The story of retired Newlyn fisherman, Donald Turtle, starts with the beginning of his working life when he signed on as a merchant seaman on the SS Lagosian at South Shields. This was wartime and for the next few years, as a deckie on an oil tanker in the North Atlantic convoys he ran the gauntlet of German U-boats but escaped any war injury.

He remained a merchant seaman until the age of 30 when he declined a further contract and returned to Cornwall and, with no experience as a fisherman, bought the 50ft wooden boat, Bonny Mary, which he converted for long lining.

The rest of the book is devoted to his life as a skipper and boat owner, other larger boats followed the Bonny Mary. But this is more than a simple tale of fishing, Donald writes of the rapid advances in fishing technology and the restrictions imposed by bureaucracy. An absorbing and informative account illustrated with contemporary photographs. 136 pages.

Gone Fishing... ...Fishing Gone (ISBN 0955010608) costs £9.50 and is available from local bookshops or from the author, Donald Turtle.
Call him on 01736 364720.

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