Not the most comfortable ridfe to work - imagine steaming for 62 hours in this weather - even sleeping is hard work!
Making the decision to fish at Rockall in order to avoid catching cod is not taken lightly. For starters just getting there involves a steam of over 60 hours - a round trip of nearly 6 days without a fish being caught - so the return in terms of the value of fish has to justify the long steam and the fuel consumed. Haddock, monk and squid are the three main species available to the boats who fish at the Rock.
Weather is a real issue fishing Rockall - with the prevailing winds from the west - if the weather is extreme it is to far to risk running home in huge following seas - and dodging requires heading for deeperwater off the bank - going west! - next stop Newfoundland or Iceland!
A reminder of just how bad it can get can be seen here with these two Spanish longliners.
