kjw21:
I know you quoted the money (and understand it may be a bit out of date) but was that for the Merthyr depot as well?
I honestly couldn’t tell you for certain, but seeing as the cornwall drivers are in merthyr all the time and vice versa, they talk to each other and I can’t see it flying for long that the Welsh lot get paid more for doing exactly the same as the cornish lads.
You haven’t recently checked wages in South Wales then? Apart from the Magor/Caldicot triangle, you’ll struggle to get more than minimum wage.
Schofield:
100 a day for a 12 hour shift 8.30 an hour or less than minimum wage if your doing a 15, lets hope this is out of date cause that is Cowboy money
whisperingsmith:
As far as I Know quite a few of the boys who’ve got too old for the fishing have come ashore & driven for them
Mad Joe has the Amsterdam run sown up I hear & happy too!!
They must have barnacles on their brains then working for them peanuts, or should that be cockles
I make more money driving artics than I made on trawlers, life is also easier, much easier. Unless you’ve worked on a boat you have genuinely no idea what it’s like at sea, you also haven’t the foggiest what the pay is like, I’d take 100 a day being in a cushy cab pottering around than being back bounced around The Minch.
That bad at sea is it Adonis ? Knew it was hard work and working all hours in all conditions with 1 hours sleep but didnt think they would get what works out at less than £6 an hour ( in reference to the 15 hour shift for 100 bucks )
whats the pay structure for the guys on the boats ? do you get a basic wage plus a percentage of the earnings ?
Schofield:
That bad at sea is it Adonis ? Knew it was hard work and working all hours in all conditions with 1 hours sleep but didnt think they would get what works out at less than £6 an hour ( in reference to the 15 hour shift for 100 bucks )
whats the pay structure for the guys on the boats ? do you get a basic wage plus a percentage of the earnings ?
Depends. Guys on the pelagic boats can be on a salary, most others are on a share. No basic wage.
Catch nothing, earn nothing, I’ve taken home as little as 100 quid for a weeks work, from crack of dawn Monday till tea time on a Friday. I’ve also made more than 2 grand for 10 days work. When it’s bad it tends to be really bad, such is luck.
On a two week trip we would normally leave harbour, nets in and 4 hours in bed. Then it’s nets up, nets back in and sort catch. If the catch is sorted quickly (usually meaning you didn’t catch enough for it to be worth doing) you might be able to grab an hours kip. 4 hour cycle before the nets came back up and repeat. That’s round the clock in all weathers, we used to land about every 3 days. Maybe 4 hours off on a Saturday to get a shower and chill out then back to it. Once diesel, water, harbour fees, agents, food, ice and the boat have been paid for then wages can be dished out. A normal day was being up for about 20 hours out of 24, so do the maths when you take home 5 or 600, before you sort out your own tax.
That’s not everyone’s experience, but it was mine on a twin rig prawn trawler which seemed to be cursed with bad luck. Glad to be away from it and I wouldn’t go back.
Cheers for the write up. Thats got to feel like a right kick in the balls being away all week and only taking home 100 bucks, all depends how few and far between them 2 grand for 10 days earning spells are !
Not a job for me i used to get sea sick in a Merc Axor
