By Arthur Woodgate
The Caisters of Rye Harbour – What a family. Fishing for a living father Mick Caister, skipper of the RX 30 Akela works his boat out of Rye from the new Simmonds Quay.
Nurse Sheila Caister works at Rye Memorial Hospital and daughter Georgie (little Miss Show Jumping) is the horse rider in the photo and at this year’s Rye Horse Show, she won third place in her event. They are a very happy family and a good deal of laughing goes on when they are around.
Mum and Dad went to Brixham for a holiday this year and went for a trip in an old fishing smack similar to The Three Brothers (which my great grandfather worked out of Rye) and were told there were only about a thirteen of this type of fishing boats left in the world.
However, lets keep with the horses for a while. The family live in Tram Road, Rye Harbour and their two horses (one young and one old) live in a stable built by Mick. They have plenty of room to wander in a nearby paddock. Mick spent many hours to get them comfortable and keep them safe. It is hoped that Georgie will have great success on the youngest horse and will go on to win many more prizes at local shows. Both horses get regular exercise rides along the shore.
Having got the daughter set up to win events, and with everything in working order, Mick sets out towards the harbour mouth and into the bay. The trawl goes down and he pulls for a while then winches the nets back aboard. No
doubt the contents of his nets will fill up many boxes with fish to be brought home to Port for we local fish lovers and to supply the shops. Fresh fish has been available, straight from the boats at Montbreton Bridge for many years and before that from the old dilapidated quay straight from the fishing smacks long before the “Caisters.” Mick was once a lifeboatman, he may be able to put some names to faces in a book I have called “Mary Stanford” written a long time ago, I will ask him when I get a chance.
Now I come to Mother Sheila who first acts like most mothers and keeps the home going then she acts as a nurse which she is qualified to do, then she has agreed to become part of a party to climb Mount Ben Nevis with a charity in the New Year. I hope to get a story for the magazine.
“Rye’s Own” November 2004
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