Mike Wallace
Name: Mike Wallace
Years as skipper: 4
Occupation: Skipper of the Pelorus Trader, Mussel Barge, Sanford Limited
Location: Havelock, Marlborough Sounds
When most people are just half an hour into their working day, Pelorus Trader skipper Mike Wallace and his crew of four are sitting down to a bacon and egg breakfast. And they deserve it. Most have been awake since 4am and have done a good half day's work already. There is a payoff however - the sky is blue, the water calm, and the sun is on their backs. Best of all they know they have the afternoon off to enjoy it - their working day will be over by 2pm.
The early morning starts don't faze Mike. "Enjoying the best parts of each day and having afternoons to myself - I can't see the down side," he says.
No Mark on Marlborough
The idyllic environment Mike and his crew work in is not marred by the mussel lines -a common misconception. The tidy rows of black buoys, invisible not more than a few hundred metres away are harmless. Witnessing the harvesting also really illustrates the sustainability of the product. Thousands of kilograms of beautiful New Zealand GreenshellTM mussels are harvested from the inconspicuous lines.Team Work
"Enjoying the best parts of each day and having afternoons to myself - I can't see the down side"
Team camaraderie is an important part of the role and the crew, James, second skipper Smitty, Tommy and Wayne, work together like a well-oiled machine. Mike is always out there too because "there would be a mutiny if I wasn't."
It's full steam ahead once the music is turned up. The 27m barge is suddenly a fully functioning and efficient factory.
As the mussel lines are lifted from the water, James feeds them into a machine which strips the mussels off the rope they've grown on for 18 months. The barren rope is then packed by Wayne. As they come off the conveyer belt the mussels are bagged by Tommy- each bag holds around 1000 kilograms and most days they fill more than 60 - and finally Smitty, who has a bird's eye view of proceedings on the Hiab, packs each full bag onto the deck of the barge. Mike is helping out by cleaning the buoys and in his role as skipper, making sure the entire process runs smoothly.
A Skipper’s Responsibility
A cool 16 hours steaming can be clocked up by the Pelorus Trader depending on which Mussel farm is ready to be harvested. Those on the outer limits of the Marlborough Sounds can take 8 hours to reach.
"As skipper I'm responsible for all the crew - we have regular training, fire fighting and man overboard drills, and I also make sure we have harvested the required amount to be dropped back at Havelock," says Mike.
Training to be a Skipper
Mike made the move from forestry work to mussels 15 years ago. After a short time in the processing factory at Havelock, Mike hit the water and has never looked back. Initially a crew member on the mussel barges but with the support of his company Sanford Ltd, Mike made the decision to take his skippers ticket in 2004. The ticket took five weeks to complete and three years ago he was promoted to skipper of the Pelorus Trader. |
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