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Boy Andrew is the catch of the day


By Will Clark

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The new Boy Andrew WK170.
The new Boy Andrew WK170.

THE newest addition to the Caithness fishing fleet has officially been christened as dozens of people from Caithness headed to Denmark for its naming ceremony.

The Bremner Fishing Company will soon be bringing home the £2.8 million Boy Andrew WK170 after final fittings to the vessel were completed this month.

More than 50 people travelled over from Caithness to Hvide Sande where the ceremony drew a large crowd.

Skipper Andrew Bremner invited over 50 friends and family as well as crew members of the former Boy Andrew and Opportune for the special occasion.

The official naming ceremony of the fishing boat was performed by Mr Bremner’s wife Rhona, who smashed the customary bottle of champagne on the side of the vessel to wish it and its crew good luck while working in the sea.

Boy Andrew is a 27.5-metre white fishboat which was built by shipbuilding company Vestværftet ApSs.

The party also included more than 100 guests based in Denmark who Andrew has worked closely with and made friends with over the years.

Mr Bremner, who has fished in the previous Boy Andrew for more than 30 years, is proud of his new acquisition.

He said he is looking forward to bringing her home.

“It is a totally different boat to the previous one we had,” he said.

“We are hoping to run engine trials next Friday. The engine trials will be taking place in Denmark where the boat was fitted out. The following week the boat will take part in fishing trials.

“This will involve testing all our fishing gear and ensuring the vessel’s hydraulic pressure is working fine.

“It is hard to plan anything out because of the weather.

“Hopefully, if everything goes according to plan, we will have the boat back home by the end of the month.

“Once it arrives back we will looking to go out fishing by the start of February.”

The vessel will able to hold a maximum of seven crew members.

The new boat will be able to carry around 1100 boxes, 31,000 litres of fuel and 26,000 litres of fresh water for domestic and ice-making requirements.

The new and improved features of the vessel include computerised winches for operating the fishing gear, a more up-to-date fish-handling system and two ice-producing machines.

The fishing boat is the fifth to have the name Boy Andrew.

The first was built in 1959 for his late father Norrie.

It was named after Andrew who was born the year before.

The family fishing tradition is to carry on as Mr Bremner’s son, Andrew, has obtained his skipper’s qualifications and is a member of the present crew.

The previous Boy Andrew has been sold and will be used as a crab boat.

The new vessel was launched at Gdynia Shipyard in Poland in June and sailed to Denmark for the final fittings to be carried out.

The Bremner Fishing Company owns the Boy Andrew and Opportune which are the last two fishing vessels to operate in the county.

Boy Andrew WK170 will be based permanently at Scrabster Harbour.


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