Portrait of Robert Robertson of Campbeltown.

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4355

Title

Portrait of Robert Robertson of Campbeltown.

Description

Portrait of Robert Robertson of Campbeltown.

Robert Robertson, Campbeltown, known as ‘The Hoodie’, pictured c 1939.  He was the most influential and innovative ring-net fisherman of the 20th century.  In 1907, he was the first fisherman on the West Coast of Scotland to instal motor power: a 7-9 h.p. Kelvin petrol-paraffin engine in the skiff ‘Brothers’ CN97, built in 1900 by John Thomson, Ardrossan, for his step-father, John ‘The Junk’ McIntyre.

In 1922, Robertson, and partners, ventured on an even greater gamble with a radical new design of ring-netter from the boatyard of James Miller & Sons, St Monans. The ‘Falcon’ CN97 and ‘Frigate Bird’ CN99 constituted a singular departure from the traditional Loch Fyne Skiff: they were bigger (at 50 feet), canoe-sterned, and completely decked, with a small wheelhouse aft.

Success did not come at once to Robertson, but within several years his model was adopted more widely and eventually became the standard ring-netter throughout the British Isles.  Unusually, Robertson had travelled extensively in the study of fishing boats and methods, notably in Norway and the USA; and he emigrated to Australia in 1911 but failed to settle there and returned to Campbeltown.

In his final years, he was afflicted by blindness, which forced him into early retirement, and he died in 1940, aged 59.  He had an extraordinary hunter’s instinct for being in the right place at the right time, a gift possessed by only the greatest of fishermen.  ‘Falcon’ and ‘Frigate Bird’ were followed by a succession of ring-netters built for Robertson and his various partners: ‘Crimson Arrow’ CN208 in 1927; ‘Nil Desperandum’ CN232 in 1928; ‘Kestrel’ CN93 and ‘Kittiwake’ CN94 both in 1930; ‘Nulli Secundus’ CN246 in 1932; ‘Kingfisher’ CN263 and ‘Kingbird’ CN264 both in 1933.

For more on Robertson and his partners, refer to Angus Martin’s 'The Ring-Net Fishermen'.

Image from A Martin, Campbeltown.

Portrait of Robert Robertson of Campbeltown.

Robert Robertson, Campbeltown, known as ‘The Hoodie’, pictured c 1939. He was the most influential and innovative ring-net fisherman of the 20th century. In 1907, he was the first fisherman on the West Coast of Scotland to instal motor power: a 7-9 h.p. Kelvin petrol-paraffin engine in the skiff ‘Brothers’ CN97, built in 1900 by John Thomson, Ardrossan, for his step-father, John ‘The Junk’ McIntyre.

In 1922, Robertson, and partners, ventured on an even greater gamble with a radical new design of ring-netter from the boatyard of James Miller & Sons, St Monans. The ‘Falcon’ CN97 and ‘Frigate Bird’ CN99 constituted a singular departure from the traditional Loch Fyne Skiff: they were bigger (at 50 feet), canoe-sterned, and completely decked, with a small wheelhouse aft.

Success did not come at once to Robertson, but within several years his model was adopted more widely and eventually became the standard ring-netter throughout the British Isles. Unusually, Robertson had travelled extensively in the study of fishing boats and methods, notably in Norway and the USA; and he emigrated to Australia in 1911 but failed to settle there and returned to Campbeltown.

In his final years, he was afflicted by blindness, which forced him into early retirement, and he died in 1940, aged 59. He had an extraordinary hunter’s instinct for being in the right place at the right time, a gift possessed by only the greatest of fishermen. ‘Falcon’ and ‘Frigate Bird’ were followed by a succession of ring-netters built for Robertson and his various partners: ‘Crimson Arrow’ CN208 in 1927; ‘Nil Desperandum’ CN232 in 1928; ‘Kestrel’ CN93 and ‘Kittiwake’ CN94 both in 1930; ‘Nulli Secundus’ CN246 in 1932; ‘Kingfisher’ CN263 and ‘Kingbird’ CN264 both in 1933.

For more on Robertson and his partners, refer to Angus Martin’s 'The Ring-Net Fishermen'.

Image from A Martin, Campbeltown.

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2022-05-31 14:10:21

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