Leon Henry, Skipper of the Viking Fishing trawler, Svein Jonsson, has appeared in Fishing Industry News as Skipper of the Month.
Leon was nominated by Tim Reddell, a director of Viking Fishing who says: “Leon has been with us since we acquired Hangberg Fishing in 2004. At that time already Leon displayed wonderful leadership qualities. Over time he has excelled, not only as a fisherman but also as a manager and leader. We are proud to have him as part of our senior management team.”
“I would work at sea for free, but I have bills to pay!”
On his first day at sea, Leon Henry told himself that one day he would sit in the skipper’s chair. Only eight years later, at the age of 26, he secured his skipper’s ticket and a year later he took command of the Viking Fishing trawler, Svein Jonsson.
“I was very determined,” recalls Leon, who began his career at I&J, finding work as a spare hand (sea-going factory worker) shortly after he left school at the age of 18.
So determined was Leon to qualify as a skipper that he attended courses while he was on leave and paid for much of his own training.
“I was in a hurry, I knew what I wanted,” he says.
But it hasn’t all been plain sailing. As a newly qualified skipper, Leon had to work very hard to make a name for himself.
“There was a lot of pressure. I was very young and I had to earn the guys’ respect,” he says, explaining that at the time many of his crew were much older than he was.
Leon says that the best thing about working at sea is that every day is different and throws up new challenges. However, an enormous amount of responsibility goes with the job. He explains:
“A lot of people think that when you’re a skipper, you work less. Yes, the work is less physical but you carry so much responsibility. If anything goes wrong, it always falls back on the skipper.”
Like many of his counterparts in the industry, Leon takes the issue of safety at sea very seriously and he has worked long enough in the industry to know that fishing is a cyclical business and that every skipper and crew will experience good and bad catch periods.
“There are off periods and sometimes you just have to be patient,” he says. “when things aren’t going well, you shouldn’t make a lot of changes, just keep on doing what you’re doing.”
2016 marks the tenth year that Leon has worked for Viking Fishing and he is grateful for the direction and support he gets from his managers. And he has never regretted his decision to step on board a trawler and make a life for himself at sea:
“I would work at sea for free, but I have bills to pay!” he says with a smile.
A husband and father of three, Leon is a keen angler who enjoys both salt and freshwater fishing.
“I never leave home without a fishing rod,” he declares.
Leon Henry was nominated as Skipper of the Month by Tim Reddell, a director of Viking Fishing who says: “Leon has been with us since we acquired Hangberg Fishing in 2004. At that time already Leon displayed wonderful leadership qualities. Over time he has excelled, not only as a fisherman but also as a manager and leader. We are proud to have him as part of our senior management team.”
