Ross Tiger

History
United Kingdom
Name: MV Ross Tiger
Owner: Ross Trawlers Ltd
Port of registry: Grimsby, Lincolnshire
Builder: Cochrane & Sons, Selby
Laid down: 1956, completed and in service February 1957
Status: Retired 1992 for preservation as a museum ship in Grimsby's Alexandra Dock as part of the Fishing Heritage Centre
General characteristics
Type: Trawler
Tonnage: 355 tons
Length: 127'6
Beam: 26'6

The Ross Tiger is a traditional side-winder fishing trawler that was converted into a museum ship in 1992.[1] She is currently berthed in Alexandra Dock at her home port of Grimsby, close to the site of the former PS Lincoln Castle. She forms the star attraction of North East Lincolnshire County Council's National Fishing Heritage Centre since restored and opened to the public in 1992.[2][3] As Grimsby's last traditional sidewinder 'conventional trawler', she represents a now virtually extinct breed of vessels that once made up the largest fishing fleet in the world.[4]

She is a member of the National Register of Historic Vessels with certificate number 621.

History

The Ross Tiger, GY398, is North East Lincolnshire's memorial to the history of the Port of Grimsby. The town today has thriving industry and is, according to ABP,'Chief vehicle-handling centre of the North, handling almost 400,000 vehicles annually' with ships up to 6000 dwt [5] However, Grimsby will always be associated with its terrific history. With Victorian docks once the envy of the nation, Grimsby was famed for its great fishing fleet. Fishing from the port of Grimsby goes back as far as Grim, the Danish fisherman who founded the town, and her trawlers were a permanent feature of one of the busiest waterways in the British Isles – the River Humber.[6] The importance of the Humber was not forgotten during both world wars and neither was the town's fishing fleet. Grimsby became the largest base for minesweepers in Britain, with the trawlers and motor minesweepers clearing 34,858 mines from the North Sea lanes during the Second World War.[7] The brave men of the Royal Naval Patrol Service used peacetime fishing vessels to venture into known mine infested waters to sink mines and hunt submarines. Many did not return. They are remembered with a memorial constructed by their surviving comrades who remember how vital their work was for Britain's war effort. When the trawlers returned to their fishing roles the fishing fleet grew along with the national demand for fish, with Grimsby rising to the title of the largest fishing port in the world.[8] The Ross Tiger (GY 398) was built to supply that demand.

Grimsby was witness to the evolution of the fishing trawler. It saw the change from the early timber sailing vessels to the introduction of steam which revolutionised the fishing fleet. Steam allowed for powerful vessels to push ever further north and it was soon found that new steel steam trawler design had to evolve further to cope with the extreme environments the ships were required to encounter; the traditional 'bridge aft side' design of trawler was lost to ships with a hardy sleek steel wheelhouse amidships, the ships developed sleek hulls with the addition of a 'whaleback' forward in an attempt to provide shelter to the fishdeck, steam engines were replaced by modern powerful marine diesel technology and at the final stage of this evolution of the side winder trawler we find the Ross Tiger. Being built in the 1950s she was constructed the decade prior to Grimsby's introduction to the modern 'stern trawlers' and welded ship construction that changed the profile of the trawler forever. She is also old enough to retain the traditional character, brass and woodwork that reminds us of the heritage and atmosphere of trawlers long before her time, but was lost by the 1960s.

Ross Tiger was the first of twelve new trawlers for one of Grimsby's most prolific trawler owners. She entered service fresh from the yards of Cochrane and Sons, Selby, Yorkshire to become part of the 'middle water' fleet for Ross Trawlers Ltd. The trawlers of the town took their crews away in what is recognised as 'the most dangerous job in the United Kingdom'[9] and scoured the ocean floors for deep sea fish, with a particular focus on cod and haddock. Haddock, regarded as a cleaner fish by Grimbarians, was preferred locally although the rail links from the town allowed for Grimsby fish to supply the nation, particularly with links to the south and the great Billingsgate Fish Market of London. The Cod Wars spelt the end of the life of many Grimsby trawlers, though some were saved from the breakers' yard to become standby vessels used for offshore oil rigs. The Ross Tiger was among those fortunate few, changing hands in 1985. However, the aging vessels were soon to be redundant and Ross Tiger was looking at the breakers' yard or yet another change of hands. Once again, the Tiger proved lucky. She was purchased by a museum trust to become the star attraction of her home town's Fishing Heritage Centre,[1] and restored to her fishing day glory. An article in the Grimsby Telegraph on the 14th of July 1992 quoted the local council as they made it clear that Ross Tiger "will remain as a fitting monument to the people who sailed out of what was once known as the world's premier fishing port". Guided tours of the vessel show visitors the unique spaces aboard and demonstrate how various pieces of equipment aboard this traditional design of trawler were used.

Despite conversion to a standby vessel, much of the original fabric of the ship is retained. This makes the Tiger a unique survivor, allowing visitors to witness her original Ruston and Hornsby diesel engines, wood paneling, cabins and bunks, ships galley and mess room as well as the beautifully preserved wheelhouse with period instruments. The plush skipper's berth, just abaft the bridge, is also surprisingly well preserved, down to the original lampshades! This all combines to provide visitors with a genuine feel for this special and unique environment. These are the long lost surroundings that were familiar to the men who, for generations, satisfied much of the nation's desire for deep sea fish.

Ross Tiger has recently undergone substantial maintenance work to her exterior above the waterline, enabling her to continue to give a valuable insight into the lives of the fisherman of the past. She is a very solidly built ship, up for the death-defying role she was designed for, and is still sound. However, unless she is able to secure funding for her future and the required maintenance work that will soon be needed to her hull, including transport to an area of the docks that will permit this, the people of Grimsby will be concerned for her future. The recent grisly fate of the historic PS Lincoln Castle is still fresh in the memories of those who care for the tremendously significant and industrious, yet astoundingly overlooked, history of the region.

The Classes and their Grounds

Ross Tiger was the first of twelve new trawlers for the 'middle water' fleet of Ross Trawlers Ltd, complementing the larger 'deep water' fleet of the firm, with Cochrane and Sons also constructing a new smaller class of 'near water' vessels. Tiger and her sisters were to be known as the 'Cat Class' or the 'Cat Boats', each being named after a type of cat, although the Ross Jackal and the Ross Zebra also belonged to the group. This inclusion of a dog and a horse in the Cat Class was probably the result of a local school being involved in the naming of the ships. This was in keeping with the companies' involvement with the youth of the town and extended as far as giving guided school tours of the trawlers between trips whilst moored in Grimsby docks, with meals provided in the company canteen. Those children would soon be in search for work - a fact that the company knew well - and in the largest fishing port in the world[10] that was likely to have been work at the docks. A fond memory of Ross Trawlers may well have been enough to ensure that those lads signed onto a Ross Group ship instead of one of the many rival firms in the town.

As a middle water trawler she would work the North Sea, Faroe Islands and the Norwegian coast, although is capable of making trips further north. The larger 'deep water' vessels would commonly take on the hazardous Arctic oceans including Bear Island and Greenland . The Ross Revenge, better known as the radio ship Radio Caroline belonged to the deep water fleet of Ross Trawlers and is still in existence today, preserved in her radio ship form. The smaller vessels of the Ross fleet, designed for waters closer to home, were known as the 'Bird Class' or 'Bird Boats' and were named after birds, for example, Ross Falcon and Ross Mallard. As the Ross Tiger was the first of her kind, subsequent Cat Class vessels saw minor alterations to the design. This included slightly extending the bridge top to allow for larger side-light screens and the addition of bobbin derricks to the bridge verandah to assist in working the trawl. Most of the class built after 1958 featured a flat transom, although the Ross Jackal of 1960 was given the original rounded transom as seen on the Ross Tiger. Despite these few alterations the vessels of the class were, in most respects, identical sisters. Today, what was once the largest fishing port in the world has only a handful of small fishing craft and no deep water fleet.The recent controversial loss of the PS Lincoln Castle gave cause for concern that the town was losing touch with its once Great status, with the Grimsby Telegraph quoting NE Lincs Council as stating 'it would not be right to burden council taxpayers with the bill'[11] to keep the steamer in the town. Fishing the way that the Ross Tiger did, the handling of the heavy trawl equipment of a sidewinder, the open decks and low rails and the long hours in the elements gutting fish by hand on deck is thankfully far from the ways of the modern deep sea trawlers of today.

The only reminder in Grimsby of what people in this part of the world did for so long, on this traditional design of trawler, is the uniquely surviving Ross Tiger. After that it will be photographs and books.

Fisherman, Lou Torrington, shelving haddocks in the fishroom of the Cat Class trawler Ross Leopard, sistership to the Ross Tiger
A view of the fishdeck and bridge of the Ross Tiger, taken from atop of the whaleback. CLICK for further description.
The bridge interior of the Ross Tiger
The Ross Tiger seen at dusk in Grimsby's Alexandra dock.

Statistics

Hauntings

The museum, including the Ross Tiger, is said to be the home of various spirits. This has manifested itself in unexplained cold spots, smells, such as tobacco smoke, and footsteps with no obvious source. It is believed that the spirits may be associated with the previous use of the land that the museum occupies - a former timber yard - though some believe that the hauntings of the Ross Tiger are more likely to be due to former crew members or a particular ex-member of the museum staff that enjoys making his presence known. Investigators from television's Most Haunted have visited the ship.[13]

Previous Skippers

Include but may not be limited to -

Ross Tiger skipper Alf Hodson (left), with Mate L Torrington, seen at Hull Fair. Mr Hodson went on to become a well-respected former trawler guide of the Ross Tiger during preservation of the vessel as a museum at Grimsby's National Fishing Heritage Centre.
Flag flown by trawlers of the Ross fleet, usually also painted onto the funnel of the ship

The 'Cat Boats'

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Tide turns for fishing museum" BBC News Accessed 2010–06–13
  2. ↑ North East Lincolnshire Council: Fishing Heritage Centre - Ross Tiger
  3. ↑ Tale of a Tiger
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
  7. ↑
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ http://www.careerbuilder.co.uk/Article/CB-127-Job-Search-Britains-Most-Dangerous-Jobs/
  10. ↑ Days out: "Gone fishing in Grimsby" The Independent, 8 September 2002
  11. ↑
  12. ↑ http://web.ukonline.co.uk/rayricho/tiger7.htm
  13. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/humber/4106510.stm
  14. ↑ Grimsby Trawler Skippers
  15. ↑ http://www.tallshipjaguar.com/
  16. ↑ http://www.nelincs.gov.uk/art-culture-and-leisure/museums-and-galleries/fishing-heritage-centre/fishing-heritage-centre-ross-tiger/
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