Basking Sharks are early and large

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

Drifting a bit I suppose, wasn't it basking sharks that Gavin Maxwell was trying to base a fishery on, on the west coast of Scotland fifty-odd years ago? Whatever shark type it was, I remember that he had such a long slow learning curve that cost him so much money that the fishery never took off.

Mike

 

[skip50]

Drifting a bit I suppose, wasn't it basking sharks that Gavin Maxwell was trying to base a fishery on, on the west coast of Scotland fifty-odd years ago? Whatever shark type it was, I remember that he had such a long slow learning curve that cost him so much money that the fishery never took off.

Mike

Yes definitely basking sharks he was after. He was based on Soay, just off the South coast of Skye, not the St Kilda one. In the inlet on the north side of the island you could still see some of the 'works', he used an old steam railway engine to produce steam to render down the livers, mind you I was there in 1973, don't know if they are still there. SWMBO and I went ashore for a walk and ended up spending the evening drinking whisky with Tex Geddes, Maxwell's one time business partner. Maxwell wrote a book about the shark fishery (Harpoon at a Venture) Tex Geddes also wrote one-it's name escapes me at the moment!

 

[Grampus]

The Tex Geddes book was called "Hebridean Sharker ". It is a reasonably interesting read but does not have a lot of information about basking sharks nor the hunting of them, it is more about Tex and his extraordinary life.

In this respect, "Harpoon at a venture" by Maxwell is more informative. Although the best known of the shark hunting books, it is not my favourite, I find it very annoying and frustrating - a catalogue of failures, bad decisions and foolishness.

However if you want a really good read about the basking shark fisheries get the book by Anthony Watkins, called "The sea my hunting ground" . Watkins was the most successful of all and his book is full of insight and information and in my view, the best and well worth the read.

The other book worth getting is " The basking shark in Scotland" by Dennis Fairfax - real information and also a great compendium of earlier work.

There is also one other, "The sunfish hunt" by Keith McNally, which is OK but not the best.

Sunfish is one of the old names for basking sharks, and still used in Ireland. If you look on the charts, about 11 degrees West, you will find the Sunfish Bank which was once a place where baskers were hunted long before the Achill Island netting fishery.

 

[Wooden Boat Fittings]

Ah. Thank you, gentlemen. It was 'Harpoon at a Venture' that I remember, and I remember my reactions being much the same as Grampus'. I see some more reading in my future....

Mike

 

[alant]

Urine is alkaline, Vinegar is acid. It's going to be one or the other, not either!

This is a site, which suggests vinegar (acid) or baking powder paste (alkaline), so seems some confusion perhaps.

http://www.alertdiver.com/Marine_Envenomations_Jellyfish_and_Hydroid_Stings

Crew on a transatlantic, got stung badly/painfully, when we picked one up in a bucket. Looked like a kids coloured balloon toy floating. Only touched a small piece that had broken off, but was in agony. Tried all the tricks with vinegar etc, eventually got better.

 

[DaveS]

Yes definitely basking sharks he was after. He was based on Soay, just off the South coast of Skye, not the St Kilda one. In the inlet on the north side of the island you could still see some of the 'works', he used an old steam railway engine to produce steam to render down the livers, mind you I was there in 1973, don't know if they are still there. SWMBO and I went ashore for a walk and ended up spending the evening drinking whisky with Tex Geddes, Maxwell's one time business partner. Maxwell wrote a book about the shark fishery (Harpoon at a Venture) Tex Geddes also wrote one-it's name escapes me at the moment!

I met Tex Geddes on Soay in 1997, about 6 months before he died. Quite a character. A locomotive boiler was still there - though red with rust - forming a bizarre foreground to the Skye Cuillin.