'A' is for Algrie, end of an fishing era.

Beam trawler Algrie PZ199

A piece of fishing history left through the gaps this week on her way to be scrapped in Ghent, Belgium - the Algrie was the very first trawler purchased by the Stevenson family fishing firm to enter the harbour in 1976 and start was to become the the largest privately owned beam trawl fishing fleet in Europe.....

but for her early years she was rigged for both beam trawling and midwater trawling for the winter mackerel season- seen here in Penzance Dock under the 'digger' landing mackerel for fish meal...

under the watchful eye of Tony Stevenson, brother to owner Billy..

by the 1980s the Algrie,  along with the Aaltje Adriante and the Anneliese were all beaming full time...

In 1982, the 70ft Algrie found her beam trawls attached to the nuclear attack sub HMS Spartan in the waters off Land’s End in 1982 and towed her for quite some time before the sub surfaced. Legend has it that, at first, the Navy via the coastguard, denied there was a submarine in the area! The Algrie was then ordered to cut free her gear before the sub moved on. It was understood to have cost £8,000....

in the late 1990s, the Algrie's stern was covered in to provide better safety and living conditions for the crew. The boat was a consistently high earner for the family firm under a number of skippers including David Stevens and David Hooper 

The Algrie and William Samspon Stevenson heading out through the gaps for the last time, ironically, David Hooper skippered both boats for much of his time with the Stevenson's...

the previous week saw the first of the James RH and the Lisa Jacqueline towed away to be scrapped - video courtesy of Stevenson's superintendent, Abbie Smith...

48 hours later, the two boats are heading up river to the breakers.