Ross James
18th January 2002 The weather today is fine and dandy. A good night’s sleep went down a treat and now I can enjoy the novelty of fresh air on the bow. I went down to check the haul after lunch and found that someone has taken my boots… I can’t believe somebody would steal my … Continue reading Day 93
23rd November 2001 Miguel was telling me a few days ago that sometimes the Greenland halibut fishing starts a bit earlier in the north, on the the ‘Nose’ of the Grand Banks in 3L (three lima). We steamed up here on the off-chance that he was right, but it turns out that the fishing up … Continue reading Day 37
21st November 2001 The weather is good and we are fishing once again, but the fish have gone elsewhere. We have sailed north to target Greenland halibut, but the season has barely started, and as yet they are illusive. Not much fish means that there hasn’t been much work for me to do, and off … Continue reading Day 35
15th November 2001 I watched a trawl come aboard today. It had a surprise inside. There weren't many fish, but one very big fish made up for it. Once the net was on board it became apparent that we'd caught a large Greenland shark. It was a real monster, close to 5 metres long. It … Continue reading Day 29
14th November 2001 I had a good look at the cod among the catch today; A fish with a lot of history attached to it, and the weight of the world on it's shoulders. It is a beautiful fish and I feel sad that we pushed this species to the brink. We are not allowed to … Continue reading Day 28
12th November 2001 When I look out at the sea, there is nothing to see except an unbroken horizon - 360 degrees of grey brooding seas, meeting an equally grey and brooding sky. That view is as old as the sea itself. But hundreds of metres below us there would be a very different view … Continue reading Day 26
11th November 2001 I’m still trying to work out the best way to get an accurate estimate of the catch size and composition. On the face of it you might think that you could weigh a box of fish, and multiply that weight by the number of boxes to know how much the total catch was. … Continue reading Day 25
9th November 2001 Finally the weather has broken! It's still not calm, but life has got back to more or less normal now. I got some sleep last night and had a shower today, so all in all I think I can say that I've weathered the storm. It's strange being at sea; it's as … Continue reading Day 23