Antarctic II

Looking for a blip opportunity I drove down to look at the boats in Lerwick. A window into another world.

The Antarctic II is a pelagic fishing vessel belonging to Whalsay. It was built in 2004 but reading up on it, I find it was lengthened a couple of years ago. I couldn't help thinking of inserting extra inches into a sleeve or back of a jumper. I guess much the same principles apply. You want an invisible join and must be careful not to create a point of weakness.

So, in 2017 Antarctic II made the trip to a Norwegian shipyard. 20mm square key steels were welded to the hull to form a 15mm gap, which then served as a guide for cutting the boat in two. The cutting tool was a diamond-encrusted wire, cooled by water. A new 7.8 metre hull section, was then lifted into place.

This lengthening was part of a major up-grade, improving fishing efficiency and crew safety. A further reason making changes necessary is the increasingly severe weather in the months of January and February when the vessel fishes mackerel in the North Atlantic, west of Scotland and Ireland.

Quite a lot to ponder, as I drive past, safe on dry land.