Brian Gruzelier saw all of those changes having begun fishing after he left what was then. Camborne Technical College where he studied engineering. After a short spell working inshore he joined the Merchant Navy as an Engineering officer. Eventually, as with many before and since, the lure of the long hours and tough working conditions that was trawling back then saw him fishing once again from his home of Newlyn, although he did have a short spell as an engineer working down South Crofty mine, the last working tin mine in the UK. His fishing career began in earnest with skipper Rick Stacey who had previously owned the Teekaboo and then the Porthleven built tosher Francis Jane before taking on the 40' inshore trawler New Dawn - Brian's fellow crew member at that time was Ernie Ford. Eventually, the New Dawn was sold to Bobby Jewell and Brain moved on again.
From the 80s, Brian's home at sea was with skipper Mervyn Mountjoy and fellow crew member...
Nigel 'Rockets' Richards...
aboard the ex-St Guenole trawler Galilean which was one of the pioneering prawning fleet that tried to develop a fishery for langoustine in Newlyn at the time...
in the early 1990s, having sold the Galilean, Mervyn bought the Ocean Harvester from Clinton Powell in Falmouth and continued to bottom trawl in the Western Approaches and some seasons on the Smalls for prawns...
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with Brian happy to be on deck for many years...
where he along with Nigel Richards crewed alongside skipper Mervyn Mountjoy for nearly twenty years until Mervyn retired from fishing which meant...
Brian's engineering training stood him in good stead...
and he took command of the Ocean Harvester...
when she was bought by Newlyn fish merchant, Trelawney Fish...
these ex-French boats were very much of their day and amenities aboard were somewhat basic as compared to today's more modern vessels...
Brian, always keen to help bring on youngsters in the port, is seen here showing a young Ian Richards the ropes, he must have helped play his part in shaping Ian's career at sea as he became a familiar face on the The Catch TV series aboard the Govenek of Ladram...
sadly, it was at that time that Brian became aware of increasing mobility issues at sea and he was eventually diagnosed with a form Parkinson's - Nigel Richards took over as skipper of the OH...
and Brian, despite his diagnosis continued to work and moved up to the bigger and more comfortable working platform that was the beam trawler, George Johannes...
as time passed, Parkinson's totally changed his life, unable to walk unaided, he found himself having to rely on a mobility scooter in order to get out of the house...
and still allow him to pursue his passion for catching fish, though this time not at sea but down on the pontoons targeting mullet and the occasional bass.
Brian was one of those totally reliable guys as fisherman and skipper - a valuable find for any boat-owner and an absolute rock for his family. His funeral notice can be read here.
