There's life in the old sea dog yet!

May 3 2009 by Nigel Green, Sunday Sun

BRITAIN’S oldest working fishing vessel has finally retired after 73 years on the high seas.

But the Sovereign could soon be restored to her former glory and be back out on the waves . . . thanks to boat enthusiasts on Tyneside.

Pete Weightman and Chris Malkin bought the trawler for a few thousand pounds after the former owner decided to replace her.

The Sovereign, which had been working from North Shields, North Tyneside, was deemed too costly to repair to the standard demanded for fishing in stormy seas.

But Pete and Chris, who are keeping the trawler at St Peter’s Basin, in Newcastle, hope to restore the trawler and then sail her to shows around the UK.

Pete said: “It’s amazing that she’s survived so long.

“The Sovereign is a beautiful boat with a fascinating history and we can’t wait to get her back out on the sea.

“While she will need a lot of work doing on her, she’s still in good condition, considering her 73 years of hard work and the fact that so little has been altered is a tribute to all the effort put in by her former owners.”

Pete, 58, a retired construction manager, and Chris, 48, the operator of a courier business, both have experience of restoring old vessels.

They are members of the North East Maritime Trust, a charity which helps restore traditional vessels.

Records show the Sovereign was built by Wilson Noble in Fraserburgh, in 1936, for a fisherman called Tom Hall, based in Newhaven, near Edinburgh.

The four-man crew had to share tiny cabins for several months on end as the vessel worked from different ports depending on where fishing was best.