Victory Rose WY 34 naming ceremony
4th July 2017
Nearly 300 guests watched skipper James Locker’s mother, Shelia, name the new 26m whitefish vessel Victory Rose WY 34 in the time-honoured manner, in glorious sunshine at Whitby on Saturday, 24 June, reports David Linkie.
Above: Victory Rose WY 34
Built by Parkol Marine Engineering for Lockers Trawlers Ltd, Victory Rose will complete the first new dedicated whitefish pair team to be built for owners in England when she starts fishing in the North Sea with her sistership Our Lass III WY 261; appropriately, in a year in which the Whitby company is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Shelia Locker prepares to name Victory Rose supported by Rebecca Bennett, Andrew, James and Arnold Locker.
After Shelia Locker had broken the traditional bottle of champagne, Peterhead Fishermen’s Mission superintendent Steve Murray blessed Victory Rose while standing on the shelterdeck alongside Arnold Locker and his sons James and Andrew.
Following the naming ceremony, guests attended an evening reception at The Stables Restaurant in Whitby, where they enjoyed a beautifully presented seafood buffet meal. This included a superb selection of halibut, turbot, lemon sole, haddock, monkfish, cod, salmon, prawns, cockles, mussels, Whitby crab and lobster, nearly all of which was sourced from the host’s own boats.
Peterhead Mission superintendent Steve Murray congratulates skipper James Locker after the blessing, watched by Arnold and Andrew Locker.
Parkol director Jim Morrison expressed his thanks for the skill and dedication of the boatyard team, all of who come from Whitby, and said that the town should be extremely proud of what they continue to achieve.
Andrew and James Locker voiced similar sentiments in their humorous addresses, before paying tribute to the forward-looking approach of the family business, as well as the skills and work ethic of their loyal crew, for facilitating the building of Victory Rose just four years after Our Lass III.
Nearly 300 guests gathered on the quayside to watch Shelia Locker name Victory Rose.
Immediately after the meal, what initially appeared to be two particularly clumsy waiters – who made an immediate impact by noisily discarding a tray of cutlery in front of the top table – quickly atoned for their error by entertaining guests for 20 minutes with high-class tenor singing of famous Italian songs, which were enjoyed by all.
The live entertainment was continued by the scripted appearance of Kate Lavery and Keith Wallace, followed by a disco and a fireworks display towards the end of a night on which guests generously donated £1,264 to the Fishermen’s Mission.
Victory Rose, which is named after Arnold Locker’s uncle Alf Locker’s keel boat, is expected to run engine trials from Whitby later this month.
Model presentation
Parkol directors James Morrison and Andrew Oliver present skipper James Locker with the scale model of Victory Rose.
Skipper James Locker was the proud recipient of a scale model of Victory Rose WY 34 during the celebratory seafood buffet following the naming ceremony of the new 26m whitefish vessel.
Parkol Marine Engineering directors James Morrison and Andrew Oliver presented the scale model of Victory Rose made by Redcar model boat builder Ron Harker.
Read more from Fishing News here.
