The first of two identical Shetland sisterships, the new stern trawler Copious was custom-built for a fishery where seakeeping and catch quality are paramount
By Peter Johnson
A Shetland fishing partnership took delivery in January of the first of two 24.9m stern trawlers built at the Croatian Tehnomont Shipyard to plans prepared by Macduff Ship Design.
Copious LK 985 left the yard on 14 January, arriving in Lerwick on the morning of the islands’ fire festival Up Helly Aa, held this year on 31 January.
According to Mark Anderson, who heads 60 North Fishing (Shetland) Ltd, a company also involving Andrew White, Ryan Arthur and fish-selling agent LHD, the worst weather was encountered in the Mediterranean, with the vessel punching into head seas, which she handled well, burning 4,000 litres of fuel per day.
She steamed through the straight off Messina and south of Stromboli, where the volcano could be seen erupting in the distance.
After a stop in Gibraltar for fuel – during which some of the crew went to see the famous macaques – Copious made her way west of Spain and Ireland and up the Minch, before stopping at Lochinver for fuel and fresh water.
The trip could have been completed with the one fuel stop, but with rough conditions anticipated, it was thought best to make the leg from Lochinver to Shetland heavier. The hours spent in port meant that Copious was able to catch a ‘weather window,’ and the rest of the trip was relatively moderate winds with a heavy swell. She was steaming at 10 knots coming into her home port.
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(Main image credit: Ivan Reid)