71
stint in Scotland. “My wife said, ‘It’s a brand new
boat, the biggest in Europe - you’ve got to do it!’” Lloyd skippered the new boat for
six months before deciding to return south, eventually taking the helm of a smaller crab boat operating around the Channel Islands. “We did ten days on and five days
off, which worked much better with family life.” Commercial fishing is physically
demanding and oſten dangerous work, something Lloyd knows first- hand. “I’m proud that in 22 years the
worst injury any of my crew had was cuts,” he says. “Tat’s something I’m very proud of because it’s a dangerous environment.” Not everyone he knew was as
lucky. “I’ve lost friends at sea, and other
friends have lost limbs.” Lloyd himself had a close call
while fishing near the Channel Is- lands when a rope looped around his wrist and dragged him over the side. “Te boat suddenly seemed miles
away,” he remembers. “But the line was still attached and the crew managed to get it back on the winch and haul me out.” Once back on board, the shock
hit him. “I remember sitting there shaking
and crying. Te skipper took me into France for the day and gave me a strong drink.” Te next day he was back fishing. Despite the risks Lloyd loved the
work. “It’s addictive,” he says. “I could be
off the north coast of Scotland sitting in the wheelhouse in a screaming gale and I’d just be mesmerised by it.” Eventually, though, family life
drew him ashore. His father had worked on
Dartmouth’s Lower Ferry, and when a job came up in 2008 Lloyd decided it was time for a change. “I knew all the lads already and I
wanted to be home more with the family.”
mother wrote us a thank you letter and said what a fool he’d been!’ During this period he also helped
set up and run Dartmouth Youth Football team when his young son became involved in the club. Today as the Lower Ferry
manager, Lloyd oversees a team of 18 staff and the day-to-day operation of one of Dartmouth’s most recognisable services. “Our boats are wooden,” Lloyd ex-
plains. “Two were built in the 1960s and one in the late 1980s. Tey were designed to last about 20 years and we’ve made them last a lot longer.” Keeping them running requires
constant maintenance. “Tere’s always something to fix.
Tis morning one of the engines wouldn’t start.”
He joined as relief maintenance
man, bringing years of practical boat knowledge with him. Five years later he became
maintenance supervisor and eventually ferry manager. “I’ve been there 16 years now,” he
says. When he leſt the fishing industry,
Lloyd also joined Dartmouth’s newly established Lifeboat crew as helm, going out on shouts at any time of the day or night. “One call that sticks in my mind
was a guy whose yacht went aground at Stoke Gabriel. It would have refloated with the incoming tide but water started filling the boat so he panicked and called us. We got him off and as we started to leave he asked ‘Do you think I should wake my children up?’ Aſterwards his
Lloyd with wife Carron Te ferry also plays an important
role in emergencies. “We’re the dedicated firefighting
vessel on the river,” Lloyd says. “If there’s a fire we can put the fire engine on board and take it wherever it needs to go.” In addition to running the
ferry, Lloyd also carries out safety inspections on passenger vessels operating along the Dart - including the Castle Ferry, the Dittisham ferries and the hire boats. “I check they’ve got the right safety
equipment - flares, radios, anchors and so on.” For him, it is all part of keeping
the river safe. “I enjoy getting out and meeting
people and making sure everything is as it should be.” Away from work, life revolves
around family. He has been married to Carron for 28 years, and the couple have two children – Joe and Poppy - and four grandchildren, all living locally. Teir first meeting was memorable. “When I came back from sea my
friends would come round and we’d play music quite loud,” he recalls. “One night my neighbour Carron came over and pulled the plug out of the stereo.” Tat, he says with a grin, was the
moment he fell for her. Tese days the couple enjoy
travelling whenever they can. “We did 16 flights last year,” he
says. “We’ll go anywhere.” Closer to home the couple spend
time walking the South Hams coast with friends - usually with a pub stop along the way. Lloyd also enjoys a round of golf. For someone who has spent most
of his life on the water, the pull of the sea never entirely disappears. “I do miss the buzz of fishing
sometimes,” Lloyd admits. But for now he is happy keeping
Dartmouth’s historic ferry running and playing his part in protecting the river he has known since childhood. And aſter a lifetime at sea, that feels like exactly where he belongs.•
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