The Boats That Built Britain - The Reaper

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The Boats That Built Britain - The Reaper - Part 2

Рет қаралды 38,897

4 жыл бұрын

The Reaper is the biggest sailing lugger ever to fish the seas. Seventy feet long and capable of pulling in ten tonnes of herring in a single haul, the Reaper was an awesome beast that fed Britain at a time when she needed it most. Sailor and writer Tom Cunliffe sails her for himself and finds out just how this giant of the seas came about.

Пікірлер: 65

@rorybone100 3 жыл бұрын

I'll seriously struggle to express just how much I'm enjoying these films. Tom Cunliffe is obviously a serious mariner but an absolute natural in front of camera.

@nickviner1225 4 жыл бұрын

I was on fishery protection in about 1968/9 on H,M.S. Nubian out of Lossiemouth and Scapa Flow I can remember looking down onto the decks of theses fifies. Sometimes with no sign of men whilst they ate lunch below, I was amazed that men could endure those surroundings. It was often force 9 or 10 . At other times they were up to their waists in their waders in cod. To see them cut throat and gut those big fish with one stroke of a knife and to consider they were doing it non stop till all that netfull was down in the hold was something that I certainly made me very happy to be on the bridge of a warship. We used to say those men came from a time when ships were made of wood and men of iron. We were sent up there after the Ross Cleveland and another fishing boat who"s name I can not recall were lost due to icing.

@1life2liveADV 4 жыл бұрын

Beautifully told Tom, you enhance the story and bring us into your journey. I love the romance in your narrative of these stories. Thank you

@BoatYardBuilds 4 жыл бұрын

And thank you.

@allangillis9159 Жыл бұрын

Tom...where these "Fifies" working the west coast also? My family is from The Hebrides and I wonder if there is a "cosmic connection" between me and that fine vessel! My heart lifted (as I am a sailor out of Boston Harbor (USA) as you actually spoke of the sails seemingly lifting the boat...i KNOW and LOVE that feeling! Again, thank you for these wondrous presentations!!!

@allangillis9159 Жыл бұрын

That was simply WONDERFUL!!! Thank you Mr. Cunliffe!!!

@seanchilton9713 2 жыл бұрын

I was lucky enough to sail on their smaller Lugger, White Wing, in 2019. I was also involved in the flotilla to welcome her back to Anstruther from Rosyth, a magical day I will never forget. Beautiful clip, I'm astounded I haven't seen it before, cheers Tom.

@stevenwatsham5973 Жыл бұрын

An overcast calm day is ideal for catching Herring.. I fish for them with my own Smack.. Our Boys 92ck..

@Skidderoperator 5 ай бұрын

Quality film, thanks a lot.

@claverton 3 ай бұрын

Wonderfully done, magnificent boat

@ricardobufo 3 жыл бұрын

In this windy old weather, stormy old weather, when the wind blows, we'll all pull together.

@raybohn9886 3 жыл бұрын

Your stories are brilliant Tom, and the images are beautiful. Thank you!

@AfricanFlightStar 3 жыл бұрын

Wow, what a piece of maritime history, and the story beautifully told as always Mr Cunliffe. Thanks for sharing that with us 👍🏼☺️ Talking about the demise of the herring industry - I must say I'm rather surprised that in all of your sailing videos (I've now watched every one) I don't recall you ever mentioning a thing about what damage we have done to our oceans over the past 100 or so years, and especially over the past 50 years. Globally roaming factory ships have & are decimating our oceans, and us sailors, fishermen, surfers and divers who are in our sixties and seventies now, have all witnessed it first hand. Those of us who have a profound love for the sea and all that inhabits it, can no longer sit by and say nothing. So it would sure be nice to hear someone like you who commands a sizable audience, talk about why we need to take better care of the oceans, and exactly how each one of us can play a part in doing that. Maybe you already do that in some manner, and if so please tell us about it in your new upcoming series - "Stewards of the Oceans ~ Stories of the brave men & women who protect our seas!" I just know it's going to be a hit series 👍🏼☺️🙏🏻

@seanmcardle 3 жыл бұрын

so great to have a presenter who knows what he is talking about.

@chrisward7582 3 жыл бұрын

An excellent film, thank you so much. The best presenter :)

@fernandopratesi5378 3 жыл бұрын

Tom, my cherished time at sea is on hold, but this is the next best thing! It’s as if I’ve been transported to another time and place, hoisting canvas with those hearty fishermen! Thanks and cheers from the Salish Sea

@peterlewis7292 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, what a fascinating craft. My mother now in her 80's can remember her parents taking her as a small girl to possibly Gt. Yarmouth to see and watch the scottish fisher girls gutting and packing the herring, they were doing it in seconds per fish. Mum said it was not long after the herring fleet finished at Gt Yarmouth.

@Helloverlord 3 жыл бұрын

Stories like this make me proud for the Brits being a Brits (please dont drag politics into it)...cant really explain the feeling. O.o

@MichaelOZimmermannJCDECS 3 жыл бұрын

...no politics, you are a seafaring nation, a few centuries behind the greatest of them all, the Vikings!

@danjames4086 11 ай бұрын

Yep. No need for politics, and there's nothing wrong with feeling pride or appreciating the history of your country. I know next to nothing about boats and sailing, but recently spent a week on a historic sailing boat. Something about it has got under my skin. I guess it's because most Britons have ancestry that came across the water.

@sailingyoumeandjosapea6770 3 жыл бұрын

Wow ! Got me emotional Tom for all sorts of reasons. She really is a wonderful sight to see thank you for this .

@bigrobnz 3 жыл бұрын

What a great series this is....I"m so glad I found it.....

@daleskidmore1685 4 жыл бұрын

A beautiful boat and great story. On a lateral note, I really wonder if the early pioneers of flight ever actually looked at a sail and put two and two together. Or even if sailors / boat builders understood how they worked.

@unconventionalideas5683 Жыл бұрын

The first pioneers of flight, the Wright Brothers, learnt aerodynamics because they were trying to build a faster bobsled, from what I understand. But the materials choices for the wings were remarkably similar to what sails and booms were made of, from my understanding, so they may well have been aware of those principles.

@c5back9 3 жыл бұрын

Love this series! Well done lads!!!

@hughsmith7668 2 жыл бұрын

Wonderful

@gordonstewart8258 4 жыл бұрын

I wish you had shown her coming about. I know that dipping lug sail is moved from one side of the mast to the other when tacking, but I've never been able to picture how this was done in practice. I would love to watch the procedure.

@pikethree 3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely, I've bought a ness yoal and haven't a clue how to sail it, just so tired of the bermudan

@gordonstewart8258 3 жыл бұрын

@@pikethree No worries. As I recall, the Ness Yawl has a balanced lug sail, which is the simplest thing in the world to handle. Don't worry about moving the sail around the mast when you tack, just let the boom come across naturally. True, it will be deformed by the mast on the port tack, but that doesn't seem to make much difference. I've even heard sailors with lots more experience than I have say that it draws better that way.

@peterlovett5841 3 жыл бұрын

Absolutely, I am watching this saying to myself, "go about - I want to see how its done".

@cliffstevenson5773 3 жыл бұрын

Top notch episode. Thanks!

@MegaMeerkat3000 4 жыл бұрын

Can not wait for more videos!!!

@BoatYardBuilds 4 жыл бұрын

On the way.

@ghp95134 Жыл бұрын

Excellent stories, I'm enjoying them all! In this episode I'm surprised you did not include the Corrie's version of "Shoals o' Herring" since the lyrics include "sailing lugger" and "silver darlings.'" Wi our nets and gear we're faring On the wild and wispful ocean It's there on the deep that we harvest and reap our bread As we hunt the bonny shoals o' herring T'was was a fine and a pleasant summer's day Out of Yarmouth harbour I was faring As a cabin boy on a sailing lugger We were off to hunt the shoals o' herring Now the work was hard and the hours were long And the treatment surely took some bearing There was little kindness and the kicks were many As we hunted for the shoals o' herring Now we fished the Swarth and the Broken Bank I was cook and I'd a quarter sharing And I used to sleep standin' on my feet And I'd dream about the shoals o' herring Well we left the home ground in the month o' June And for canny Shields we soon were bearing Wi a hundred cran of the silver darlings That we'd taken from the shoals o' herring Through the stormy seas and the living gale Just to earn your daily bread you're daring From the Dover Straits to the Faroe Islands As you're following the shoals o' herring Now you're up on deck you're a fisherman You can swear and show a manly bearing Take your turn on deck wi the other fellows As you're following the shoals o' herring Night and day we're faring Come winter wind or winter gale Sweat or cold growing up growing old and dying As you hunt the bonnie shoals o' herring Cheers!

@DavidPaulNewtonScott 10 ай бұрын

You didn't say much about the rig, a dipping lug. Personally I believe this is the ultimate rig. I am converting my Howard's Way boat a Galion 22 to a dipping lug rig.

@jimjenkins673 4 жыл бұрын

Fantastic.

@hoolio40 3 жыл бұрын

There's a painting up in caithness somewhere showing my great-grandfather bringing the church organ over from stroma to the mainland on a stroma yole built to carry loads they were. Up on stroma there's still old sailing stuff. Proud people and proud of thier yoles(yawl)

@jerrymiller276 4 жыл бұрын

I love tanbark sails.

@aronmclean6772 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Tom!

@Redmanfms 2 жыл бұрын

Mr. Cunliffe, please if you be so kind as to write down these men's songs, or direct us to someone who has.

@zerofox7347 Жыл бұрын

I wonder what those fisherman would think if you told them in 2022 it would cost about £10 to put that packed lunch together!

@Aerobob42 4 жыл бұрын

I enjoyed the video. It would have been nice if more information was given on the use of the steam capstan. For instance, did they keep steam up all the time in case it was needed or only when hoisting the sail and pulling in the nets? Also was the steam generated from the main galley stove or a separate boiler system and roughly how much coal did they use on a fishing trip? Hope that's not too many questions :-) Thanks.

@swsfrancais7289 3 жыл бұрын

Bob M. Hello there shipmate. I see it's been a fortnight since your comment & you have not had a reply. Well, mate, I'm no expert & I'm unsure whether your interest lies with steam or fishing, but this is my response. You must remember most skippers of the Fifie & other fishing vessels of that time were employees of the owner of a fleet of fishing vessels - so when they went out fishing the skipper (possibly the crew too - remember I'm no expert) effectively "chartered" the vessel. If anything the lads lost during the voyage, (nets, etc) the replacement cost came out of the skipper's/crew's pockets . And so, during the 1870's the steam capstan was introduced. On introduction there were "Capstan riots" as the skippers saw another expensive bit of kit for them to be manage, maintain & I suspect they would be responsible for paying the coal consumed. The Fifie was the "Mark I" version of the Scottish drifter. In 1879 the "Nonsuch" was built & was known as a "Zulu" & considered the epitome of sail drifter design. It's a fascinating subject covering vernacular design & the lives of these hard men. Hope this helps to fire your further interest. Chin-chin

@Aerobob42 3 жыл бұрын

@@swsfrancais7289 Hello Cap'n, Barnacle Bob here, I've been stuck in the heads for a fortnight waiting for a reply and so far, apart from your good self, nothing has turned up, so thanks for dropping me a line! Serious;y though, thanks for the info. I think I'm into boats in general rather than fishing itself but also the skills that go with it. I've been watching the restoration of a pilot cutter (Tally Ho - on YT) which has been going on for about two years or so, fascinating carpentry/shipbuilding etc., I hope to live long enough to see her re-launched. So, wooden boats and sail of all sorts are interesting but so are engines too. So I'm a sucker for a bit of boat porn but really have little real knowledge or experience myself although I was a sea cadet when a teenager, not much boating but we did get taken for a sail in a whaler on the Welsh Harp (old reservoir) which was an experience. I appreciate your comments on the workings of the Scottish drifter and will check out the subject a bit more. Part of the reason I watched the video was not knowing what a Scottish drifter was. Although interested in boats/ships I'm mostly interested in working boats rather than leisure craft. They are amazing things. During this lockdown caper, there was a shortage of my favourite kippers but as things eased a few weeks back, getting the urge, I lashed out £10 on a pair delivered by post. It was worth it! Anyway, thanks for writing. Enjoy the good weather. .

@comboyneorchard8537 3 жыл бұрын

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bN6Zp9WJrbqYfIk.html You may find this of interest Fair Seas Drew

@mrtrailesafety 3 жыл бұрын

Beautiful series, thank you! Couple of things: I’d love to see these ships brought about while under sail. Questions: How were these boats originally financed in the shipyard, then to the owners? Was the transition from hemp to canvas the result of American/Egyptian or Indian cotton?

@nicholasfernandes2217 3 жыл бұрын

Hello, I'm building a lugger dinghy in Brazil. I'd like to know what kind of material is used to build this sail. I mean the fabric? Tks

@bobthesnobscotland2821 4 жыл бұрын

A bonnie lass

@MattTucker 2 жыл бұрын

How did they tack these Luggers? From what I can see they didn’t have a ‘bad side’. The sail fully set and not pressed against the mast on either tack but it never shows a tack.

@theovanveen5375 Жыл бұрын

I have that same question, as I am seriously considering rigging my old double ended trawler like this! Anybody out there with an answer?

@damianazzinari2384 4 жыл бұрын

46/5000 Why are your latest videos without subtitles?

@1701_FyldeFlyer 4 жыл бұрын

All those sea shanty's probably lost forever?

@BoatYardBuilds 4 жыл бұрын

Until now.

@Fabianweso. 4 жыл бұрын

How do you tack such a sail?

@BoatYardBuilds 4 жыл бұрын

I’ll ask Tom and get back to you.

@pikethree 3 жыл бұрын

@@BoatYardBuilds My ness yoal has a gaff rig with a boom, I was advised to lose the boom and sent on my way 😁 I think she'll be called a balanced lug then, do I know how to sail one? No But she's needing all the varnish scraped, bad bits replaced and the sprung wooden mast replaced... If I can convince the bus company to let me have some time off 'that would be great'

@mikefule330 3 жыл бұрын

These sails are dipping lugs. The yard crosses the mast, and the tack (front bottom corner) of the sail is hauled down to a fixed point some distance forward of the mast. When you tack, you need to transfer the yard and sail to the new lee (downwind) side of the mast. This is quite a big job, but for a fishing boat, you would only have to do it rarely. You'd go out to the fishing grounds on one tack, and come back on the other tack. It's not like a dinghy where you're tacking every couple of minutes as you race around buoys. For a big dipping lugsail, the usual thing was to lower the yard all the way to the deck, disconnect it from the halyard, and disconnect the tack downhaul, and manually carry the yard and sail to the other side of the mast. Then you reattach it and hoist it on the new side. On some vessels they had a pair of yards and sails, one on each side of the mast and they would simply lower one and hoist the other. Close hauled, it wasn't strictly necessary if you had to do a series of short tacks. However, with the sail out on a reach or run, or for a long distance close hauled, the mast would spoil the sail shape if the sail was on the upwind side of the mast, and pressed against it.

@paxwallacejazz 3 жыл бұрын

So you caught what? 100lbs 50 10? Nothing?

@pikethree 3 жыл бұрын

Get the Dutch and French mega trawlers out our waters! Not 1 fish in that net...

@sailingyoumeandjosapea6770 3 жыл бұрын

Too true

@philgray1023 3 жыл бұрын

I saw the same in 1970. Full day fishing and not a single fish. No fish meant no wages. So à full 12 hours hard toil, hand hauling nets for no pay. Then, if you were unlucky, fixing nets at the end of the day.

@mikefule330 3 жыл бұрын

@Sos the Rope. I read those books Sos, Var, Neq, 40 years ago. Thought I was the only one who had. :)