A trawler which sank sparking a dramatic rescue in the Clyde was one of Scotland’s oldest working fishing boats and a relic of a golden age of boatbuilding.
Spitfire was launched in 1974 at Dunbar in East Lothian, and was the second last boat to be built at the town’s boatyard, Weatherhead and Blackie, before it closed two years later.
The distinctive wooden boat, with her black and bright yellow paintwork, remained at the harbour for 50 years until being sold last year.
The trawler was then sailed north and through the Caledonian Canal on its way to new owners on the west coast.
It was trawling for prawns in waters north of Little Cumbrae island on Wednesday morning when the crew raised the alarm that it was taking on water.
It led to a dramatic rescue mission involving two passing CalMac ferries, MV Glen Sannox and MV Loch Shira, two lifeboats from Troon and Largs, and the Coastguard rescue helicopter 199.
However, the rescue effort itself ran into trouble when the inshore lifeboat from Largs, RA Wilson, suddenly capsized, throwing the four-person crew of volunteers into the water.
They were able to right the Atlantic 85 lifeboat and were escorted back to Largs lifeboat station, where the crew was confirmed to be uninjured. The lifeboat, however, has been damaged.
Meanwhile, Spitfire’s crew was winched onto the rescue helicopter and flown ashore for medical assessment.
Although it’s not yet known what caused Spitfire to sink, it’s feared one of its wooden planks may have given way, leading to water pouring on board.
Until last year, the small fishing boat was a familiar feature at Dunbar Harbour from where it fished all year round for prawns and occasionally scallops and squid. Almost all of its catch was destined for international tables in France and Spain.
Just 30ft long, it had remained in the same Dunbar family since its launch, and had been worked by third generation Young Fisherman of the Year 2022, Rowan Davies, until being sold last September.
Now in its 51st year, it was regarded one of the last ‘living’ examples of when the busy east coast fishing communities revolved around fishing, supplied by a regular stream of wooden boats built by engineers and craftsmen at local yards.
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During the 1960s, Weatherhead and Blackie employed 50 men at its Dunbar Harbour site. However, as the fishing landscape shifted and demand rose for more modern vessels, the yard closed for good in 1976.
Although still seaworthy, many wooden fishing vessels like Spitfire were consigned to scrap in the 1990s, when European Union rules cut fishing quotas.
With limits on catches and boats that couldn’t be worked, many fishing boats made at Scottish yards were decommissioned and destroyed.
It left only a few of the wooden Scottish-made fishing boats – once a common sight at harbours around the country – still at work, often alongside newer, fibreglass vessels.
Barry Brunton, who documents his life as a creel fisherman working from Dunbar Harbour on his One Man and His Boat YouTube channel, said Spitfire represented a particular age of fishing and harbour community life that’s now almost gone.
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard she’d sank,” he said. “Everyone is just thankful that no lives were lost.
“It’s not that long since we were celebrating Spitfire’s 50th year in Dunbar, many local people like me were brought up with it.
“It’s an icon of the town. There is nowhere off our shores that that boat hadn’t been.
“It had been sunk, rundown and repaired time and again. The harbour felt empty when she was sold, and it’s even sadder now.”
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A handful of wooden fishing boats in their twilight years remain at work in Scottish waters, however there has been a loss of skilled craftsmen and boatbuilders expert in their construction.
Mr Brunton also fears a general lack of boat engineers across the country and the high cost of buying new vessels – a new 10m trawler costs around £350,000 – means owners are often faced with having to make use of old vessels.
Although they are subject to Marine Scotland checks, including a five yearly out of water survey, vessels are often required to work several hours every day in harsh conditions.
“Scotland’s fishing fleet is quite old,” he added.
“Boats are cheaper to buy when they’re old. Unfortunately the closure of the boatyards has meant that there’s not that many people around who can fix these wooden boats.
“The days when you could phone an engineer in the morning and he’d appear straight away, are over.
“Unfortunately, anything can happen at sea,” he added. “It’s often a case not of ‘if’ something will happen, it’s ‘when’ it happens.”
A statement from RNLI Largs said: “The volunteer crew at Largs RNLI launched their Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat in response to an incident involving a sinking fishing boat.
“Unfortunately during this shout the inshore lifeboat based at Largs, R A Wilson, capsized.
The four volunteer crew were able to quickly right the lifeboat and bring it safely back to Largs.
Thankfully the crew were not injured, however the lifeboat was significantly damaged.
“Largs RNLI will soon be getting a relief lifeboat to allow the volunteer crew to continue saving lives at sea.”
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