A Life in the Day of a Young Fisherman
with Ben Bengey

Join 18 year old Ben Bengey on a typically busy day, as he works hard out at sea to try and pay back the loan for his new commercial fishing boat and still makes time to volunteer for Ilfracombe RNLI.

Also featuring Andrew Bengey, Jack Smith, Jack Townsend, Ben Hopkins, Paul Hutchings, Dom Langham, Sam Davison and Ilfracombe's new Shannon class lifeboat and crew. 

Filmed & edited by Mark Brindle and Stu Gaunt; music by Peter Bruntnell, directed & produced by Jo Stewart-Smith

If you've enjoyed this film, don't forget to share it with friends and colleagues. Ben is clocking up the numbers, determined to catch up with the other films!  And please follow us on facebook boat stories north devon for updates on this film and others!

A Life in the Day of a Young Fisherman - the making of... 

'Epic to see my film, can't wait for everyone else to see it - exciting times!' Ben tweeted, just after I showed him his film. Phew! We met in the operations room of Ilfracombe lifeboat station and his Mum and Dad, Andrew and Dawn Bengey turned up to watch it too. As it was playing his Mum whispered "Ben you are so rude!" And as it finished, Ben seemed shell shocked so I was a bit worried. "That was brilliant," Andrew grinned. "Brilliant," Ben repeated, shaking his head, I just can't believe you got that from what I gave you." Apparently he was nervous about how he would come across and thought we had cut out lots of pauses. Not true. We were using radio mics out on the boat, Ben was talking about something he loves, came across confident and relaxed and we went with what he said. As people commented after seeing the film and meeting Ben during our Ilfracombe premiere, "Ben's film felt really natural - what you see is what you get."  A really big phew - because this was my tenth and final film for boat stories. (It's coming out as our ninth film as we held the Bideford Pilot back until the Bideford premiere.) It's always nerve wracking showing someone their film before release and it doesn't usually happen in broadcast TV. Phew and a big hurrah - because everyone in our films has loved them.

Right from beginning I wanted to make a film about a young fisherman starting out in this tough business - or follow a son taking over from his father. I was so pleased when I 'found' Ben -'the real deal' as Rob Lawson, Ilfracombe's harbour master put it - someone who's serious about making a go of this tough business. He wasn't the only young fishermen, I spoke to - but they are few and far between in North Devon. Fishing really is a fickle, roller coaster business. Ben's boat cost over £70,000; he went to see it and had doubts. But small boats like the Silver Spirit with a dual commercial license (allowing him to sell fish commercially and take passengers) are extremely rare and it was essentially a no brainer. So at 17 years old, he took out a whacking loan, his father helped convince the bank - but as he says in the film "I've got to keep the boat working every day to pay it back." I was impressed by his work ethic out at all hours in all weathers. And that he was prepared to take on the huge responsibility - as he says, you're looking after the crew, watching the weather, working out where to catch fish and trying to make a living for everyone on that boat.

Ben early morning lobster potting

Ben crewing for another charter 'Jay Jay'

When I approached Ben about filming, I was hoping to go out rod and lining for sea bass to show sustainable fishing of yet another important species for North Devon, having covered squid, ray, herring, lobster potting and crabbing in other films. Ben said the best months would be September or October. However I had a big looming, deadline - the Ilfracombe premiere of all the films on the 4th September and each film has an average turnaround time of six weeks, so I wanted the filming wrapped by the end of July! Ben, always positive said there was a chance the first bass would be with us in August - and if not there should be plenty of mackerel. As the weeks ticked by and we filmed and edited our diving and pilot films it became clear that the fish were not playing ball this year! Paul Stone (from our trawler film) told me the squid simply didn't bloom. The mackerel were 'here one day gone the next' and the bass showed no signs of appearing.

Ben offered me the chance to film lobster potting and his new venture into 'pesca tourism': taking small groups out to try their hand at lobster potting. Note the 'lobster hunt' hoodies worn by the crew in our film. I was tempted but with so many more boat stories films crying out to be made, I didn't want to make a second lobster potting story.

Silver Spirit has a duel license so Ben can take charters and catch fish commercially.

I'd spotted Ben (long before Boat Stories) as I was writing stories of local boat trips for the North Devon Journal. I clocked him selling tickets on the quay at Ilfracombe and as crew on Sea Safari and some of the other boat charters. I met him properly in the Tavern on Lundy, last September after we lost our principal filming camera over the cliff where it smashed to pieces on Lundy's granite. Andrew, skipper of the dive boat Obsession, offered to help pick up a reserve camera out at sea. (Find my story on Obsession 11 and our Lundy trip in previous blogs.) Ben always seemed to be out on the harbour early, always willing to skipper someone else's boat. I didn't realise at first that he owned Silver Spirit. And that's because he got her ready for the 2014 charter season, only to be informed by Rob Lawson, that he had to wait until eighteen until he could get his passenger license. So Ben spent last Summer, frustratingly having to hire in skippers for the charters, though as he says in the film, he'd been fishing these waters since he was thirteen. We filmed him in 2015 towards the end of his first proper season - so a quick outtake of how his first year has gone.  

Then the holiday season started I could see how busy Ben was. Up, often before dawn, (pulling Dad out of bed) to collect and shoot the lobster pots. A quick wash down and swap over of crew ready for the first fishing charter at 9. Then a long day out to one of the wrecks or several two hour reef trips, steaming out and targeting pollack or gurnard as they drifted back or ninety minutes mackerel fishing - a great introduction for beginners. Change over on the charters was quick - one group off and another group straight on. Once he started his day, skippy Ben didn't seem to step off his boat until 6 or 7 when the last charter was home.  

I was seriously impressed with how much this 18 year old was cramming into one day and realised that this was my story. At the same time I only had a five minute film. The easiest boat stories to film and edit are the ones where we go on one boat journey - one adventure. And I'd wanted a simple shoot for my final film to make the deadline..! Luckily Mark Brindle from Maniac films, in nearby Croyde, was game to go out more than once. He'd already filmed our trawler story so was aware of the on off nature of filming on boats. Stu Gaunt works for Mark, so I had the added advantage of a back up cameraman should one be busy and the chance to use two cameras to get that crucial first shot of the boat leaving harbour (while Mark and I hid in the wheelhouse!)   

I was greedy. I wanted to show Ben's commitment to the RNLI too. At one time I planned to make a film on the volunteer youngsters and the family connections in Ilfracombe RNLI (I'd written an article on Appledore RNLI 'One Big Family' several years ago for Devon Life.) As Ben says, he was fundraising from thirteen, then there's the shore crew, training on the inshore boat (ILB) and at eighteen you can become a full crew member of the all weather boat (ALB). There are more than 60 trained crew volunteering with Ilfracombe RNLI but Ben is the only full time fisherman.

Ben's idea was that I film a training exercise rescuing a fisherman overboard - and he volunteered to go in the water. However our filming schedule coincided with the arrival of Ilfracombe's new Shannon class lifeboat, the Barry and Peggy High. There was a massive amount of training for the crew on the high tech boat and the new launch and recovery vehicle and they didn't have time to take film crews on board.

Happily, Leigh Hanks (Ilfracombe's full time mechanic) agreed that we could film a training exercise from another boat. Luckily for us, Andrew agreed to take us out on Silver Spirit to film this.  Lucky, because Andrew is Ilfracombe's volunteer lifeboat coxwain and therefore knew what Leigh was planning for the training session and got us in the right position to film Ben getting a dunking...

Ilfracombe's new Shannon-class lifeboat being launched from the harbour

Andrew Bengey, volunteer coxswain for Ilfracombe RNLI

Ben about to go in to rescue the 'man overboard' on exercise

De-brief after the man overboard exercise

While waiting for the lifeboat to appear we filmed Andrew Bengey talking about Ilfracombe's new Shannon class lifeboat -below.

I wanted to show Ben's sense of humour too - his dead pan delivery so in one breath  he might be talking about being a porn star - the next a serious fisherman.. Always difficult to squeeze these moments into five minutes -but all the fishermen I filmed have a great sense of humour -something to do with the character needed to make a living out at sea?!

And I wanted to include the personal story - the fact that 'Dad usually gets the breakfast' while Ben is cleaning the boat and changing. Note it's his sister's boyfriend, Jack Smith who does the cleaning! While Dad walked up the hill to get the breakfast, several fishermen and friends leaned over the harbour rail to say hi to Ben. Creeping into left of frame is Carl Daniel (another young fisher) I first met in Appledore. Sadly, I never interviewed his grandfather, John Daniel, a well known local fishermen who built traditional salmon boats. He died just before I got permission from FLAG to begin the series. Carl inherited his grandfather's boats and was hoping to make a living bass fishing in the estuary. He told me he'd learned the fishing marks from his grandfather. I was interested in Carl's story - but in the summer he headed off to Belgium on one of the trawlers to make some cash and Boat Stories couldn't follow him there. Marcus, known to everyone as Tats was there too that morning as the crew of S&P's Olivia Belle was in harbour. Danny Wharton, son of Scott Wharton of S&P trawlers (see our Fishing for the Long Haul film) was another 18 year old whose story I was interested in. At the time, he was the youngest commercial skipper (on the trawlers) in the UK. But last year was a roller coaster time for the local fishing boats and he headed off to Germany to skipper one of S&P's cats - ferrying supplies and personnel to the offshore wind farms.

Carl Daniel chatting to Ben over quick breakfast in the harbour

Carl Daniel with the S&P trawler Olivia Belle

Jack Smith, Ben, skippy Ben, Paul & Dom - mates out fishing

With the potting, the charters and the lifeboat story we had a film - but I was still keen to catch some bass. We waited as long as we dare and finally in mid August, there were reports of some bass out on Horseshoe Rock. Jack 'one speed' Townsend, wasn't available at short notice because he was working. Determined to catch some bass for the film - Ben invited several mates out on a gorgeous, balmy evening. It took about half an hour to steam out to the horseshoe. Ben positioned the boat carefully over the reef and shouted 'Go, go, go!' We seemed to be fighting a raging current and as Ben says, 'drifting at five knots.' He'd barely time to get his own rod out, before we were off the reef and it was 'Get em up boys.' This happened five or six times in quick succession, the frantic atmosphere was electric compared to the mellow, languid afternoon I spent out with the fishing charter (even though for the charter I took over the camera when Stu was struck down by the dreaded seasickness.)

Trying to film the guys, laughing at the banter (some of which had to be edited out)  watching Dom, Sam, Paul, Jack & other Ben catching each other's rods, rather than fish, Mark and I did wonder if Ben would have had more success with just one or two fishers. I'd planned to show rod and lining for bass and the premium that can be got from sustainable fishing. But as I say so many times, we go with the story and we revealed a different side to Ben relaxing and having fun out with his mates, "I don't drink or anything - this is my kind of night out - we could be stuck in traffic in London, trying to get back from the office or we could be here."

The tide slackened as it began to turn, but we were fighting the fading light and had to steam back to harbour. It was our last day's filming, so I asked Ben the question I try and ask everyone - is there anything you particularly want to say in this film? Tired after a long day's chartering and perhaps gutted because we hadn't caught any bass, Ben spoke about the thing which at eighteen he finds most difficult - trying to keep charter clients happy, on the trips when the fish don't want to play. The charter we'd filmed earlier had been planned as a mackerel trip. But as Ben said 'you have to be on your toes in this game and be ready to switch quickly,' and with no mackerel around he switched to heavy weights and bigger rods so his clients could fish on the bottom. We actually caught several dogfish. These didn't really count as far as Ben was concerned, but the tourists were all very happy on that trip, particularly the children. They'd come for the day out, the treat of a few hours out on the water and seemed to understand that the hunt is part of the adventure and that when you're dealing with nature, there are no guarantees.  But Ben is a competitive fisherman who likes a good haul, "Me, Jack and Sam 'we live for fishing and we get seriously depressed if there's no fish," he told me.  Watch this outtake below as skippy Ben prays to the fish gods to bring on the fish.

Silver Spirit on another fishing charter

The children loved their fishing adventre

Ben is a great ambassador for young fisherman. Even before we released the film he took it to a conference at the Southbank in London -the only fisherman on the panel, mixing with politicians and business leaders as they discussed the  'Blue New Deal' creating jobs for coastal communities from a healthy marine environment. He's answered questions in front of hundreds of people at our Boat Stories series premieres in Ilfracombe and Bideford.  "I'm getting the hang of this speaking now," he told me. He's even training up his own protogee - young fourteen year old Sam. And since we finished filming and a fickle August turned into a balmy September and October he's been posting pictures of all the fish he and his clients have been catching - including of course plenty of sea bass!

Ben and a few sea bass

Paul Hutchings coming for the ride after a long day's chartering

Sam - the next 'young fisherman'

Huge thanks to Ben for letting us film his story for being so easy going and patient with the demands of filming and my continuous questions!
Thanks to Andrew Bengey for taking us out to film the lifeboat exercise and all at Ilfracombe RNLI for their help with the film. Thanks to those charter clients who allowed us to film them to the potting crew Andrew (again) and Jack Smith and to the extras on the bass night Paul, Dom, Jack Smith (again) Sam and Ben for letting us join in their fun. Thank you to Pete Bruntnell for picking up on what we wanted and turning the music around so quickly. And last but by no means least a big thank you to Mark Brindle & Stu Gaunt from Maniac films for coming out on no fewer than four different boat trips to film this story - and to Mark for editing it in the nick of time to make our final deadline. Boat Stories - it's a wrap.
(Not quite. Still one last film to release and one little surprise to show you.)   Jo Stewart-Smith Producer Boat Stories.

Mark Brindle from Maniac Films shooting the lifeboat exercise

Stu Gaunt from Maniac waiting for the boat to come in