# The Real Price Of Fish



## 6639 (Apr 20, 2006)

Sadly, as we build our lovely recreations of fishing vessels, I often think about the little lad who in my class at junior school, was notified by a teacher bursting into class ( we were 8 years old at the time)



" ********.....git yerself home lad, yer dad's ship has sunk"



50 years ago today, December 14th 1959 the steam trawler Red Falcon foundered with all hands in the Minch off Skerryvore in the early hours of the morning whilst steaming home with two "sister" ships of the same firm,

She and her crew, all from fleetwood except the fireman who hailed from Plymouth were sadly missed then and if the attendance to the memorial service on Saturday on Fleetwood prom was anything to go by, are still sadly missed. They left 27 children in the town without a dad.............that's the real price of fish...



God bless them one and all.

Neil.

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## treeve (Nov 15, 2005)

Poignant words. 

Bless em all.


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## Steve Farrow (Sep 9, 2006)

Couldn't agree more and I remember the news on the radio as a 13 year old lad like yesterday. I painted her some years ago for Tommy Cecil who was building a museum on Rathlin Island but who unfortunately died of the Bends when diving to a wreck soon after. He wrote a book called, "The Harsh Winds of Rathlin." The painting is in the Gallery here.


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## 6639 (Apr 20, 2006)

I have the book Steve, and what a wonderful book it is too, with excellent art work.....did you paint the cover art work.....superb.
I love the painting of the Red Falcon............did you produce any prints of her by any chance, 
Neil.


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## Steve Farrow (Sep 9, 2006)

I also painted the PINTAIL ashore at Rathlin Island for him, and the SHACKLETON (No photo of the painting though).

Regards

Steve


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## 6639 (Apr 20, 2006)

beautiful work, Steve.
I look forward to your posts.
Neil.


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## benjidog (Oct 27, 2005)

A sad story indeed Neil.

What was the cause of the loss of this vessel - weather or something else?


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## 6639 (Apr 20, 2006)

In the BoT investigation at the time it was just put down to "being overwhelmed by the sea and weather conditions".

She was steaming through hurricaine force winds of 90mph and some say she was light on fish that trip, as they wanted to get home for Christmas.
The skipper of her at the time was a man from the east coast who had mo=ved to Fleetwood for health reasons( called Alec Hardy) and he was doing this trip as a special favour to the owner of the company called Iago.

I interviewed his widow for a story I was writing in 1984 and she remembered the whole episode vividly and showed me many of her husbands mementoes of his fishing days, and this trip was to be his last before he retired from fishing...very sad.

In the BoT investigation the keeper of the Skerryvore Light house (which is something over 180' tall) said that he could see her steaming lights pass abeam of his light some distance away as she was heading for the lee of the Irish coast. Some few minutes later the light hose was hit by two consequitive waves so high that they washed over the lantern house.!!! and moments later he looked out to the last known position of the Red Falcon, and no lights could be seen...............this was at about 02.30 hours, and he stated that he thought that she may have been hit by the first and then whilst trying to recover, was overwhelmed by the second wave.
At 172' loa she didn't stand an earthly chance of surviving.
God bless them.
neil.


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## benjidog (Oct 27, 2005)

Thank you Neil. Very sad indeed!


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## gil mayes (Nov 20, 2006)

The details of the loss of the RED FALCON and further comments were posted on Bosun' Watch to enable others to know more of the tragedy, once again so close to Christmas. I was in the Senior Rates Mess at Port Edgar on Wednesday 16 December when the fact that she was overdue was announced on the 1.00 o'clock news - there was silence in the Mess. Many mess members were ex Fish Squadron and knew her both as RED FALCON and as CAPE BARFLEUR (H213); it was a quiet afternoon in the workshop. We will never know what happened.
Gil.


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## JoeQ (Jan 8, 2009)

The story of the RED FALCON can be found here

http://www.lifeinfleetwood.co.uk/2008/02/06/red-falcon/#more-61


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