Trawlermen (2006) s01e01 Episode Script
The Great Prawn Hunt
1 Every day, trawlermen from Peterhead in northeast Scotland risk their lives to bring home their catch and put fish on our tables.
Tonight there can be only one winner when two skippers go head-to-head in the great prawn hunt.
Full speed, muster stations.
Fruitful Bough attack.
These are the men who do the most dangerous Job in Britain.
Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties.
North seven to severe gale 9, perhaps storm 10 later.
120 miles from shore in the icy North Sea, the fishing boat Amity is in the teeth of a storm.
Skipper Jimmy Buchan is beginning to fear the worst.
His nets are caught on the sea bed.
Amity is stuck fast and in danger of sinking.
The four-man crew working below decks are unaware of the drama unfolding around them.
With the nets fast the boat can't move and it's at the mercy of the wind and the sea.
Boys, close all the hatches.
We're hard fast before a wind.
All the hatches have to be closed to make the boat watertight.
Close the hatch, lads.
First mate Kevin O'Donnell doesn't need to be told twice.
Boys, go, go, go.
If we don't close this door we could flood here.
Flood the engine room, the deck Water.
The boat will go down.
Wouldn't want that.
Tied to the sea bed, Amity is unable to rise in the huge swell of the storm.
She's in danger of being swamped by water.
I've heard in the past that boat's skippers have kept heaving and heaving until they start keeling the vessel over and then when you get a heavy sea the wire doesn't break and the boat can't free itself from the sea bed and you swamp the stern.
So I'm very aware there's a high risk of flooding the stern.
And we don't want that to happen.
To save the boat, Kevin and the crew must head out onto the exposed deck - putting themselves at huge risk.
If they're washed overboard the freezing waters will kill them in minutes.
Everything is running through your head.
You're worried about your crew and the safety of the boat.
If it's going to go wrong, it's going to go wrong on a night like this.
It's a very anxious time.
Nicholas? Nicholas! - Go and bring the grinder up here.
- 0K.
As a precaution I'm going to get the grinder ready.
If we can't free ourselves we'll cut ourselves away from the gear - should anything go seriously wrong.
Last year, 34 of the UK's fishing fleet were lost at sea.
To save his boat, Jimmy is preparing to sacrifice the nets, worth £30,000.
Before he cuts them loose, he makes one last attempt to free himself.
I'm see-sawing the net - letting one side out and heaving the other, hoping to pull through and get the net clear.
When that happens I will be relieved.
At the moment I'm quite tense.
Kevin! As suddenly as it began something on the ocean floor gives way.
Amity is free again.
I think we're free.
I think she's clear now, Kevin! Whoo.
Big relief.
Jimmy has saved his crew and the boat, but his nets have been ripped to shreds.
The catch so far in the fish room is about £3,500 and the damage to the net is about £2,000.
We've burned about £2,000 of fuel, so I'm now three days into a trip and we're further in debt than we were when we left the harbour.
One of the most dangerous jobs in the world, they say.
I'll say they're right! 24 hours out of Peterhead Harbour, Fruitful Bough, which fishes for prawns, is at the start of a ten-day trip.
This state-of-the-art fishing boat is owned by the West family - a fishing dynasty that stretches back well over a century.
In charge is the ambitious and extremely successful James West.
He was only 19 when he first became skipper and, at 29, he's still one of the youngest in the UK.
The next five minutes is going to be a telling point for us.
His brother and second-in-command of this £1.
5 million boat is 24-year-old Robert.
Spot-on.
That's what I like to see.
We're out here to make money.
At Just 21, Andrew is the youngest of the three brothers.
He's the rookie and he's only been at sea for three months.
This is by far the best haul we've had.
I would say that was I'm not very good at guessing but I would say there's 55 stone there.
Absolutely brilliant.
Chuffed.
Another big haul for the Fruitful Bough.
Great.
These prawns are not destined for prawn cocktail.
These are some of the biggest and most prized cold water prawns in the world.
We select the prawns here.
It's a different selection of prawns.
That's probably a decent enough prawn.
It's a good size.
It's still alive.
You can see it That's what we're looking for - a good decent-sized prawn.
You couldn't get fresher than that.
Absolutely excellent.
Lurking amongst the prawns is one of the most feared fish in the North Sea.
- Very dangerous.
- Look at its front teeth there.
Can take your finger off.
I've heard some people some fishermen getting bitten by a catfish right through their boots.
Very, very painful.
I wouldn't like it myself.
It's the biggest haul that rookie Andrew has seen since he started his new life at sea.
I wanted to be a fisherman, basically, because the rest of my family's involved in the fishing and I really enjoy it - it's good fun aboard a boat.
But one of the best things when you're out at sea is to get a really big haul.
It's one of the most satisfying things and exciting as well.
Once sorted, the prawns and any fish they catch are stored in the fish room.
It's a giant fridge about the size of a small terraced house.
To get the prawns to market in perfect condition, Robert covers them in liquid ice.
All this slush ice is small particles and it goes right through into every small space in the box.
The quicker you can get your prawn to cool down, the longer shelf life you'll get for the consumer.
With their nets freed and the storm behind them, the crew aboard Amity is also hunting for prawns.
Skipper Jimmy is shooting his two spare nets from the back of the boat, which will be towed for six hours along the sea bed, 450 feet below.
If this is the stern of the vessel, you've got the trawl warps going out like this You've got your outer boards here and from here to here is 600 feet and from here to here is 360 feet.
So there's a huge opening on the trawl mouth.
The nets are 600 feet behind us.
It's a huge amount of gear on the sea bed.
So here I come, trundling along at 2.
5 knots with my twin trawls and Freddy the prawn has strayed too far from home and it's for him - he's in my net.
Basically, it's just a big tractor.
A farmer goes out, sticks a plough on the back and goes up and down.
0K, it's not a plough but it's the same idea.
Similar to a tractor, I've got my trailer on behind and I'm hoping to fill the trailer and head on home.
Jimmy needs a good catch to pay the crew who depend on a share of the profits to feed their families.
The size of their share is determined by their age and experience.
A lot of pressure on him.
He's got seven families to feed.
Seven families he has to try and keep going when he's out here.
So he's trying his best up there and we're trying our best to keep our cool down here.
I think maybe value 300-£400.
That hardly pays for the fuel for this tour.
We need two or three times that amount.
Desperate to bring in a good catch, Jimmy decides to shift ground in an attempt to find the prawns.
He's heading for one of the deepest areas of the North Sea.
This area's called The Devil's Hole.
The good prawns - the ones we want - are always in the dangerous area where there are large stones or torn nets.
If we get it to work then it can be good for us, but if it works against us it will destroy me because I've had to come in from here before with no gear to shoot.
Then you've got to spend the next three or four days on the quay repairing your gear.
And that's not good for morale.
Kevin is expecting trouble.
You can do a lot of damage down here where we're going.
They don't call it The Devil's Hole for nothing.
It's a bit of a risk to take but it's a risk going anywhere out here.
I'm sure he knows what he's doing.
He'd better be.
Jimmy's rival, Fruitful Bough, is already fishing at The Devil's Hole.
Young skipper James is hoping for another big catch of prawns.
I'm hoping it's a good haul, but I am ready for it not being quite so much.
Everybody's a bit tired and it affects everybody.
Be our third day today.
Long hours.
The crew pays a heavy price when they get good hauls.
They might be in the money but they have only managed to grab a couple of hours' sleep in the last 24.
After nine years at sea, deckhand Kenny knows the risks of working when you're tired.
When you're sleepy more accidents will happen.
It's not just you that's sleepy it's the whole crew and accidents will happen when you're tired - especially up in the wheelhouse.
Andrew? How much you hoping for this time? Looks like a good enough haul again.
So we'll pleased to get a bit more into the hold.
A bit more money.
No sleep though! Thumbs up.
That'll be another 15 boxes or something.
That's what I'm looking for.
There's a lot of life about the prawns.
They're kicking.
That's what I like to see.
This is just coming up to a day and a half in so to be able to get on to a patch full of prawns already we're doing all right.
We've got maybe four or five days to go so it's actually looking 0K to be hitting a patch of prawns so early on in our trip.
If we can keep this up it could be a cracking trip.
That'll keep everybody happy.
Including me.
- And me.
- And me.
And me, baby! With the prawns packed away, the crew finally have a chance to eat.
Fruitful Bough takes its name from the Bible.
Traditionally, fishermen in northeast Scotland are religious and the young crew are no exception.
All right, boys.
Dear Lord, we give thanks for this food blessed to us in your name.
Amen.
Amen.
But they don't buy into the superstitions that used to rule fishermen's lives.
You're nae allowed to say "salmon" on a boat, but I'll take my chance.
You're nae allowed to say that.
You're nae allowed to.
But it's like bad luck.
But I don't believe in bad luck as far as that's concerned.
You're nae able to say "rabbit".
I actually said "rabbit" at sea and the haul after that I jumped down in the deck and went over on my foot and tore the ligaments in my foot.
If that's anything to do with that, I don't know.
You're not supposed to have a girl aboard a boat.
It's very, very bad luck.
- Even on the quay? - Aye.
If a girl steps aboard your boat.
These guys must be more superstitious than what I am.
It really doesn't bother me.
You're nae supposed to wash out your sugar bowl.
It doesn't mean anything.
I don't believe in any of these things.
I don't want Fruitful Bough to be associated with any superstition.
James and his brothers don't have the prawns to themselves.
They have to compete with boats like Amity - their main competitor.
Skipper Jimmy is about to start fishing on their patch, The Devil's Hole.
Wakey, wakey, wakey.
Zero-Zero, haul in 13 minutes.
Kettle's boiled.
One of the things that you learn aboard a fishing boat is they always like their tea before they haul, before they go on deck.
It's five in the morning.
Dougie the cook and Kevin, first mate, talk prawn tactics.
I'm still sleepy.
Not too many people go to bed at two o'clock and have to get up three hours later to go to work again.
Everything we're shooting out here is worth about ten grand each.
Both nets 20 grand maybe.
You've got doors, clamp, wire You're talking about 30 grand, 35 grand on the water here.
A lot of cash.
You don't want to lose that.
Early morning's usually best for catching the prawns.
They seem to come out of their mud holes just as daylight is breaking.
It's been a good while since we've been fishing here, so we don't know if there are any new obstacles in the ground down here.
If we only knew what was down there, but we don't.
Jimmy and his crew are 100 miles from their home port of Peterhead in northeast Scotland.
It's the UK's largest fishing port.
Last year, over 130,000 tonnes of fish and prawns were landed with a value of £96 million.
Hoping to add to that tally is 25-year-old deckhand, Alan Dennison, who's preparing for a fishing trip.
- Why are you putting them in the bag? - They're Daddy's sea shoes.
It means leaving wife Lisa, seven-month-old Alex and three-year-old Libby for ten long days.
Would you like it if I got a shore job? I don't know.
I don't think I'd mind.
Would you prefer it if I got a shore job? - Yeah, I suppose I would.
- Would you? - I don't think I could handle a shore job.
- Daddy! I hear you! You don't like it when Daddy goes to sea? - You don't like it at all.
- No.
See you later.
You going to be good? See you later.
See you later, Libs.
Was that a kiss for your Libert Lizard too? - 0K.
I'll phone you.
- Bye.
- See you, Libs.
- Bye.
Alan is a deckhand on the whitefish boat, Ocean Venture, which is due to set sail at midnight.
But Peterhead is in the grip of a storm.
The weather doesn't seem to deter the skipper John Buchan, who is busy preparing to go to sea.
As you hear, the weather's not going to be very good tonight, nor tomorrow.
But the direction we're going it'll be on our stern.
35 to 42.
It's a force 7 to force 8.
And it's up in 45 where it's gusting force 9, which is pretty poor.
Six years ago, John and his two brothers took on a huge loan to buy Ocean Venture for £1.
5 million.
To repay the debt, the boat needs to catch valuable haddock and cod and to do that he has to travel to the most distant regions of the North Sea.
This is Peterhead.
It's more or less the most northeasterly point in Scotland.
We'll be leaving here tonight and steaming about 180, 200 miles down into this area of the North Sea - right between Norway and Shetland.
It'll take about 24 hours to steam there - weather permitting - and then we'll be working further north, I would think.
It all depends.
You'd better hope this weather calms down a bit or you're in for a right old rolly time.
Aye.
It's not good fishing in this area in bad weather.
warnings of gales in Cromarty and Forth.
Northwest, gale 8 to severe gale 9.
Rain, moderate The last boxes of food are being loaded onto Ocean Venture.
Most of the fleet is in the harbour, but John's decided to leave to be one step ahead of them.
It's not looking very good because the weather's still very bad.
We're still to go.
Needs must.
The bank manager's waiting on his pound of flesh.
At midnight, the Ocean Venture steams out of harbour and into the storm.
There's not usually much to do the first day or so.
It's usually the second day, once we get to the fishing grounds.
That's when the fun starts.
There'll be little chance for sleep in the days ahead, so the crew take the opportunity to grab some rest.
Travelling at 14 miles per hour, it will take 24 hours for Ocean Venture to reach the fishing grounds.
It's dawn and Jimmy is trawling along The Devil's Hole, but his arch-rival Fruitful Bough is there too.
I've now got the Fruitful Bough on my radar here, closing me in.
2.
6, 2.
8 knots.
I can visually see him now.
They both want to fish for prawns down the narrow 20-mile ravine, but there's a problem - there's only room for one boat at a time.
Having reached the end of the trench Fruitful Bough is intending to come back down.
Jimmy needs to turn now to get in front but that's not possible with his nets in the water.
I want to haul my gear before he's down on top of me.
So when we're going north up the hole, I'm in front and he's chasing me.
It's now cat and mouse.
It's Tom and Jerry and I want to be Tom.
I'm going to tell the crew, "Full speed, muster stations.
Fruitful Bough attack.
" Full steam ahead.
The faster the crew can get the nets aboard, the faster Amity can get in front.
After three days at sea, Jimmy is fighting for a good catch.
I'm watching him on the radar and he's speeded up - giving her more revs.
I think he knows what I'm up to and I don't think he's very happy.
Despite Amity's best efforts, she can't compete with the Fruitful Bough.
The brothers' boat has made the turn first and is now heading back up the trench to scoop up yet more prawns.
Getting better and better haul by haul.
Fantastic.
That's what we're here for.
I'm on the prawns.
They may be competitors but the two skippers are still friends.
James calls Jimmy on the radio to compare notes on their hauls.
That's about 19 more than I have.
Hence the reason why I've got a face like a skelpered backside.
And if you're wondering what a skelpered backside is it's a bottom that's been turned upside down and hit real hard.
This time, youth has triumphed over Jimmy's 20 years' experience as skipper.
Another disappointment again.
I just can't seem to get my hands on the prawns.
James has got a good haul again.
So he's doing something different from me and I need to know what it is.
Having steamed through the storms, whitefish boat Ocean Venture is now ready to make its first haul of the trip.
Come on, brother.
Come on, brother.
Let's get this show on the road.
We are the A-team.
Skipper John Buchan hopes that the gamble of leaving a day ahead of the rest of the fleet - which are still trapped in the harbour - will prove to be a risk worth taking.
For the boat to survive as a business, every haul has to make money.
The main thing is the crew's got to get a wage.
I can't take six men away to sea We've three men on shore as well.
They've all got to be paid for.
We've got to be successful.
We can't come out here and just play about for ten days and go home with nothing.
Hopefully we won't.
But, er we've got to catch fish.
But catching fish is not an exact science, as deckhand Jonathan knows.
The net will just be coming off the bottom just now.
There are never any guarantees.
John and the crew are hoping for at least 50 boxes of haddock from this haul.
I don't think there's an awful lot there.
Maybe one lift.
Maybe 15 boxes.
John's gamble hasn't paid off.
We need three times that amount.
They were looking for lots of expensive haddock, but got cut-price coley instead.
You get bigger things in your goldfish tank.
The fish that they have caught need to be gutted - the small fish by machine and the big ones by hand.
Well, we just hauled there about 15 boxes.
It's mostly coley.
I'm just counting it out just now.
We bought about 900 to 1,000 litres of fuel to catch that 15 boxes of coley.
The fuel is 0n Monday it was 29 pence a litre.
So it's about £290 of fuel burned to catch 15 boxes at maybe maybe £20 a box for coley.
£300.
So we've gained £10.
That's without the wear and tear on gear.
So we're going astern.
I hope my bank manager's not watching this one! They're having no better luck aboard Amity where Kevin's getting ready to pack away their latest disappointing haul.
That's us down in the fish hold now, boys.
We are underneath the water.
This is where the real men are.
I'm just going to get the prawns off.
Righto, Doug! - A box of small.
- Box of small.
That's 11 boxes we've filled this haul.
Very poor.
We need to be doubling that because we've got 450 of these boxes to fill.
Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties.
Cyclonic five to seven becoming north seven to severe gale 9.
Perhaps storm ten later in the Forties.
Wintry showers The violent storm that was hanging over Peterhead is shifting towards The Devil's Hole, threatening the safety of both Fruitful Bough and Amity.
What I see is not what I wanted to see.
I see probably force 8, even force 10.
Force 10 we don't want to see.
Tomorrow on Trawlermen The Devil's Hole lives up to its name as the two prawn boats become caught up in violent seas.
Extreme weather conditions test the nerves of James and his brothers, pushing their boat to its limit.
Tonight there can be only one winner when two skippers go head-to-head in the great prawn hunt.
Full speed, muster stations.
Fruitful Bough attack.
These are the men who do the most dangerous Job in Britain.
Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties.
North seven to severe gale 9, perhaps storm 10 later.
120 miles from shore in the icy North Sea, the fishing boat Amity is in the teeth of a storm.
Skipper Jimmy Buchan is beginning to fear the worst.
His nets are caught on the sea bed.
Amity is stuck fast and in danger of sinking.
The four-man crew working below decks are unaware of the drama unfolding around them.
With the nets fast the boat can't move and it's at the mercy of the wind and the sea.
Boys, close all the hatches.
We're hard fast before a wind.
All the hatches have to be closed to make the boat watertight.
Close the hatch, lads.
First mate Kevin O'Donnell doesn't need to be told twice.
Boys, go, go, go.
If we don't close this door we could flood here.
Flood the engine room, the deck Water.
The boat will go down.
Wouldn't want that.
Tied to the sea bed, Amity is unable to rise in the huge swell of the storm.
She's in danger of being swamped by water.
I've heard in the past that boat's skippers have kept heaving and heaving until they start keeling the vessel over and then when you get a heavy sea the wire doesn't break and the boat can't free itself from the sea bed and you swamp the stern.
So I'm very aware there's a high risk of flooding the stern.
And we don't want that to happen.
To save the boat, Kevin and the crew must head out onto the exposed deck - putting themselves at huge risk.
If they're washed overboard the freezing waters will kill them in minutes.
Everything is running through your head.
You're worried about your crew and the safety of the boat.
If it's going to go wrong, it's going to go wrong on a night like this.
It's a very anxious time.
Nicholas? Nicholas! - Go and bring the grinder up here.
- 0K.
As a precaution I'm going to get the grinder ready.
If we can't free ourselves we'll cut ourselves away from the gear - should anything go seriously wrong.
Last year, 34 of the UK's fishing fleet were lost at sea.
To save his boat, Jimmy is preparing to sacrifice the nets, worth £30,000.
Before he cuts them loose, he makes one last attempt to free himself.
I'm see-sawing the net - letting one side out and heaving the other, hoping to pull through and get the net clear.
When that happens I will be relieved.
At the moment I'm quite tense.
Kevin! As suddenly as it began something on the ocean floor gives way.
Amity is free again.
I think we're free.
I think she's clear now, Kevin! Whoo.
Big relief.
Jimmy has saved his crew and the boat, but his nets have been ripped to shreds.
The catch so far in the fish room is about £3,500 and the damage to the net is about £2,000.
We've burned about £2,000 of fuel, so I'm now three days into a trip and we're further in debt than we were when we left the harbour.
One of the most dangerous jobs in the world, they say.
I'll say they're right! 24 hours out of Peterhead Harbour, Fruitful Bough, which fishes for prawns, is at the start of a ten-day trip.
This state-of-the-art fishing boat is owned by the West family - a fishing dynasty that stretches back well over a century.
In charge is the ambitious and extremely successful James West.
He was only 19 when he first became skipper and, at 29, he's still one of the youngest in the UK.
The next five minutes is going to be a telling point for us.
His brother and second-in-command of this £1.
5 million boat is 24-year-old Robert.
Spot-on.
That's what I like to see.
We're out here to make money.
At Just 21, Andrew is the youngest of the three brothers.
He's the rookie and he's only been at sea for three months.
This is by far the best haul we've had.
I would say that was I'm not very good at guessing but I would say there's 55 stone there.
Absolutely brilliant.
Chuffed.
Another big haul for the Fruitful Bough.
Great.
These prawns are not destined for prawn cocktail.
These are some of the biggest and most prized cold water prawns in the world.
We select the prawns here.
It's a different selection of prawns.
That's probably a decent enough prawn.
It's a good size.
It's still alive.
You can see it That's what we're looking for - a good decent-sized prawn.
You couldn't get fresher than that.
Absolutely excellent.
Lurking amongst the prawns is one of the most feared fish in the North Sea.
- Very dangerous.
- Look at its front teeth there.
Can take your finger off.
I've heard some people some fishermen getting bitten by a catfish right through their boots.
Very, very painful.
I wouldn't like it myself.
It's the biggest haul that rookie Andrew has seen since he started his new life at sea.
I wanted to be a fisherman, basically, because the rest of my family's involved in the fishing and I really enjoy it - it's good fun aboard a boat.
But one of the best things when you're out at sea is to get a really big haul.
It's one of the most satisfying things and exciting as well.
Once sorted, the prawns and any fish they catch are stored in the fish room.
It's a giant fridge about the size of a small terraced house.
To get the prawns to market in perfect condition, Robert covers them in liquid ice.
All this slush ice is small particles and it goes right through into every small space in the box.
The quicker you can get your prawn to cool down, the longer shelf life you'll get for the consumer.
With their nets freed and the storm behind them, the crew aboard Amity is also hunting for prawns.
Skipper Jimmy is shooting his two spare nets from the back of the boat, which will be towed for six hours along the sea bed, 450 feet below.
If this is the stern of the vessel, you've got the trawl warps going out like this You've got your outer boards here and from here to here is 600 feet and from here to here is 360 feet.
So there's a huge opening on the trawl mouth.
The nets are 600 feet behind us.
It's a huge amount of gear on the sea bed.
So here I come, trundling along at 2.
5 knots with my twin trawls and Freddy the prawn has strayed too far from home and it's for him - he's in my net.
Basically, it's just a big tractor.
A farmer goes out, sticks a plough on the back and goes up and down.
0K, it's not a plough but it's the same idea.
Similar to a tractor, I've got my trailer on behind and I'm hoping to fill the trailer and head on home.
Jimmy needs a good catch to pay the crew who depend on a share of the profits to feed their families.
The size of their share is determined by their age and experience.
A lot of pressure on him.
He's got seven families to feed.
Seven families he has to try and keep going when he's out here.
So he's trying his best up there and we're trying our best to keep our cool down here.
I think maybe value 300-£400.
That hardly pays for the fuel for this tour.
We need two or three times that amount.
Desperate to bring in a good catch, Jimmy decides to shift ground in an attempt to find the prawns.
He's heading for one of the deepest areas of the North Sea.
This area's called The Devil's Hole.
The good prawns - the ones we want - are always in the dangerous area where there are large stones or torn nets.
If we get it to work then it can be good for us, but if it works against us it will destroy me because I've had to come in from here before with no gear to shoot.
Then you've got to spend the next three or four days on the quay repairing your gear.
And that's not good for morale.
Kevin is expecting trouble.
You can do a lot of damage down here where we're going.
They don't call it The Devil's Hole for nothing.
It's a bit of a risk to take but it's a risk going anywhere out here.
I'm sure he knows what he's doing.
He'd better be.
Jimmy's rival, Fruitful Bough, is already fishing at The Devil's Hole.
Young skipper James is hoping for another big catch of prawns.
I'm hoping it's a good haul, but I am ready for it not being quite so much.
Everybody's a bit tired and it affects everybody.
Be our third day today.
Long hours.
The crew pays a heavy price when they get good hauls.
They might be in the money but they have only managed to grab a couple of hours' sleep in the last 24.
After nine years at sea, deckhand Kenny knows the risks of working when you're tired.
When you're sleepy more accidents will happen.
It's not just you that's sleepy it's the whole crew and accidents will happen when you're tired - especially up in the wheelhouse.
Andrew? How much you hoping for this time? Looks like a good enough haul again.
So we'll pleased to get a bit more into the hold.
A bit more money.
No sleep though! Thumbs up.
That'll be another 15 boxes or something.
That's what I'm looking for.
There's a lot of life about the prawns.
They're kicking.
That's what I like to see.
This is just coming up to a day and a half in so to be able to get on to a patch full of prawns already we're doing all right.
We've got maybe four or five days to go so it's actually looking 0K to be hitting a patch of prawns so early on in our trip.
If we can keep this up it could be a cracking trip.
That'll keep everybody happy.
Including me.
- And me.
- And me.
And me, baby! With the prawns packed away, the crew finally have a chance to eat.
Fruitful Bough takes its name from the Bible.
Traditionally, fishermen in northeast Scotland are religious and the young crew are no exception.
All right, boys.
Dear Lord, we give thanks for this food blessed to us in your name.
Amen.
Amen.
But they don't buy into the superstitions that used to rule fishermen's lives.
You're nae allowed to say "salmon" on a boat, but I'll take my chance.
You're nae allowed to say that.
You're nae allowed to.
But it's like bad luck.
But I don't believe in bad luck as far as that's concerned.
You're nae able to say "rabbit".
I actually said "rabbit" at sea and the haul after that I jumped down in the deck and went over on my foot and tore the ligaments in my foot.
If that's anything to do with that, I don't know.
You're not supposed to have a girl aboard a boat.
It's very, very bad luck.
- Even on the quay? - Aye.
If a girl steps aboard your boat.
These guys must be more superstitious than what I am.
It really doesn't bother me.
You're nae supposed to wash out your sugar bowl.
It doesn't mean anything.
I don't believe in any of these things.
I don't want Fruitful Bough to be associated with any superstition.
James and his brothers don't have the prawns to themselves.
They have to compete with boats like Amity - their main competitor.
Skipper Jimmy is about to start fishing on their patch, The Devil's Hole.
Wakey, wakey, wakey.
Zero-Zero, haul in 13 minutes.
Kettle's boiled.
One of the things that you learn aboard a fishing boat is they always like their tea before they haul, before they go on deck.
It's five in the morning.
Dougie the cook and Kevin, first mate, talk prawn tactics.
I'm still sleepy.
Not too many people go to bed at two o'clock and have to get up three hours later to go to work again.
Everything we're shooting out here is worth about ten grand each.
Both nets 20 grand maybe.
You've got doors, clamp, wire You're talking about 30 grand, 35 grand on the water here.
A lot of cash.
You don't want to lose that.
Early morning's usually best for catching the prawns.
They seem to come out of their mud holes just as daylight is breaking.
It's been a good while since we've been fishing here, so we don't know if there are any new obstacles in the ground down here.
If we only knew what was down there, but we don't.
Jimmy and his crew are 100 miles from their home port of Peterhead in northeast Scotland.
It's the UK's largest fishing port.
Last year, over 130,000 tonnes of fish and prawns were landed with a value of £96 million.
Hoping to add to that tally is 25-year-old deckhand, Alan Dennison, who's preparing for a fishing trip.
- Why are you putting them in the bag? - They're Daddy's sea shoes.
It means leaving wife Lisa, seven-month-old Alex and three-year-old Libby for ten long days.
Would you like it if I got a shore job? I don't know.
I don't think I'd mind.
Would you prefer it if I got a shore job? - Yeah, I suppose I would.
- Would you? - I don't think I could handle a shore job.
- Daddy! I hear you! You don't like it when Daddy goes to sea? - You don't like it at all.
- No.
See you later.
You going to be good? See you later.
See you later, Libs.
Was that a kiss for your Libert Lizard too? - 0K.
I'll phone you.
- Bye.
- See you, Libs.
- Bye.
Alan is a deckhand on the whitefish boat, Ocean Venture, which is due to set sail at midnight.
But Peterhead is in the grip of a storm.
The weather doesn't seem to deter the skipper John Buchan, who is busy preparing to go to sea.
As you hear, the weather's not going to be very good tonight, nor tomorrow.
But the direction we're going it'll be on our stern.
35 to 42.
It's a force 7 to force 8.
And it's up in 45 where it's gusting force 9, which is pretty poor.
Six years ago, John and his two brothers took on a huge loan to buy Ocean Venture for £1.
5 million.
To repay the debt, the boat needs to catch valuable haddock and cod and to do that he has to travel to the most distant regions of the North Sea.
This is Peterhead.
It's more or less the most northeasterly point in Scotland.
We'll be leaving here tonight and steaming about 180, 200 miles down into this area of the North Sea - right between Norway and Shetland.
It'll take about 24 hours to steam there - weather permitting - and then we'll be working further north, I would think.
It all depends.
You'd better hope this weather calms down a bit or you're in for a right old rolly time.
Aye.
It's not good fishing in this area in bad weather.
warnings of gales in Cromarty and Forth.
Northwest, gale 8 to severe gale 9.
Rain, moderate The last boxes of food are being loaded onto Ocean Venture.
Most of the fleet is in the harbour, but John's decided to leave to be one step ahead of them.
It's not looking very good because the weather's still very bad.
We're still to go.
Needs must.
The bank manager's waiting on his pound of flesh.
At midnight, the Ocean Venture steams out of harbour and into the storm.
There's not usually much to do the first day or so.
It's usually the second day, once we get to the fishing grounds.
That's when the fun starts.
There'll be little chance for sleep in the days ahead, so the crew take the opportunity to grab some rest.
Travelling at 14 miles per hour, it will take 24 hours for Ocean Venture to reach the fishing grounds.
It's dawn and Jimmy is trawling along The Devil's Hole, but his arch-rival Fruitful Bough is there too.
I've now got the Fruitful Bough on my radar here, closing me in.
2.
6, 2.
8 knots.
I can visually see him now.
They both want to fish for prawns down the narrow 20-mile ravine, but there's a problem - there's only room for one boat at a time.
Having reached the end of the trench Fruitful Bough is intending to come back down.
Jimmy needs to turn now to get in front but that's not possible with his nets in the water.
I want to haul my gear before he's down on top of me.
So when we're going north up the hole, I'm in front and he's chasing me.
It's now cat and mouse.
It's Tom and Jerry and I want to be Tom.
I'm going to tell the crew, "Full speed, muster stations.
Fruitful Bough attack.
" Full steam ahead.
The faster the crew can get the nets aboard, the faster Amity can get in front.
After three days at sea, Jimmy is fighting for a good catch.
I'm watching him on the radar and he's speeded up - giving her more revs.
I think he knows what I'm up to and I don't think he's very happy.
Despite Amity's best efforts, she can't compete with the Fruitful Bough.
The brothers' boat has made the turn first and is now heading back up the trench to scoop up yet more prawns.
Getting better and better haul by haul.
Fantastic.
That's what we're here for.
I'm on the prawns.
They may be competitors but the two skippers are still friends.
James calls Jimmy on the radio to compare notes on their hauls.
That's about 19 more than I have.
Hence the reason why I've got a face like a skelpered backside.
And if you're wondering what a skelpered backside is it's a bottom that's been turned upside down and hit real hard.
This time, youth has triumphed over Jimmy's 20 years' experience as skipper.
Another disappointment again.
I just can't seem to get my hands on the prawns.
James has got a good haul again.
So he's doing something different from me and I need to know what it is.
Having steamed through the storms, whitefish boat Ocean Venture is now ready to make its first haul of the trip.
Come on, brother.
Come on, brother.
Let's get this show on the road.
We are the A-team.
Skipper John Buchan hopes that the gamble of leaving a day ahead of the rest of the fleet - which are still trapped in the harbour - will prove to be a risk worth taking.
For the boat to survive as a business, every haul has to make money.
The main thing is the crew's got to get a wage.
I can't take six men away to sea We've three men on shore as well.
They've all got to be paid for.
We've got to be successful.
We can't come out here and just play about for ten days and go home with nothing.
Hopefully we won't.
But, er we've got to catch fish.
But catching fish is not an exact science, as deckhand Jonathan knows.
The net will just be coming off the bottom just now.
There are never any guarantees.
John and the crew are hoping for at least 50 boxes of haddock from this haul.
I don't think there's an awful lot there.
Maybe one lift.
Maybe 15 boxes.
John's gamble hasn't paid off.
We need three times that amount.
They were looking for lots of expensive haddock, but got cut-price coley instead.
You get bigger things in your goldfish tank.
The fish that they have caught need to be gutted - the small fish by machine and the big ones by hand.
Well, we just hauled there about 15 boxes.
It's mostly coley.
I'm just counting it out just now.
We bought about 900 to 1,000 litres of fuel to catch that 15 boxes of coley.
The fuel is 0n Monday it was 29 pence a litre.
So it's about £290 of fuel burned to catch 15 boxes at maybe maybe £20 a box for coley.
£300.
So we've gained £10.
That's without the wear and tear on gear.
So we're going astern.
I hope my bank manager's not watching this one! They're having no better luck aboard Amity where Kevin's getting ready to pack away their latest disappointing haul.
That's us down in the fish hold now, boys.
We are underneath the water.
This is where the real men are.
I'm just going to get the prawns off.
Righto, Doug! - A box of small.
- Box of small.
That's 11 boxes we've filled this haul.
Very poor.
We need to be doubling that because we've got 450 of these boxes to fill.
Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties.
Cyclonic five to seven becoming north seven to severe gale 9.
Perhaps storm ten later in the Forties.
Wintry showers The violent storm that was hanging over Peterhead is shifting towards The Devil's Hole, threatening the safety of both Fruitful Bough and Amity.
What I see is not what I wanted to see.
I see probably force 8, even force 10.
Force 10 we don't want to see.
Tomorrow on Trawlermen The Devil's Hole lives up to its name as the two prawn boats become caught up in violent seas.
Extreme weather conditions test the nerves of James and his brothers, pushing their boat to its limit.