some pics from my trawling days

[netmaker]

some pics from my trawling days:
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The Lord Nelson - 55' prawn trawler built on the beach in nsw by Clive Mitchell - a ridgy didge old salt.


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on the slip for periodic maintenance.

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party time in the owen channel - princess charlotte bay - god's own country!!!

more to follow

[netmaker]

more of the same:

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5 3/4 lb painted cray. mmmm.

88781

very finicky cuda. caught on live spottie mackerel bait.

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mornings spanish using live baits and freezer bags for floats. they popped when you were on. was a great alarm system.

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my best spanish. broke the 50lb scales so not real sure on the weight.

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typical cobe. caught 5 this size in under an hour just bottom bashing.

a few more to come.

[jtpython]

Thanks for sharing love seeing the old pics
JT

[netmaker]

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i was a sucker for snapping sunrises and sunsets - i have heaps of them.
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anyone remember the "floating hotel" at john brewer reef 30 miles east of townsville? the owners found out that north qld's weather was not too conducive for such ventures....
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the scenery at princess charlotte bay was breathtaking

[netmaker]

thought i'd save this one for last. 25 years ago shaved heads were not as acceptable as today. people used to cross the road to keep out of my way back then! used to crack me up. my wife didn't even recognise me when she was picking me up from the bus terminal lol.

88792

[netmaker]

and anyone wondering about the tall ship pic. it was taken in 1988 at cooktown with my camera lens held up to a pair of binoculars. didn't think it would work and was impressed when i saw it. if i had lined it up a tad better it would be blown up and on my wall.

[tropicrows]

Good stuff Dave, old times good times hey.

Where are the shirts, found a shop a Caloundra you could spend hours in, shirts in all bright colors just for you lol.

[bugman]

Awesome stuff Dave,

Did those fish/crays make it into the net or was that a bit of fun on the side?
What ever happened to the floating hotel - was the boat scrapped or was it sold off overseas somewhere?

Brett

[Goodoo haven]

Good stuff Dave.

Some nice catches there mate.

[netmaker]

Good stuff Dave, old times good times hey.

Where are the shirts, found a shop a Caloundra you could spend hours in, shirts in all bright colors just for you lol.

had to do my own washing then mate:D::)

[netmaker]

Awesome stuff Dave,

Did those fish/crays make it into the net or was that a bit of fun on the side?
What ever happened to the floating hotel - was the boat scrapped or was it sold off overseas somewhere?

Brett

cheers mate. crays were net caught but all the fish were from morning fishing sessions after the nights work. we got a feed from the crays legs whilst the tail went into the box for sale. i was on 1/3 of the by-product which was everything except prawns, so almost all the fish was boxed for sale. i did send 70kg of seafood home to my parents once which included shucked scallops, crab, prawns, bug tails and fish. back then it cost $12 frozen freight on the train from townsville to brisbane. at the time we were getting paid $5 per kilo for coral trout fillets which were retailing in brisbane for $30 and unfortunately for pro fishos, still are.
as far as the floating hotel goes, on memory it was towed back to singapore after a near cyclone sinking about 1989.

[dundo 1]

great stuff Davo not much has changed your still rough looking

[finga]

Great pictures Dave and thanks for putting them up.

What period of time were the pictures taken?
If there are any more keep putting them up.

Well done old China :)

[GBC]

Some memories there. You would have been up in P.C. for the very last season that the fuel barge operated if I remember correctly? Wasn't there a CSIRO closure of P.C. around that year too? I was up there from 89 on the Aquarius. My photos of around that time were all long hair, ear rings and motorhead singlets haha.

That tall ship looks like it could be the Duyfken

[netmaker]

Some memories there. You would have been up in P.C. for the very last season that the fuel barge operated if I remember correctly? Wasn't there a CSIRO closure of P.C. around that year too? I was up there from 89 on the Aquarius. My photos of around that time were all long hair, ear rings and motorhead singlets haha.

That tall ship looks like it could be the Duyfken

not sure mate. memory aint what it once was. i don't remember any other closures than the usual december/january so i may have been back in moreton bay when that happened. i am scanning more pics at the moment and will put some more up. i have one of shell 6 which was the fuel barge in the owen channel. i remember seeing aquarius at port in either cairns or townsville (we probably had a beer at the vic park one time - who knows) but i have no idea on the tall ship. that pic was as close as we got to it.
cheers

[royslaven]

Now Dave , really mate, how old are those pics, you in your budgy smugglers (must have had a baby budgie in yours) , no beer gut and a full head of hair, then you went and shaved your hair off, what were you thinking? , bet you wish you had that option now, ha ha .
Seriously though, great pics, you must be bored though, all this reminiscing, not hard to tell the weather is crap, I will have to come over for a beer and a chin wag, am home with a dodgie ankle, will give you a call, cheers, roy.

[netmaker]

Great pictures Dave and thanks for putting them up.

What period of time were the pictures taken?
If there are any more keep putting them up.

Well done old China :)

87-91 i think. more on the way just for you.

[madmackrel]

Will put up the pic from roonies of you in you budgie smugglers .....you haven't changed a bit

[GBC]

not sure mate. memory aint what it once was. i don't remember any other closures than the usual december/january so i may have been back in moreton bay when that happened. i am scanning more pics at the moment and will put some more up. i have one of shell 6 which was the fuel barge in the owen channel. i remember seeing aquarius at port in either cairns or townsville (we probably had a beer at the vic park one time - who knows) but i have no idea on the tall ship. that pic was as close as we got to it.
cheers

We didn't get into port much, but we did hit townsville occasionally doing the mud scallops, then refit time in January in Cairns, but then it was straits, gulf,melbourne cup at Groote, christmas, scallops.

There was also a shark boat called the Aquarius which decided to sink over in the Western gulf when we were in the Eastern gulf. We had no clue but when we called in to Brissy on the HF for the weekly sched the owner nearly had another heart attack seeing as we were sunk and all.

Were you up there when the GPS's all went haywire during the first gulf war? We hadn't bothered putting in any danbuoys and were a little bit 'geographically embarrassed' there for a day or three.

[Lucky_Phill]

Thanks Dave.

Keep 'em coming



LP

[Mossy247]

Good stuff Dave, what happened to the greek adonis in the photo's? What happened? :-p

[Silent]

Floating hotel, I remember it has sold and moved into Vietnam river. hotel is called Saigon Floating hotel.

Just google up...

Great old photo Dave!

Cheers

[boney-leg]

That tall ship looks like it could be the Duyfken

Same sort of rigging like the Duyfken but from memory the stern use to be raised up at an angle. Could be the angle of the photo too. Bloody good spotting GBC.

[netmaker]

sorry blokes. distracted by royslaven for beers (cheers mate). and they aren't budgie smugglers - they are called jocks and made for a lot less laundry in a climate that suited it well.:D
gbc - going to plead memory loss again mate. don't recall gps problems at any time but forgot about the gulf war till you mentioned it. now, where did i leave my easter eggs?....

here's a few more anyway:


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eden reef princess charlotte bay. great fishing for virtually anything!!!!

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snapped this fella 5 minutes after he nearly snapped me!!! my closest and scariest encounter with a grey suit and the one that helped me decide not to swim in the sea anymore. he attacked the trawler stabiliser minutes after i got out of the water and landed my best spanish. also took 3 baits in a row and bit each off. unfortunately not noticeable in this pic and i lost the other, was a rope that was tied around his neck and trailed 7 ft down his starboard side. one unhappy chappy...

a few more yet...

[netmaker]

but wait, theres still more...


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shell 6 floating fuel depot (and liquor barn) in the owen channel. old mate and his wife lived in the caravan on board and caught spanish from their back door! how good is that for a retirement plan?

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i think the biggest shovel i have yet seen and real bastards to get back in the drink!
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taking the fifth on these ones too...

[netmaker]

Good stuff Dave, what happened to the greek adonis in the photo's? What happened? :-p

you're getting me mixed up with perry mate. i'm an aussie;D

[netmaker]

and cos you got the steak knives, theres a few more;)

88815
pointy end of a cuda
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bit more of the countryside in gods own land...
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everything gets supersize up nth qld! dont tell fisheries but i used to skin and tan these things and make ties and belts.
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i think perhaps the best photograph i have yet taken...

and i have none others worth putting up that aren't more of the same sorts of fish, sunrises, islands etc although i do have some aboriginal art from the caves up there if anyone is interested i could scan and post tomorrow.
cheers

[Horse]

Great pics mate. Looks like a lot of great country

[royslaven]

Will put up the pic from roonies of you in you budgie smugglers .....you haven't changed a bit
Bet you say that to all the boys

[mull dog]

Great post netmaker, best one I've seen for a while. My grandad used to run trawlers and other boats and was given a half hour video montage of some if them in action back in the 80's. Was amazing to see a boat with literally tonnes of barra and black jew, and threadfin (poor mans barra) and even better to see how the old salts filleted them up in no time. He also lost a prawn trawler in the 90's when he snagged his nets on an old wreck off Moreton and I have co-ords (but I'm not going to tell!). The video is on VHS so I might see if I can save it and upload it somehow, oneday.
Thanks for sharing

[Si]

great post mate. awesome stuff and i bet alot of great memories.

cheers

[Greg P]

Great pics but please post a DT warning where appropriate :o8-)

[OODIES]

Top stuff Davo, brings back good memories for me too.
My pics can't compare with those, especially the pics of Tony Abbott..;)
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[netmaker]

hahaha. mate i remember trawling moreton bay too. i love the bay now but i hated it then. 1 hour shots full of mud, sponges and crap (like in your pics). off townsville, we used to do 3 hour shots and there was less crap on the sorting tray than from an hour long shot down here. i even remember once doing 2 6 hour shots for the night. anytime you needed work up north you only had to mention that you had worked moreton bay and you were in. skippers snapped you up because they knew that you knew how to work. i worked on about 10 trawlers up north and spent 1 whole weekend unemployed which i actually chose to take off. living in close quarters with someone it is imperative that you get on well and i am such a hard arse to get on with...
the worst boat i can remember working on, the skipper had a vb stubbie in his hand from the time we left port until the time we got back and then he was up the pub. there was more space in the cold room dedicated to vb than prawns and i have never been on a filthier boat. cockroaches (no offence macca, boat hog, murf etc) ran around the wheelhouse brazenly in the day time. did one 2 week trip on that boat before moving on. the lord nelson was a dry boat and the boat i made the most money from. coincidence? i don't think so. we only drank when we were taking time off and on special occasions like birthdays. one of the last boats i worked (the lazy river) sunk north of southport 6 months after i got off it. that skipper nearly wrecked the boat off mackay whilst pissed so i would be surprised if he were sober when she sunk... dangerous work environment to be an alcoholic, no doubt about it.

[72qtrex]

Quite an impressive effort building Lord Nelson on the beach. Thanks for the post.

[finga]

everything gets supersize up nth qld!
Even the NQ chop.

[OODIES]

I saw plenty of that behaivour on other boats in the bay Davo, but Marvan was strickly a dry boat and I have carried that through to my own boating, As we all know, it can go wrong all too quickly.

BINGO

[chris69]

The good old days Netmaker,i remember the shell6 a life saver for a block of chocy chips and beer water and more gogo juice to catch more prawns,yes the old bay was were you did your apperntership picking bays,alls you dreamed about was going north,townsville was a great port back then and the vic park pub it use to supprize my how many cheques they cashed,but from the bay to bedford and flattery and pcb was a great eye opener,seasnakes bigger critters to deal with on the tray,wonky holes and working lots more weather i just wish id made it to the gulf and straits,just imagine how much easyer it would have been if TEDs were in place back then,i remember not seeing the other decky from dumping the nets,cheers chris.

[netmaker]

The good old days Netmaker,i remember the shell6 a life saver for a block of chocy chips and beer water and more gogo juice to catch more prawns,yes the old bay was were you did your apperntership picking bays,alls you dreamed about was going north,townsville was a great port back then and the vic park pub it use to supprize my how many cheques they cashed,but from the bay to bedford and flattery and pcb was a great eye opener,seasnakes bigger critters to deal with on the tray,wonky holes and working lots more weather i just wish id made it to the gulf and straits,just imagine how much easyer it would have been if TEDs were in place back then,i remember not seeing the other decky from dumping the nets,cheers chris.

yes mate. they definately were the good ol days. if i didn't get married i certainly wouldn't be shining an office seat with my butt now. i still dream of those days from time to time and wake up with that empty, longing feeling. i did a trip up to townsville 2 years ago and visited the vic park for lunch but it is not the same anymore... i remember when they used to close the doors at 10pm and we would party on out the back for hours after. and then on saturday mornings they had the "heart starters club". beers started at something like 30 cents and went up by 15 cents every 15 minutes. it helped beat the friday night hangover...
never made it up the gulf myself, only to just shy of yorke island. and TED's. yeah!!! i fell asleep at the wheel ONCE. and would you believe we overshot our mark by 1 mile. when we lifted the starboard gear we dropped 5 BIG bull rays on the tray. luckily there was bugger all prawn there so we just spilled the port side bags over the side as there was another 4 rays on that side. my punishment for falling asleep was to get all 5 off the boat on my own. NEVER fell asleep at the wheel again...

[chris69]

Hi there Bingo i remeber the Marvan for doboy creek i started out in the bay on the Mobydick when it was up at builimba.

[netmaker]

i remember marvan too. i worked on the camira in doboy creek and also the midnight lady. also remember the moby dick too chris.

[ranga7]

Awesome pics n.m, you must have some great memories and experiences, if only the fishing was still that good.

cheers ranga

[chris69]

Hi there Dave did you work with the bradlys, i think that owned it and his brother had another one, green and the same hull.

[netmaker]

Awesome pics n.m, you must have some great memories and experiences, if only the fishing was still that good.

cheers ranga

glad you like em mate and yes great time of my life i hope to never forget. and i reckon if you go far enough north the fishing will still be that good.

[netmaker]

Hi there Dave did you work with the bradlys, i think that owned it and his brother had another one, green and the same hull.

yes mate. my first trawler gig was with frank bradley junior. his brother bernie still runs the evie kay (i think) which would be the other green one you are thinking of and there is another bradley brother the rest of the family has shunned. he works only up north and i dont recall the name of his boat.

[chris69]

Hi Dave i might have been on the Cally B at that time in doboy,and the last time i saw Bernie on the evie K was at 1 tree island we had to borrow a grease gun gee that was in 95 i was on the cimmeron then, loved that boat V10 330hp mecedies long stroke and could out trawl anything.

[netmaker]

cant remember either of those mate or 1 tree island for that matter. too many heart starters at the vic park...