Greencastle
June 14, 2023
HM 230. Welcome to the Republic!
When you have been kidnapped by Col Gaddafi and skippered the world's largest trawler, asking an English yachtie to fill out immigration form is not a priority. A handshake and that was the formalities over. I took down my yellow quarantine flag and stepped ashore in the Republic.
Kevin McNelis is quite a man. Born nearby he started fishing on Lough Foyle aged 12, crewing open salmon drift netters, a practise long banned. At 15 he went to the local Fisheries College and quickly rose to be a Greencastle skipper over the next 10 years. Seeking adventure and good money he joined a Dutch company and literally fished the world's oceans spending most of the year away - 3 months fishing the North Atlantic up to the ice, then a similar time off west Africa followed by five months in the Pacific. Kevin has skippered boats off every country in the world, his favourites being Japan and Chile. If you Google his final boat, the 146m Atlantic Dawn you will see it has a controversial history, able to catch 6,500 t of fish in just 24 days.
In 2007 when fishing tuna off Libya, Kevin and several crew on board his tug were arrested and held hostage as part of a complicated deal involving BP and Tony Blair's government. Only after Kevin's wife had phoned the British ambassador in Tripoli were they released. Another time when skippering the Dun Eochalla trawler in a storm off St Kilda, Kevin picked up a mayday from a yacht and went to save it just 50 metres before it went on the rocks.
Seeking a quieter life, Kevin retired as skipper in 2018 and took a part time job at Greencastle harbour. One week later the HM had a heart attack and Kevin took over. He told me the ownership of the Lough Foyle waters is very confusing - the British and Irish governments having been in dispute since 1922. During the troubles Royal Marines would patrol the harbour waters but were not allowed to touch land. The harbour was once evacuated after a call stating bombs had been planted under boats, thankfully it was a hoax.
As chatted to Kevin on the quayside, filling four pages of my notebook, his young grandson listened in to his grandfather's stories. "You should write a book Kevin" I suggested. "Oh yes, my wife keeps saying that." That afternoon Kevin gave me a lift to Londonderry in his electric work van. It's a great vehicle he told me, the trouble is if I travel to the furthest of the other nine Donegal harbours he looks after, it runs out of juice before I get home!
Thank you Kevin for a great welcome to your country.
When you have been kidnapped by Col Gaddafi and skippered the world's largest trawler, asking an English yachtie to fill out immigration form is not a priority. A handshake and that was the formalities over. I took down my yellow quarantine flag and stepped ashore in the Republic.
Kevin McNelis is quite a man. Born nearby he started fishing on Lough Foyle aged 12, crewing open salmon drift netters, a practise long banned. At 15 he went to the local Fisheries College and quickly rose to be a Greencastle skipper over the next 10 years. Seeking adventure and good money he joined a Dutch company and literally fished the world's oceans spending most of the year away - 3 months fishing the North Atlantic up to the ice, then a similar time off west Africa followed by five months in the Pacific. Kevin has skippered boats off every country in the world, his favourites being Japan and Chile. If you Google his final boat, the 146m Atlantic Dawn you will see it has a controversial history, able to catch 6,500 t of fish in just 24 days.
In 2007 when fishing tuna off Libya, Kevin and several crew on board his tug were arrested and held hostage as part of a complicated deal involving BP and Tony Blair's government. Only after Kevin's wife had phoned the British ambassador in Tripoli were they released. Another time when skippering the Dun Eochalla trawler in a storm off St Kilda, Kevin picked up a mayday from a yacht and went to save it just 50 metres before it went on the rocks.
Seeking a quieter life, Kevin retired as skipper in 2018 and took a part time job at Greencastle harbour. One week later the HM had a heart attack and Kevin took over. He told me the ownership of the Lough Foyle waters is very confusing - the British and Irish governments having been in dispute since 1922. During the troubles Royal Marines would patrol the harbour waters but were not allowed to touch land. The harbour was once evacuated after a call stating bombs had been planted under boats, thankfully it was a hoax.
As chatted to Kevin on the quayside, filling four pages of my notebook, his young grandson listened in to his grandfather's stories. "You should write a book Kevin" I suggested. "Oh yes, my wife keeps saying that." That afternoon Kevin gave me a lift to Londonderry in his electric work van. It's a great vehicle he told me, the trouble is if I travel to the furthest of the other nine Donegal harbours he looks after, it runs out of juice before I get home!
Thank you Kevin for a great welcome to your country.