Trawling for Eagles: A Clyde Odyssey - Softcover

Tyneside in 1986 was punch-drunk in the aftermath of the Miners’ Strike, its job market a hazardous place for a youngster embarking on a career. An ad for a ‘Ship’s Naturalist’ in the West of Scotland attracted over 200 applicants, including a gangly 22-year-old landlubber from North Shields. Trawling for Eagles is a memoir from an enchanting time and place. It follows its writer on a boy-to-man adventure through an amazing experience, starting with a bizarre floating interview aboard the converted trawler, Glendale. It goes on to capture the essence of a two-year assault on the senses: sights from mountainous seas to epic sunsets; tastes from daily porridge to warming malt whiskies; smells from rotting dead barnacles to fine smoked salmon; freezing soakings from sea spray to blazing beach barbecues. The young Ship’s Naturalist’s main supporting cast was provided by the Scottish wildlife: huge, gaping Basking Sharks and tiny sea slugs, leaping dolphins and scratching seals, gaudy Puffins and majestic Golden Eagles. As colourful and varied as the wildlife were the local characters and the guests who came on board each week. Some were confirmed Glendale addicts who returned each year, while others were far from convinced about the wisdom of putting their safety into the hands of the young crew.