The Loss of The Westhaven
Written by John Macpherson
Trawling off Mull. Garvellachs and Scarba behind © John MacPherson
I wrote this in 1997, on the 12th March, tearfully. Men are lost.
Seasalt taste.
I’ve always lived by the sea on the west coast of Scotland, and have several friends who are fishermen. And around this time I’d been doing a lot of seakayaking, and much more messing around on the ocean, and I’d started to wind myself up towards doing some photography work with inshore fishermen.
The risks to those who work on the sea are considerable. But it struck me how out-of-sight these risks are: we reach into the freezer cabinet in our supermarkets and pull out some fish. Do we ever consider how it got there? Next time you lift up some cod, spare a thought for those who obtained it for you.
When I heard this news report, I guess it was just one of those moments when I was in a certain place, at a particular time, and it just moved me, and elicited these verses. And the sentiment expressed is still relevant. Sadly I know it always will be.
So this is dedicated to all who go to sea. But mostly, it is for those who stay behind to wait………
The Loss of the ‘Westhaven’ 12/3/97
“A fishing boat is missing……..”
The radio casts it’s net of fear and hope
Across a sea of unseen faces
Anxious, in their homes and work
They bade farewell the other day
A day no different from the other days they left.
We stay
The land so broad around us
Fits us snugly
Shelter belts of trees
To break the growl of gale and sleet
But this is spring
Not foul
Nor howling
Just an easy day of warming promise.
Seawards, glancing back
Their land grows small
The sea ahead expanding
To fill their thoughts with home
And work
And will this earn their pay?
Hulls slap waves, that tease and beckon
…………………………….further out
To where the deep fish swim
Before the nets puff out with pride
Their cod-ends bulging
Straining on the ropes and shackles
Tying men to blood and guts
And ever-present risk of pain.
“Where were you when you heard?”
My friends ask….
As if the answer made a difference.
Men are missing
Gone to sea
Lovers, husbands, fathers, sons………..
When I heard the news
I was safe
Ashore
And sad
Author — John Macpherson
John MacPherson was born and lives in the Scottish Highlands. He trained as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, before completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, and then qualified as a Social Worker in Disability Services. Along the way he has cooked on canal barges, trained as an Alpine Ski Leader & worked as an Instructor for Skiers with disabilities, been a canoe instructor, and tutor of night classes in carpentry, stained glass design and manufacture, and archery. He has travelled extensively on various continents, undertaking solo trips by bicycle, or motorcycle. He has had narrow escapes from an ambush by terrorists, been hit by lightning, caught in an erupting volcano, trapped in a mobile home by a tornado, kidnapped by a dog's hairdresser, rammed by a basking shark and was once bitten by a wild otter. He has combined all this with professional photography, which he has practised for over 35 years. He teaches photography and acts as a photography guide & tutor in the UK and abroad. His biggest challenge is keeping his 30 year old Land Rover 110 on the road. He loves telling and hearing stories.