The Fleetwood Motor Trawler Site

Pictures and text courtesy of Chris Carey

She was the Buzzard FD109
Official Number: 187847
IMO Number: 5049350

She was built for Brixham Trawlers Ltd in 1956 by Henry Scarr Ltd, Yard no. 736, at Hessle near those two famous Humber river ports of Grimsby and Hull. On the 1st August 1959 she was sold to the Boston Deep-Sea Fishing and Ice Co. Ltd of Fleetwood, a fishing port on the Irish Sea coast of England and in 1961 renamed the Boston Seafire FD 109.

The Boston Deep-Sea Fishing Company soon became one of the largest operators of trawlers out of Fleetwood with 82 boats or one third of the boats working out of that port as well as a large number of other vessels jointly owned with other companies out of Hull, Grimsby, Lowestoft and Aberdeen. At 314 gross tons (104net), drawing 12.3ft with a LOA of 127.5 ft (or 38.87m)* the Boston Seafire was built as a ‘middle distance’ or ‘middle water’ trawler. Fleetwood was ideally placed to exploit the Irish Sea catching Cod, Plaice Hake, Monkfish, Soles and a few other bits and pieces found there, as well as the Hake fishery off northwest Scotland and the west of Ireland and the traditional Rockall, Faroe Islands and Icelandic Cod, Haddock and Plaice fisheries.

In 1969 the Boston Seafire came out to New Zealand under a charter agreement to fish for Wondefoods of Nelson. The Seafire broke down on the delivery trip stopped at the Azores for repairs. Charles Hufflet was the manager at the time and told me “I got cold feet and cancelled the contract to bring her sister ship, the Hawfinch, out here”. At that time there was a penalty payable on the importation of fishing vessels; a way to protect the local ship building industry by discouraging imports. So when Wonderfoods eventually bought her for $25,000 pound sterling they were lumped with an extra 25% duty.

“I recall when she arrived” said Skipper Mike Baker. “Richard Hoarder and I were standing on the wharfe and I commented that she’ll never make it. How wrong was I?” She still had a plaque that “looked a bit like a rooster on her funnel when she arrived here” according to Gary Courtenay, skipper.

The Boston Seafire began fishing for ‘couta and other species with Bob Ford from Hull, one of two ex-British skippers. For one reason and another, their turn at the wheel didn’t last long.

John Mansell, now with MSA recalled spending most of his time hanging over the side untangling the warps. “I joined the Seafire in early 1970 as a deckhand and did four trips on her. I forget the skippers name; he was ex Navy and had brought one of the Sea Harvester ships to NZ.” said John. Gary Courtenay was the Bosun and there was a total crew of nine and John had no experience at all of fishing vessels. “I’d never worked so hard in my life or been so dirty. The boiler was only flashed up once a week to conserve fuel.” Doing ten day trips and fishing 24 hours with three hour tows normally there was one six hour tow after midnight
to give the crew a chance to sleep.

They were trying times as Gary put it. “It was a right f@&%-up”, said Gary “The officers were all ex-navy or merchant men and hadn’t a f@&%-ing clue how to catch fish or work a side winder. I was on deck but I had the knowledge and was always going up top telling the old man what the F&@k to do. Like shooting the gear away on the turn otherwise the inboard Danleno rips out the other side wing which they did a lot ’till they f@&%-ing listened”. Once the doors were shot away the warps are then bought together into the towing block on the starboard quarter. Doing this puts a turn in the warps and depending on which way the turn was the skipper had to put the wheel hard over against the gear or turn away from it before he started to haul back. “The warps would be chattering away then they’d dip and the twist would come out” Gary described in detail. “I remember going below to shovel ice and one of the crew asked me what’s wrong? He’s turned the wrong f@&%-ing way I said. You wait, I said in 30 minutes we’ll have the biggest f@&%-up you’ve seen.” he laughed. “And we did!” The first landing return for the Seafire was the 20th December 1969:

TAR 18585 : GUR 8616 : BAR 8105 : WAR 3138
SPO 2211 : ELE 1905 : SKI 1099 : STA 888
SCH 850 : SQU 312 : LIN 268 : RCO 253
SKA 210 : KAH 36 : ESO 18

“We had good catches of Terakihi on Rogers Tongue off the Motunau and Treadwells Bank down the West Coast off the Haast.” said Gary.

“I never made any money. We were on a share basis and had to catch 1000 cases to meet costs first. Something went wrong every trip and we never caught more than the 1000 cases.” John told me. “The company eventually had to pay everyone a retainer of (I think) ten dollars a day to attract crew.” After three trips John was the most experienced fisherman on deck and went as Mate (as he had a foreign going masters ticket). “I left her after the fourth trip and joined the seventy foot stern trawler Phoenix which was like daddy’s yacht by comparison”.

Ron Blackman skippered her for a while but as Charles Hufflet pointed out, she was never really successful until they changed the way they worked her.

“We got rid of the Granton gear, switched to a trawl that was more suited to our fisheries and began towing off the stern. But we still had to bring the bags alongside to split them over the rail”.

Rising from a deckhand to skipper Gary Courtenay took the wheel later in 1970 and along with fellow Cornishmen Colin Nunn and Sean Orchard they fished her successfully until 1972 when the winch engine died. “It was a rattling old Crosley 2-stroke and she was tied up for a while for repairs so I went and did my own thing on other boats” said Gary. Johnny Gay, Glen ‘Shorty’ Duggan and Brin Reid are names well known to all of us of maturing years. “With a crew of 12, good buggers and bad we were known as the Dirty Dozen”.

“Johnny Gay had chronic emphysema and e’d smoke like a bleedin’ chimney too, coughin’ and wheezing his way up to the bridge. It was so f@&%-ing bad that one trip before they sailed the crew went to the company and said they weren’t sailing ’cause they were scared of old Johnny f@&%-ing dying on them. Well it turned out he out lived the lot of ‘em, didn’t he!” laughed Gary. “And he was still coughing!”

Unlike modern stern trawlers, sidewinders had their accommodation/wheelhouse amidships extending aft. This allowed a large open working foredeck. While hauling, the boat would have fall off the wind and lay beam on to the sea. The doors would appear first to be shackled onto the gallows by their chain preventers. The crew then had to bring the ground rope aboard. Low bulwarks made the job of hauling the “Granton” gear with its heavy bobbins over the rail relatively easy but it also meant the crew was fully exposed to everything that Ol’ Huey could throw at them. Often working waist deep in water as the rails dipped and exposed to every puff of wind, it wasn’t a job for the faint hearted, limp wrested or politically correct. Hazardous at best it was just part of the job. A gilson winch would lift bobbin rig clear of the water over the rail which swinging wildly with the roll the deckies would do what they could to guide it inboard and hard up against the bulwarks. The net would be fleeted aboard over the rail; in the early days hauled in by hand but now-a-days with the use of lifting gear. The cod end, now floating alongside would be ’split’ and ‘lifts’ of 1 – 2 tons brought inboard to hang, dripping, over the deck. The cod end knot was then let go which allowed the catch to cascade out between the pound boards to be sorted, cleaned then cased or bulked below in ice. Retying the cod end knot, the bag end would be heaved over the side again, the vessel would make way slowly washing the fish back and filling the bag end before another ’spilt’ could be taken.

Hoki, Orange Roughy and Barracouta made up much of her catch plan. Fishing the ‘Wall of Death’ and ‘Tora’ up the East Coast of the North Island for Southern Kingfish (Gemfish) another fishery she did well in. At some stage she even went squid jigging; though who ran her then I haven’t a clue but the accompanying photo shows her with squid jigging machines and a steadying mizzen sail. Brian Hardcastle ran her at some stage as did John Gardner before joining the Amaltal Voyager.

“I think it was about 1990-91 that Sealord sold the Seafire to Seafresh Fisheries of Wellington.” said Steve Bailey former Seafresh skipper. Jim Cunliff skippered her for the first trip with a Sealord crew off Banks chasing Barracouta and Red Cod. “Then Greg Clifford took over doing trip on, trip off”. Steve Paku, Lindsay Elkington and Andy Karatea; other well known names to also have skippered her.

The Seafire was powered by a 5-cylinder 2-stroke diesel built by British Polar Engines Ltd of Glasgow developing 740bhp. “She was a beautiful sea boat. Her top speed was about 11 knots but she’d cruise comfortably at 9 to 10.” Punching when empty wasn’t much fun Steve told me but get a load in her and she was really good. “Laying to splitting bags aboard was no trouble” added Steve. “She rode over the swells just fine and even when we were fishing Roughy off Puysegur taking waves over the deck, she felt as safe as houses. The crew just got wet though.”

Seafresh crewed her with 9 comfortably. “We had a Skipper and Mate, Chief Engineer and Motorman and 4 to 5 deckies”. However, maneuvering her alongside was a bit of an act. “Like Fred Flintstone and his Brontosaurus” Steve smiled. “She has a great big wheel mid-ships with the engine telegraph across the wheelhouse. You found yourself running back and forwards ringing for slow ahead, half astern, what ever and hoping the engineer acknowledged the bells of the telegraph”.

When TACC cuts bit the Seafire found herself hamstrung for quota and had to resort to chasing Leatherjackets in the South Taranaki Bight or Roughy outside the EEZ on the Louieville Ridge and Lord Howe Rise.

“An Aussi company owns her now” said Steve. “It must have been about 2002 when they bought her and she’s been lying alongside dying a slow and sad death ever since. It’s a crying shame”.

The Boston Kestrel was the last sidewinder ordered for Fleetwood. She was broken up in 1993 ending a line of boats, like the (Boston) Seafire, that built the British trawl fishery and provided a livelihood for generations of Fleetwood families. The Seafire has contributed much to the New Zealand trawl fishery as well; the port of Nelson in particular. She has played an integral part in the lives of many, many New Zealand fishermen.

I’ll leave the last words to Quentin Bates, a good friend and features editor for Fishing News International. “There are lots of these old ships lying about here and there, waiting to be scrapped or just mouldering away. Some of them get looked after occasionally, but it’s not often.

There are a couple in England that have been preserved as museums, plus one in Belgium and a couple in France. Last year I saw the old Icelandic gunboat Thor at the quayside in Reykjavik, a very sad old lady now and painted gold as she was supposed to become a floating disco. I suppose she’ll be scrapped sooner or later, which is terrible considering what a huge part she played in the cod wars and is such a central part of their history in the 20th century. They’ll miss her when she’s gone, but it’ll be too late by then.”

As of 2006, the registered owner of the Seafire is Duesouth Trawlers (NZ) ltd. I have been unable to contact them about the Seafire’s future.

* According to Robbie Bloomfield it was the Waipouri not the Seafire that the 43m rule was introduced.

For full history and technical details of the Boston Seafire FD109 please click here.

A Collection of Images of the Boston Seafire throughout here career.

Boston Seafire Courtesy of Chris Carey

Boston Seafire Courtesy of Chris Carey

Seafire Courtesy of Chris Carey

Seafire Courtesy of Chris Carey

Seafire Courtesy of Chris Carey

Seafire Courtesy of Chris Carey

It all started in 1956, I was at a school in Hull known as Trinity House, I made friends with a lad called Fred Grey and his father was a skipper on a Steam Trawler called Loch Oskaig.

So come the summer holidays Fred and me off we went on a 3 week fishing trip up to the White sea then up to and around Iceland, My mate Fred worked on the bridge with his dad me I helped in the Galley which I loved, but hated the spud bashing. That’s what got me hooked.

I left school in 1957 at 16 and worked for Ellerman & Wilson Lines as an Apprentice engineer. By the time I was 18 I was called up for national service in the army did my 2 years came out, and tried to sign on the trawlers in Hull.
But because I had missed 2 years no birth! A mate of mine took me over to GY I took my Army papers with me stating that I was a qualified cook.

I registered and got a birth that day and sailed the next day on ROSS Leopard. Now my experience as a Trawler Cook went back to 1956 where it was Steamed Duffs with every meal, and when we started it was fish for breakfast every morning. Excepting the first meal at sea was a Pan of Sachles i.e. Meat stew or a tin of Corned Beef.

Now I must admit then I was not a trawler Cook But an Army Cook who Cooked for the Officers Mess. it took the crew or should I say my muckers to complain that after the trip that they had put weight on instead of losing it.

But I must say that every trawler that I sailed on the or a skipper would offer me a good back hand to sail with them, and most of the lads would follow me on to the ship. I wonder why!

OUT OF GY I SAILED ON MFV LEOPARD 3 trips, Tiger 3, Conqueror 2 trips, Revenge 1 trip, Lepanto 7 trips, and Hotspur 1 trip.

Left the sea and returned back to the MN college down George St, Hull, After 3 years I got my Chiefs ticket.

Now what I’m going to write I don’t know whether it should be printed, As this is personal Whilst at College the Firm that sponsored me asked me to sail on the Gaul! I said No! Whilst at college coming up to the Xmas Holidays for 3 weeks I had a night mare where I sailed on a Stern Dragger and it was lost at sea, I later found out that that ship that I should have been on was lost off the North Cape of Norway.

The college said if I sailed I would not get my Chiefs Certs and told that company so, Any how I finished my 3 year course And I signed on a Stern Dragger Called Orsino, The crew kept on coming on then walking off In the end We sailed when the Hydraulics packed up we got it fixed and sailed into a force 8 all the way to the fishing grounds when the Hydraulics failed again this time some one had damaged it, so we went into Hammerfest for repairs, we sailed again and again had to go into Honningsvag This time a deck hand set the crews quarters a light causing the death of the 3rd mate and nearly killed the deck hand, By this time I started to look back at that dream that I had and left the ship, I was posted missing for 3 weeks, when I had been home about 3 days no one knew where I was let alone got too. When the Fisher mans Mission came to see my then Ex wife to report that I was missing at sea.

I left Hull and went down to Lowestoft and worked for clone fishing on Juno what got me I went up onto the bridge and I had to help the skipper to spell the name of his trawler Juno and some other words for his log.
Any how we sailed into a storm 8 it took about 20 hours steaming to the grounds. We had no longer shot the nets when the trawler took a broad side which put us on to our port side.

I managed to climb out a long with the rest of the crew all we could hear was the sound of the wind and the whining of the trawl wires whistling in a high pitch tone. I think back had we not shot the nets? the trawl wirers were acting like sheet anchors again it was luck, 2 of us managed to make our way to the bridge where the skipper was knocked out, we looked at him and left him and fighting the wheel to bring it to starboard we managed to get the wheel to starboard and some how she answered the helm and as quick as she went on to her port side she was up right, The cook was thrown over the starboard side and again as quick as he went over he was back on the fore deck that was from the stern to the foredeck what 40 foot.

That day we sailed into Perrywell licking our wounds went ashore had a good drink and sailed the next day.

But looking back the sea had or was knocking the **it out of us bouncing and jumping all over the place funny we had a good catch and left for home, it seemed like the sea or fate was saying you have to fight me before I’ll give the fish up. After about 10 trips we went as a share boat where I ended up cooking, looking after the engines and but not lest on the wheel whilst the skipper and crew got some sleep.

Then in 1976 or 77 Lowestoft got a newish trawler bought from the French It was the biggest Trawler that Lowestoft had it took 2 births when in dock. The Engine room was a pride to the last Chief engineer, if it was brass it was polished in fact the engine room was cleaner that the mess deck and galley put together.

Now we were fishing some where near Dogger Banks when a storm hit us If I can remember it was some thing like the storms that hit the Uk in 1952 our engines packed up and for 18 hours we were pushed from the west cost up as far as Peterhead. On that trawler the spare parts were on the after deck to get to it in a storm you had to wait until the ship was rising on a wave open the storm doors close and run like hell to the stores open those storm doors get in and close that door jump up onto the fist shelf and hang on for hell until the ship stated to rise, get what parts you needed the wait then go through in reverse order. I lift that company to work for Boston Deep Sea all of them were stern draggers. after 3 years of HELL BUT I would not change it for all the money in the world.

I went on to rigs I liked it but I missed the sea any how whilst I was working on the Riggs I applied to do diver training which I had to pay I think it was then £300 I PASSED and this time I was in the money like £50 a dive Tax Free We did then about 3 dives a day. I must tell you this I was diving off the Rough just off Easington when 3 of us went down I was on one leg when this Bloody great big thing put the wind up me I later found out that it was a Granddad Cod I’m 5.9 foot in height the head was bigger than my head the girth well it was big.

And there ended my life working in UK waters I worked on Supply , support ships as Engineer Diver until I retired.

Now before I close I was on ross Leopard when a decky who was working the winch when the cable parted I think it killed him but with quick thinking of the skipper he got him back to life 3 times. Whilst he was doing this the ship sailed into Hammerfest with out a Pilot on board and as soon as the ship docked the doctor was there it was found out that the decky lost his cobblers and the top part of his old man. a few injection the lad walked off the ship and into hospital the skipper was arrested along with the ship and crew, after 4 days we left to carry on fishing. What a price to pay for your fish and chips.

What gets me Yes we all like our fish But do people on shore realise what the fisherman does at sea not only fighting the sea but also to keep alive just to get a good settlings when they came home and to put a good bit of fish on their plates.

Warren Coles-Kolher

I did my first trip in Fleetwood as a galley boy on the Wyre Vanguard. It was unusual in those days (1961/2) for an out of towner to be a fisherman. I was from Radcliffe north of Manchester, and ran away to sea at 15 years of age. I had to first do my deep sea fishing training with Bill Carruthers at the fishing school on the docks. The training was mainly for non Fleetwood people, and they came from all over Lancashire. I do have a photo from within the school when we were learning knots.

We lived in the deep sea fishermans mission on dock st. Thats where I got my first tattoo, and had to have a gold earring in my right ear before going to sea. It was good luck for the ship to have its youngest member wear an earring in the right ear (so I was told???)

After a couple of trips as Galley boy, i went through the ropes as Brassy, quarter half and into full decky. This was a bit unusual for a none Fleety…and bloody hard going. I lasted for a couple of years at this, eventually the sea sickness got the better of me, and I joined the merchant Navy out of Manchester.

I wonder if anyone remembers the training school on the docks, and Bill Carruthers?

Many years later, I look back on the discipline and lessons I learned at sea, especially on the different trawlers, and never regretted a minute of it (apart from sea sickness of course, always fixed up with cooks greasy bacon butty)

I hope my memories come in handy. I also have a half model of the Boston Seafoam, which I commissioned later in life. Its travelled round the world with me, and is now in my office in Australia!!

John Bradshaw

Below are some images John has been kind enough to send to me including 2 images of the half model of the Boston Seafoam.

John Bradshaw's Training Certificate

John's Service Book

A page from Johns service book, The number 125 indicates days at sea towards your decky days

John Bradshaw

Finally John's pride and joy. His model of the Boston Seafoam

A closer view of the Boston Seafoam model John built.