MINT LT690 / LT98

John Stevenson Collection

Official No:  132153    Port and Year: 9th in Buckie, 1912 (BCK125)                                                                    -    -  Lowestoft, 1920  (LT690)                                                                      -    -  Buckie, 1924 (BCK64)                                                                    -    -  Lowestoft, c. 1946 (LT98)

Description: Steel side drifter / trawler; coal fired; liner.  Ketch rigged.

Crew: 9

Built: by A. Hall & Co., Aberdeen; in 1912.  (Yard no. 479)

Tonnage:   96 grt  41 net

Length / breadth / depth (feet): 86.6 / 18.5 / 9.1

Engine: T 3-Cyl; 37 rhp; by builders.

Owners:   As BCK125 28 Jun 1912: John Reid, 8 James St., Buckpool, Buckie. Managing owner.   As LT690 22 Mar 1920: Offord & Geddes, Ltd., Old Bank of England Court, Queen St., Norwich. Manager: Frederick J. Offord, 51 Beresford Rd., Lowestoft.   Jun 1921: William H. East (Snr.), 85 Priory Rd., Milford. Managing owner.   As BCK 64 26 Mar 1924:  Alexander Coull, 'Glamorgan', Cliff Tce., Buckie. Managing owner.   As LT98 Apr 1946: Yolland Bros., Docks, Milford.   1946: Cairo Fishing Co., (Yolland Bros.), Docks, Milford Manager: John Yolland.

Landed at Milford: (LT690) 9 Jun 1921 - 16 Feb 1924; (LT98) 18 Apr 1946 - 12 Aug 1948.

Skippers: H. B. Tyvold; George Ernest Edward Critten.

Notes:  Jul 1915: Requisitioned by the Admiralty as a boom defence vessel. 1919: Returned to owners. 30 Nov 1936: Collided with sailing barge OLIVE MARY in the North Sea. [The Times, 21st December 1937.] 15 Nov 1939: Requisitioned by the Admiralty as a water carrier. 24 Apr 1946: Returned to owners. 14 Aug 1948: Grounded on a sandbank off Rosslare. Sold for breaking up. [See story below.]

Accidents and Incidents

From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 4th January 1946:

 

    Messrs. Yolland & Llewellin, joint owners of the biggest trawling fleet sailing out of Milford, have dissolved the partnership after ten years of highly successful working, during which time the fleet has increased from one to twenty-two trawlers.  The dissolution took effect from January 1st, and in future Messrs. Yolland will trade under the name Messrs. Yolland Brothers, while Mr. J. C. Llewellin takes a number of trawlers under his own name.

 

    Yolland Bros.:

Castle Class:  Tenedos, Mikasa, Lorraine, William Mannell, Montano and George Adgell.

Strath Class: Craigmillar and Anne Melville.

Drifters: Allochy, Overfall, Poseidon, Invercairn, Primevere, Mint, Furze, Lichen, Calliopsis and Cassiopeia.

    The Montano left Milford on Thursday (yesterday) for Fleetwood, while the George Adgell arrives in Milford within the next fortnight from Aberdeen.  Both Strath boats are at Milford, but the drifters will fish from Lowestoft during the North Sea season, and will come round to Milford for the summer season.

 

John Charles Llewellin:

Castle trawlers: Cotsmuir, Lady Stanley, T.R. Ferens and Harry Melling.

    All the trawlers are away at the moment, the Lady Stanley at Hull and the others at Fleetwood, but they are expected to sail out of Milford in the near future.

 

    The fish merchants' business belonging to the firm in Fleetwood, Swansea and Milford will now be carried on by Yolland Brothers, while the merchants' business at Aberdeen has been taken over by Mr. Llewellin.

    Naturally interested to ascertain why such a profitable partnership should be dissolved, the "Guardian" made enquiries on Thursday.  We learned that Mr. Llewellin has suffered ill health for a number of years and wishes to cut down on his responsibilities.

    The sensational rise of Messrs. Yolland & Llewellin has provided one of the romances of the fishing Industry of Milford, starting as fish exporters in 1935, with Mr. J. C. Llewellin as their representative in Paris.  The firm had to turn their attention in 1937 to building up their fish merchants business in England because of the devaluation of the franc. 

    In 1936 Messrs. Yolland & Llewellin purchased their first trawler and not long afterwards embarked on an experiment which at the time was considered more than daring - "foolhardy", said the old hands.  They fitted out two trawlers to fish as a pair - the pareja - a Spanish method of fishing.  The earliest voyages, doubtless due to the inexperience of the crews in this type of netting, brought thin returns, but by-and-by these pairs began to make news, big news, for they started to smash fishing records.  What was then the youngest firm of owners had scored a big success, and confounded their critics.  Before the war started, the company had five pairs operating on the Irish grounds.  During the war the company worked with two old ships, the Gozo and Cairo, but disposed of these when their fleet of twenty-two trawlers were de-requisitioned in their turn after Government service.

    The partners in the firm of Yolland Brothers are Messrs. John J. Leslie and T. Stuart Yolland.

 

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 Statement of Protest:

Fishing Grounds off the coast of Ireland.

     On the 14th of August 1948 as a result of being unable to see the lighted channel buoys owing to poor visibility, and of there being no readily available facilities for taking soundings,  ran ashore whilst seeking to enter Rosslare Harbour and having in consequence to be later abandoned by her crew.

 

George Ernest Edward Critten. (Skipper).

 

From the West Wales Guardian, Friday 20th August, 1948:

    The drifter-trawler "Mint", belonging to Messrs. Yolland Brothers,  ran aground on a sandbank off the Irish coast on Saturday while making for Rosslare in heavy weather, and she is still fast.  The Milford s.t. "Cassiopeia" stood by for a couple of days, but on Wednesday Skipper G.E. Critten, 35, Shakespeare Avenue, returned to Milford, efforts to move the vessel having failed.

    The other members of the crew who came with him were W.E. Bowen, Swansea; W.J. Musk, Manchester Square, Milford; M. McDonald, Greville Road, Milford; H.M. Evans, Llanelly; F. Male, 3, Main Street, Fishguard; W. Drake, 35, Edward Street, Milford; M.H. Thompson, 16, Greville Road, Milford.

 

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West Wales Guardian, Friday 17th September, 1948:

 

Attempts to refloat the Messrs. Yolland drifter-trawler "Mint", aground off the Irish Coast have failed.  Mr. Leslie Yolland watched unsuccessful attempts [...].  The wreck is now being offered to metal recovery firms for salvage.

 

From The Irish Times of 20th September 1948, p.8 (Classified advertisements):

 

FOR SALE BY PRIVATE TENDER

THE STEAM TRAWLER MINT L.T. 98.  Length 86 feet 6 ins., nett tonnage 41.36, in the condition in which the vessel now lies hard and fast on a Sandbank in Rosslare Bay, and approximately 4 miles from Rosslare Pier.

    Tenders, enclosed in sealed envelope, marked "Mint" in the top left-hand corner, to be delivered to

MESSRS. YOLLAND BROTHERS, LTD.,

The Docks, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire,

not later than September 28th, 1948

 

 

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