Hello, I’m Tristan Northway, a Brixham based day boat skipper with, in my opinion, the smallest and prettiest day boat in Brixham. I also have a massive passion for fishing. Growing up as a part of a local fishing family it seemed inevitable that I would make my living from the sea.
Whilst still at school I would help my dad’s boss (Robert Penfold, Fiona Mary PW160) land the catch and eventually ended up spending time at sea during the school holidays. The first beamer I went on was the Marilyn Jane with skipper Martin Rogers and crew Nico Looze, and Zebedee. I was an extra deck hand, helping out with the general tasks and learning the ropes.
I then sailed on a few more beamers and actually did my first sea survival ticket whilst still at school as the school determined that it was a form of learning and were happy to give permission to take two days away from lessons and go down to Plymouth. I doubt that I would get permission today or even be able to go to sea at 12 years old!
When I left school I got a job on a beam trawler but soon decided it wasn’t for me. I didn’t like being away for 5/7 days at a time and I didn’t think I was learning quickly enough. So I moved over to the day boats becoming a deck hand on the “Adela”. The early morning starts and late evening finishes took some getting used to but it suited me fine as I would get to spend every evening with my family. Every skipper does things slightly differently and I worked on a number of day boats learning new skills and picking up hints and tips until eventually I was granted permission to take the boat out on my own and, at that time, I was probably the youngest skipper in Brixham.
Now I’m probably the youngest owner skipper fishing out of Brixham and lucky enough to own my own inshore trawler, the “Adela”. It’s a small boat but powerful and offers me a method and scale of fishing that I believe represents the way forward in terms of controlling fish stocks. Being a smaller vessel I have to keep on top of the upkeep of my gear as it needs to be in tip-top condition to fish well. I even design my own trawls as I believe you need to continually adapt to keep ahead of the game.
I always plan ahead, I look at the weather for the coming week, check out the winds and tide and where I want to go to fish. Then I need to consider how long it will take me to get to the fishing grounds, determine how many hauls I’ll make (each probably lasting 2 hours to keep the quality of the fish to its absolute best), and then consider the return journey. If I want to get back by 4pm or 5pm, I may need to leave the grounds at 1pm so an early start is essential. There are some long days!
I know that working on my own I’ve got to be very careful and I always wear my lifejacket. I’ve recently fitted an extra large radar reflector that you normally find on bigger boats and had an AIS system fitted. I want to make sure I’m seen and that larger boats are aware of my presence, as you can never be too careful. Fishing is a dangerous game and taking all measures you can to stay safe is essential.
Looking to the future, I’d like to work with others to increase the profile of Brixham as a port whilst looking to develop the most low impact form of small scale trawling possible. In my view this would help to see our local shores return to the abundant haunt they once were.
To me fishing is a way of life as well as my profession. My preferred choice is to remain day hauling and to concentrate on the inshore fisheries with “Adela”. I would like to eventually replace “Adela” with a newer but more modern design to increase the value of fish I sell.
I hope you have enjoyed my first blog and I look forward to posting the next one!
Tristan Northway
Owner and Skipper of MFV “Adela”, BM79
