotland, in the late 1990’s;

•Vandal LK 337 and Harvest Reaper III PD120 carrying out experimental fishing trials for tuna off the cost of Spain in the late 1990’s;

•Mizpah LK 173 shown fishing in 2000 and onwards. Also featured are fishing boats from Orkney and Shetland as well as from ports on mainland Scotland;

•Boy Shane WK 673 pictured hauling and shooting creels in 2000;

•Adeina D 665 filmed leaving Killybegs in 1999 on a trip to Rockall, before returning to Killybegs to land;

•Orkney Reiver K49 and Rivo K391 pair-trawling in 1988, filmed fishing as well as taking shelter at St Kilda, off the west coast of Scotland;

•Keila K 121 filmed on a trip to Rockall in 1991 and landing at Scrabster. Also shown is a short clip of the boats home port of Pierowall, Westray.

The new DVD, as well as the other seven compilations can now be ordered directly from the website at

www.fishingboatvideos.co.uk

They are also available from Craig Taylor, 11 Hatston Park, Kirkwall, Orkney, KW15 1UB, priced at£18.99.

Shipwrecks of the Forth and Tay is a meticulously-researched reference guide to 300 shipping losses, and the events surrounding their sinking off the coast of Scotland from Berwick-on-Tweed to the Forth and Tay, and northwards to Stonehaven.

This new book is a very much improved and updated edition of the successful previous edition, Shipwrecks of the Forth, and benefits hugely from the vast amount of vital new information gleaned by the author during 15 years of painstaking research. Each wreck is listed by area with details of its position, history and fate. The text is accompanied by maps and charts, and illustrated with many dramatic photographs.

As a result of this exhaustive work, exciting discoveries and recoveries such as ships’ bells and pottery have been made by divers, allowing them to confirm identities of previously unknown wrecks. In addition to the first-hand local knowledge of fishermen, coastguards, lifeboat men and divers, the author has consulted primary sources including official records from the Admiralty and Lloyds, official German U-boat records and Norwegian, Swedish and Danish official records.

Many vessels were lost due to running aground or collisions but the vast majority of shipwrecks immediately surrounding our coasts resulted from military activities during the First and Second World War. As such, this aspect of the book provides significant historical interest for readers.

About the author: Bob Baird’s long-standing interest in shipwrecks was sparked over 50 years ago by an attempt to save the sinking Flying Enterprise. He was an active diver for 25 years and is also the author of Shipwrecks of the Forth; Shipwrecks of the West of Scotland and Shipwrecks of the North of Scotland and continues to research and write about shipwrecks.

ISBN 978-1904445-74-6

Published by Whittles Publishing
Dunbeath
Caithness

After years of trying to find original copies of the “Thrills of the Northern Trawl” book, Albert “Hurricane” Hutchinson’s family have had a limited number of hardback versions of his 1938 book reprinted, staying very true to the original book and adding his poem “the wreck of the Howe”.

First published in 1938, “Thrills of the Northern Trawl” is an excellent insight into the dangers faced by trawler men on a daily basis. Tinged with his sea-faring dialect, this book was one of the first to give a dramatic insight into the harshness and exhilaration of life at sea on the pre-war coal burners. A good historical record which, is still as relevant today.

£10.99 plus P & P

Contact A.Turner leaver62@live.co.uk

This is the story of the submarines that failed to make it home in both war and peace .They will remain for eternity as the silent warriors of the British coast.

In two World Wars submarine warfare transformed British coastal waters into a pitiless arena where a secret life or death struggle was played out between U-boats trying to close the sea lanes and allied warships determined to keep them open.

Over 150 submarine wrecks litter British coastal waters and this book brings their stories to life, using previously unseen archive material. Combining years of international archival research and expert analysis with discoveries made by divers, this trilogy tells how these submarine wrecks came to be here. These stories are told, wherever possible, in the words of those who were present.

In Volume One Ron Young and Pamela Armstrong describe the submarines lost along the east coast of England, from Northumberland to Kent and around to Beachy Head. These range from J6, victim of a dreadful *friendly fire’ incident in 1918, to the amazing escape of Kplt. Wenninger of ÜB 55, seemingly trapped without hope on the bed of the English Channel. Then there is the unassuming heroism that lies behind the accounts of HM S/Ms Utrity, Umpire and Truculent. Surely destined to become the definitive record of these submarine wrecks, this series will have a ready appeal to anyone with an interest in British maritime history.

£19.99 plus P & P

ISBN 0 7524 3876 Available from Amazon