When veteran North Sea trawlerman Frank Donn blew out the candles to mark his 80th birthday, you would have been forgiven for thinking he wanted nothing more than a quiet life.
Instead, he was taking just a few minutes out from his second career.
This sees him teaching the next generation of seafarers the intricacies of life on the ocean waves.
Octogenarian has no plans to retire
Frank, who hit the birthday milestone in late November, does not intend to hang up his net gauge anytime soon.
As an instructor at the Scottish Maritime Academy (SMA) in Peterhead for the past 16 years, he’s always relished the opportunity to pass on some of his vast experience.
Scottish Maritime Academy attracts students from near and far to Peterhead
SMA is a North East Scotland College centre of excellence overlooking the town’s port.
It is home to students from across Scotland and beyond.
With courses for new recruits to the maritime industry as well as refreshers for those already active in the sector, it is a hive of activity.
Specialist bridge simulators, radio rooms and other industry standard facilities provide a hub for the fishing industry.
The academy is also used by shipping companies and people operating in everything from oil and gas and offshore renewables to transport.
The latest technology is taught alongside traditional crafts.
And the net hall – where students learn the skills required to repair and rig fishing gear, tie knots, splice ropes and perform other deck tasks – is where Frank is most at home.
SMA’s 12-week trainee deckhand course, running three times a year, is one of the programmes he is involved in delivering.
Students’ progress is constant source of pride for industry veteran Frank
The progress of participants is a source of great personal and professional pride.
He said: “It’s brilliant when you see one of the students you taught when they were young getting on in their career.
“There are lots of good examples of that, including one who is now the skipper of a pair trawler and getting on very well.
Although I had a hip replacement last year, due to arthritis, I’m still going strong.” Frank Donn
“You like to see them all thriving, and as long as I’m fit I’d love to carry on.”
He added: “It certainly keeps my mind and body active. I’m one of the lucky ones in that I’m still able at my age.
“A lot of fisherman have trouble with the knees and hips after so many years at work.
“Although I had a hip replacement last year, due to arthritis, I’m still going strong.”
Frank went to sea for the first time when he was just 15
SMA’s modern facilities are a far cry from Frank’s earliest experiences at sea.
Born in Banff, he spent his early years in Crovie, near Gardenstown, and Fraserburgh.
He still lives in the Broch today.
He joined his first boat, the Easter Morn, skippered by Francis Reid, as a 15-year-old.
“The fishing industry was a tough environment to go into but it was where I wanted to be,” Frank said.
No chance of ‘slacking’ among hardworking crew on fishing trawler
He added: “Fishing was the only job I was interested in when I was at school.
“I come from a family of fishermen.
“I was the youngest on the boat by a long stretch and there was no slacking; you knew you had to do your job.
“If there was a bulb fused, it was me who was sent up the mast to replace it.
“In saying that, they looked after me, and there was a lot of common sense involved in how we went about things.”
In those early days, working on the line-fishing boat Easter Morn, Frank would spend three weeks at a time on the west coast. Mallaig became a home from home.
As he grew older, and with family life in mind, he moved on to the herring drifter fleet off his native east coast.
Eventually, as the 1970s came over the horizon, he joined the crew of a white-fish trawler, the Harvest Reaper, and spent more than five years under skipper John May.
Harvest Reaper fishing boat crew became Frank’s second family
That was the start of a long and rewarding relationship with what became his second family.
Frank explained: “When John retired, his son, James, took over as skipper.
“And in 1975 the new Harvest Reaper was built. Our crew of five stayed together for the next 26 years, with no changes.
“I’ve got some great memories from that time, working and living so closely with the same group of men brings a camaraderie that’s very special. James is 89 now.”
How fisherman Frank achieved work-life balance
Frank and his wife, Kathleen, have a son, Andrew, and daughter, Susan.
The couple also have three grandchildren.
As a trawlerman, Frank would often spend up to five days at sea.
But he still managed to balance family life with his career.
He said: “We never sailed on a weekend, and when the fishing was good we could be out in the morning and back with a full hold the same night. Those were the really good days.
“There were times when we had to move to prawn fishing, but white-fish was our bread and butter.”
Even after retiring from those longer trawler trips, he continued to work part-time on a creel boat, with Andrew, as recently as two years ago.
Alongside the happy recollections, there are poignant memories from Frank’s lengthy service in the industry.
Frank’s dad killed in big storm
He reflected: “My father was lost at sea when I was just eight years old, in a big storm.
“All of us have also lost friends over the years.
“Working at sea is a dangerous job – you have to respect the sea and have your wits about you.
“The course we teach now has an excellent health and safety core to it.
“But we go above and beyond what’s in the course by passing on real life experiences and lessons we have learned.”
Frank’s key role in guiding recruits
Frank joined SMA in 2008 as an instructor and has helped to steer hundreds of new entrants to the industry. He has also helped shape the lives of some those who have already taken their first steps on their chosen career path.
When asked for one piece of advice he would offer with the wisdom of his 80 years, he did not have to think about it too long.
Fishing is a brilliant career if you stick at it.”
He said: “Keep in your mind what you want to achieve and follow-up on it.
“Sometimes you might feel like you can’t do it but if you really want something, you have to push through the tough times. Fishing is a brilliant career if you stick at it.”
SMA provides training across the Merchant Navy, as well as for the fishing sector.
The nautical centre of excellence is an approved provider for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Merchant Navy Training Board, Association of Marine Electronic and Radio Colleges, Royal Yacht Association and Seafish.
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