[From Manx Quarterly, #3 November 1907]

SEVENTEEN HOURS ON A TRAWLER.

The gifted author of the Psalms, what time he wrote to the effect that they who go down to the sea in ships see the wonders of the deep, knew what he was talking about. Yet had David spent from five in the morning to almost ten at night on the steam trawler Rose Ann, of Douglas, last Monday, as did the writer of these presents, he (David) would probably have been even more rapturously impressive in his glorious poem concerning the marvels of old ocean. The somewhat erratic poetking may have been in rough seas off Joppa, but, after all, he never had the opportunity of proving the bed of the sea. In his day, scientific methods of fishing had not been introduced, and so fishermen had perforce to be content with primitive purse nets, and lines and hooks; whereas in these twentieth century days the steam trawler-the last word in fishing appliances-lays bare for us many a secret of the deep.

That most hospitable gentleman, Mr Robert Knox, who owns the small but very effective fleet of steam trawlers plying from Douglas, upon it being gently hinted to him that four of us, neophytes all in regard to trawling for fish, would be glad of the opportunity of acquiring some small acquaintance with the methods employed, at once made us free for so long as we chose of the Rose Ann, the commodore vessel of the fleet. Accordingly, three of the four boarded the well-found trawler in Douglas Harbour during the small hours of Monday. The fourth missed his passage. Not being the possessor of an alarm clock, and being doubtful of awaking of his own volition, he decided to sit up and read until such time as it would be necessary for him to leave the house for the purpose of catching the boat.

Just as this time was coming about, he dozed off, and slept with such persistency that he only roused with a start in time to be too late. On the off chance of a sailing delay, he rushed down to the harbour, and saw the Rose Ann rounding the Battery Pier on her voyage to the westward. Some lurid language was let off, and later in the day the sluggard hied him to a shop and purchased an alarm clock pertinacious and diabolical in the matter of noise. Which is a fine example of locking-the-stable-door-after-the-horsehas-been-stolen policy. He was left lamenting ashore and the loss was his. Not only did he miss a vastly pleasant and exceedingly interesting experience. but he will have to pay his share of the cost of sundry liquids which we, with commendable foresight, purchased and put aboard on Saturday. Temperate all of us, we felt it was just as well to have by us the materials for refreshment, "in case we felt so dispoged." Also, prudence had a share in the provision we thus made, for spirits of decent quality have medicinal properties that are useful in cases of emergency, while even a bottle of beer is stimulating to the internal economy as well as grateful to the palate.

And thus fortified, we steamed away to the westward. Daylight was breaking, and we witnessed sunrise at sea-a sight which was good. " A red sky in the morning is the sailor's warning," runs a scrap of folklore much quoted about Douglas quay in the long ago days of my moderately hot youth. And the sky was encrimsoned as the orb of day got out of bed on Monday, while I, having in mind the distich mentioned, had qualms, for with the appearance above the horizon of the sun, the wind began to rise, and the sea became rather ruffled of surface. Still, as I have said, the sight was a good one, and, despite my uneasiness, I feasted on it. As for my companions of voyage, they are seasoned to the sea, and when I, with a view to making of them partners in disquietude, drew their attention to the inflamed appearance of the clouds, they but mocked; and one of them with inconsequential unfeeling remarked that he did not care if it snowed. The Manx coast, lighted up by the rays shed with prodigal and fiery effulgence by the centre of our planetary system, presented a fine colour scheme, the greys and blues of the clay schist cliffs being for the time pointed with reds and yellows, while the countryside was purple and gold and verdant in parts, as the heather, the corn or the grass and turnip crops predominated. The aspect was beautiful, but by this time we were getting off Langness, and the choppy sea made Rose Ann dance so vigorously that I was fain to betake me to the cabin and lie down.

Passing through Poolvaash-the Bay of Death-the waters being quieter, I again joined the deck and enjoyed the bold coast lying between Port St. Mary and the Calf. We lay on a spare trawl net, and the skipper-Captain Albert Shimmin -told ns yarns concerning his personal experiences of a perilous calling. He is a good raconteur, with a fine appreciation of the humorous side of life, and he wiled an hour pleasantly. This sturdy toiler of the deep' has passed practically his whole life on trawl boats, for he joined one ere he had entered his teens, and now he is --well, he confessed to us that he won't see forty again. The bottom of the Irish Channel is to him an open book, and of that book he has every line by heart. In other words, the character of the sea floor and the various soundings are known to him perfectly, and such knowledge is of first importance to the master of a trawler.

Miscalculation of ground might easily result in the loss of valuable gear and nets; for if the sea bottom be roughformed of rock or strewn with boulderstrawling is more likely to land the owner in big expense than to line his pock9rs. Indeed, let the fishermen be as conversant as possible with the ground, and as cautious and skilful in the pursuit of their business as maybe, nets will sometimes go. Wreckage and abandoned anchors play havoc with the toughest of cordage, and even if the not be saved it, in the event of an encounter such as is here suggested, comes up in a condition of sad disrepair. It is, however, marvellous what a trawl net will lift without giving way. Not uncommon is it for a heavy anchor to be brought up, while boulders -relics of the glacial period-occasionally form unremunerative portions of the catch. Verily there is an element of luck in the life of a trawl fisherman.

But to resume the itinerary of our westerly voyage. There was a nasty sea off the Calf of Man, and Rose Ann's erratic conduct compelled another period of seclusion below for yours truly. The Chickens Lighthouse, graceful and solitary, was passed, and we ruminated as to the life led by the men whose lot it is to maintain vigilant ward in order that shipping may so far as possible avoid the perils of the coast. We concluded that while involuntary retirement in gaol may not be so honourable as light-tending at the Chickens, it has comparative advantages. From the lighthouse we made a westerly course, in the direction of the " disthressful counthry," and when we had run some twelve knots Capt. Shimmin took his bearings, and having ascertained that he was on the ground he had in mind for the purposes of his " drag," he, to make assurance doubly sure, heaved the lead, the well-tallowed base of which on return to the deck bore traces which to the practised eye were unmistakeable evidence that the net might with confidence be put overboard.

If there be anything that worries me, it is technical description. Surely, in all the world there is no person with a more unpronouncedly unmechanical and unpractical bent than mine, and so, if I, in endeavouring to convey to the uninstructed reader some idea of the modus operandi of trawling, make blunders palpable to the average person, will these people please smile and put it down to the confessed ignorance of the scribe? In the first place, the net takes the form of a distended bag, having a mouth some seventy feet wide, the width gradually diminishing to practically vanishing point at what is known as the cod end. The mouth is kept in distension by otter boards-two heavy pieces of wood, well-bound and shod with iron. These are, by means of attached steel ropes, kept in a vertical position, and they thus maintain the mouth open to the extent of some six or seven feet. The underside of the net mouth has a lip, which takes the form of a foot rope. This is strongly spun of many strands, and has a circumference of about ten inches. The net is attached to wire hawsers, and as these hawsers are unwound from a powerful steam winch, the net is lowered to the sea bottom. The foot rope, as the trawler is driven along at a speed of three to four knots an hour, sweeps the sea floor, and, if I have made myself clear, it will be gathered that as the net is dragged, it is an effective engine for the capture of fish.

Well, having, in fashion extremely unsatisfactory to myself, tried to describe the trawl net and gear and the methods employed in using them, I with more confidence set down that the net was let go at about nine o'clock in the morning, and once the course had been set, Captain Shimmin and his crew and their guests partook of substantial breakfast. To judge by the appetites of the fishermen, their calling is conducive to general health. Of course, colds frequently follow upon exposure to wet and wild weather, but generally speaking the men look well, and that they are physically an able lot was on Monday demonstrated by appearance and practice. Here let it be said that the occupation of a fisherman makes big calls upon skill, and the successful fisherman has not only to be a mariner, for he has, in addition to the handling of his ship, to apply himself to mechanics, and to control the intricate trawling gear. Also, unless he have a cool head, sound judgment, and a courage that sticks at nothing which may become a man, he will not make much of a trawl fisherman. Verily the fishers have to be men of parts. The crew of the Rose Ann mainly hail from Peel, and they are certainly a credit to the most interesting of Manx towns. Captain Shimmin, however, is a Douglas man by birth, and when not at sea his residence is in Douglas.

The duration of a drag is three and a half to four hours, and our first drag on Monday lasted the maximum. Unfortunately for me, wind and sea got up, and though the fishermen regarded the weather as calm and mild, I was, to put it euphemistically, considerably inconvenienced. Gradually the cabin grew unbearable, and a craving for fresh air overcame me. I incontinently made for the deck, and perchance it is best that over the proceedings of the five minutes which followed a veil should be drawn. Suffice it to say, as I leaned over the side and regarded the vessel's wake intently, there came to my mind the description given by one of the Yankee humorists of his attack of mal de mer. " I felt," he wrote, " as if I had heaved up my immortal soul." So did I, but I made a quick recovery, and in so doing was abetted by Captain Shimmin, who, with great solicitude, offered to physic me. Yet, when he mentioned that his acquaintance with the pharmacopoeia was limited to ground ginger and Epsom salts, I was rather dubious; but so emphatic and enthusiastic was he in his laudation and recommendation of these as sovereign remedies for all the ills which flesh is heir to-from common colds to broken legs-that I could not resist. " Which shall I take?" I inquired. "Take both," he unhesitatingly replied, adding vaguely, but cheerfully, "what the one won't do, the other will." So I tried the ground ginger, with results which were satisfactory to me, and which caused Captain Shimmin to beam professional pride. He would fain have had me take the salts by way of making sure of a complete cure, but I somewhat hastily thanked him for his kindness, and moved away. All the same, I solemnly affirm that as a specific for the after-effects of sea-sickness, ground ginger is full of good points. And, as Captain Shimmin put it, one of its advantages is that it adapts itself to any medium-to use his own words, "It's all the same, whether it's taken in water, tea, ale, whiskey, milk, or anything. It always does the trick."

Wherefore, to all fellow-sufferers from a most distressing malady, I confidently proclaim the virtues of ground ginger.

We yarned away the hours until about one o'clock in the afternoon, when the warning cry "Watch below there, we're going to get her in," caused us to attend the bringing on board of the net. This operation took some little time, as some eighty fathoms of wire rope had to be hauled in by the steam winch ere the net was got to the surface. To take it over the side evidently required delicate handling, but eventually it was gathered in until the cod end, swollen with fish, was reached. To this a rope was attached, and, the winch being once more set to work, the bag was quickly got on board. The tie ropes at the end were loosed, and then there fell to the deck a great shower of fish-fish of varied size and shape, and wonderful of colour. For the most part they were alive, and the mass throbbed and heaved as the fishermen got to work to sort the fish. But, first of all, the net was let go, no time being lost in starting another drag. Hake, haddock, megrims or white sole, witches, and whiting predominated; but there was a giant ray or " bluett " among the catch; of conger eels there were more than a few, while in the sorting a couple of fine turbot, some cod, and two or three black soles turned up. Also, there were many grey gurnard, sea bream (carp), and horse mackerel, while the deck was strewn with Dublin prawns, or, as they are called in Douglas market, crayfish. Of course the true crayfish is a freshwater crustacean. There were two edible crabs of some size, a "tan rogan," and a couple of hermit craw who had made their homes in whelk shells.

Predacious fish were very plentiful, and these mainly consisted of fishing frogs (Lophius piscatorius), or, as they are denominated by Manx fishermen, gilliperns. This curious specimen of fish employs a filament growing from the middle of the head and terminating in a lappet, as bait to attract within reach of its ample mouth other fish. Its stomach is distensible to an extraordinary extent, and on Monday I saw edible fishes taken out in some instances almost as large and heavy as their destroyer. There were, too, captured some-happily very few dog-fish, but these were not of much size. It will thus be seen that while the trawl net gathers in large quantities of fish good for the food of man, it also destroys very many predacious fishes. In this wise probably a balance is maintained-man, in preying on edible fish, simultaneously preys on fish which are not edible, but which are among the deadliest enemies of edible fish.

The sorting of the fish was accomplished with wonderful dexterity and celerity, and the haddock and whiting having been gutted so as to better preserve them, the catch was duly boxed, and Capt. Shimmin and his men appeared to be well satisfied with the result of the haul. It should be mentioned for the information of people who are under the delusion that trawling is destructive of immature fish that, except as to crayfish, practically no fish of under marketable size were in the net, and the little crayfish were mostly alive when returned to their native element. The mesh of the net is so large that the retention of any but decently-sized fish is almost an impossibility.

It is the laudable custom of trawl fishermen to feed every four hours-once the net is in and the catch is sorted and boxed, the inner man is duly considered. Upon this occasion we revelled in a kettle of crayfish cooked in sea water, the cookery being a credit to the modest and obliging youth who is chief of the culinary department of the Rose Ann. Trawl fishermen have evidently great faith in tea. They drink it to all meals, and they drink it both hot and strong. We being doubtful as to whether crayfish and tea would agree, washed down the toothsome dainty with bottled ale, and found that the malt liquor compounded by Messrs Bass and the delicate flesh of the pink crustaceans assimilated readily, and with happy results.

We spent another pleasant, and I trust not altogether profitless hour or two in swopping yarns, Capt. Shimmin's graphic account of the fashion in which he thoroughly worsted certain men of Ramsey who would fain have persuaded the magistrates that he had contravened the three miles fishing limit causing both excitement and amusement. Eventually the net was got in again-just at dusk-and this time the draught was a splendid one, both as to quality and quantity. It was, we were assured, one of the best that had been brought on board for some time, and we indulged in the pleasant and harmless conceit of speculating as to whether our presence on board had brought good luck. Certainly one of us was sufficiently dark of complexion and black of hair to ensure happy fortune anywhere and under any conditions.

The catch was duly sorted, gutted, and boxed, and in the meantime the Rose Ann was doing ten knots r hour on the way to Port St. Mary. In most cases fishing goes on day and night, but the ground to the westward of the Calf is mainly frequented by hake, and as hake at night feed close to the surface, it is useless to fish for them by means of the trawl. Hence the course to Purt-le-Moirrey, where the fish would be landed for despatch to Douglas market by the first train in the morning. The Rose Ann was due to leave harbour for the fishing ground at three o'clock a.m., so that trawling might be commenced at daybreak. As the Chickens was closely passed, Captain Shimmin courteously blew his steam whistle thrice in salute; and the light-keepers in acknowledgment sounded whistles, hailed in stentorian tones, and rang the fog bell. By this time the wind had fallen and the sea had calmed, with the result that the sail to port was something to give thanks for. Shortly after nine o'clock our craft moored alongside the Alfred Pier at Port St. Mary, and, having wished Captain Shimmin and the other true men who work the Rose Ann so ably " Good night," we three wended our way towards Port Erin, tired and grimy, but feeling all the better for the seventeen hours or so we had spent at sea. And when we reached Port Erin we took our ease at our inn, for we repaired to the Eagle, and at that well-conducted hostelry were made welcome and comfortable by the pleasant lady who manages it so ably.

It took some scrubbing to get the grime off, but in the end we made ourselves barely presentable, and did ample justice to a good square meal. Subsequently we related, for the delectation of the other hotel guests, our adventures on the vasty deep, and were the envied of all. One gentleman from England had been fishing for the best part of the day. Result one conger. When we talked about pulling in fish by the ton at a time, he fairly gasped, and we triumphed again and again. A solitary conger indeed! To bed at two in the morning.

R. E. A.