Jump to content




Finished landing


Finished landing

Cleared up and landed after a night shift in Ganavan with the Kathryn Jane LH 269 around 1986. Alan Maxwell who worked in Duthie's office is the other lad in the pic.The photo was taken by the late Hugh Allen.



    Is that a bar stool i see on the sorting tray Ronnie  :-

    young ronnie
    Oct 24 2008 10:02 AM
    Even back then Ally I liked my comfort when I was sitting at the table tailing.Was never as fast sitting as standing it has to be said but it was a helluva lot easier on the legs by the end of the day(or night in this case)...old saying come to mind.....it's as cheap to sit as it is to stand !!

    quiet waters
    Nov 20 2008 12:48 AM
    too right, when i changed from sitting on the rail to standing in a shelter i used a box on end to sit the cheeks on, take a bit of strain off the knees, not as good as sitting, slower but drier, can't beat sitting on the rail with one leg dangling over the side for comfort and speed, but only at the heifht of summer, still used to do it in the summer, set a table up forrat the way i used to, we had two tables before the dooket was stuck on, i got on a lot quicker, left my place in the shelter for the beast in the box should he deem to lend a hand but lonely by yourself, pity help any young fla out for a week, i'd talk to them that much it usually made them forget to be seasick.

    young ronnie
    Nov 20 2008 11:51 AM
    Aye,when ye think back,sitting on the rail tailing wasnae the most comfortable position.The top half of your body was all twisted round(nae wonder ye got a sair back),yer arse was aye freezing cold(nae wonder ye got piles)and on a sloppy day if ye had an oilskin suit on,as often as not ye got a wee sloosh of water up inside the jaiket,so ye not only had a cauld arse but a feckin wet one as well !! There was a lot to be said for the old style kneeling down to pick...at least you only got sair knees doing it that way !

    quiet waters
    Nov 20 2008 12:26 PM
    you make all those things sound like a bad thing? try adding having to wear specs to your list, i used to spend all day blin especially wae the sma rain, i wasn't long at it and the old man took me to the guy in glasgow that checked his eyes, copelands up west end somewhere, long before the days of specsavers, he advised me to get safety lenses in case i got hit in the face at sea, great idea, except as you know while at sea you'll clean them with anything from a sleeve to a jay cloth, wasn't long before they were that scratched you couldn't see a thing out them, last time i ever went to him, cost me £240 for two pairs, quite a bit in 1979. first specsavers opened in about 84 and i got two pair for £60, nowadays i go and get the eyes tested for free then buy them off the internet, last pair cost £45. one of the joys of graduating into the box was you were oot oh the sma rain, and one of your other points? my older brother's ex mother in law once scolded me for sitting on a heater "you'll get piles" she said, "i'm a fisherman, your too late!" i replied, now i look on them, well not literallly, but figuratively as a daily reminder of my years at sea!!!!!

    young ronnie
    Nov 20 2008 12:43 PM
    The Old Man suffered from the "duke of argylls" every now and again and to my discredit I used to think it was a laugh to see him trying to get a bit of relief from them(never stopped him going to sea though,and some days he must have been going through hell with them)but I changed my tune pretty bloody rapidly when I had a dose of them myself many moons ago.Thankfully I've never been bothered since,but I wouldnae wish yon on my worst enemy....."the hell o' a' diseases" isnae toothache Rabbie lad I can assure ye !!  The old man had his revenge big time..."Ye were aye a pain in the fukkin arse" was all the sympathy I got off him !!