There are more developments on our doorstep, says Wick's retiring harbour master
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It was December 1992 and Malcolm Bremner was attending an interview for the role of Wick harbour master. Facing him were a dozen harbour trustees, and the chairman began by asking Malcolm to sum up his first impressions on entering the port from the sea.
He replied: “It's very drab and it's very dirty, and there's nobody there to welcome you.”
Malcolm's words generated "a good discussion, maybe heated at times", and he began to wonder whether he had said the wrong thing.
But he got the job. And since then he has been at the heart of the harbour's transformation into a busy, vibrant focal point for the town with an attractive marina as its centrepiece. Alongside is the operations and maintenance base for the £2.6 billion Beatrice offshore wind farm, and there is the prospect of further renewable energy developments to come.
Now, almost 29 years after giving that blunt assessment to the interview panel, Malcolm has retired from the post. His replacement is Ian Cormack, the former Wick lifeboat coxswain, who has been deputy harbour master for three years.
Malcolm (67) recalled: “When I started I was the youngest harbour master in Britain. There was no fax machine and no photocopier.
“I used to phone round other harbours to get advice. Then, about seven or eight years ago, I started getting phone calls from other harbour masters saying they had just taken on the job, and I realised I was one of the older harbour masters and not the young guy."
Malcolm had been a fisherman and worked as a fisheries liaison officer for SFF (Scottish Fishermen's Federation) Services before taking charge of the day-to-day running of the harbour.
A pivotal moment came in 2005 when the old harbour trust was replaced by Wick Harbour Authority, enabling the port to operate in a more modern way. The change was driven by the need to bring ports up to date, allowing them to agree partnerships for new developments “rather than just be fishing harbours”.
Malcolm said: “It was a former trust member, Gordon Doull, and myself that drove the old trust to go into the modernisation to where we are now. It became a more modern way of running a port.
“The harbour was in poor shape financially in 2005/06. There were one or two redundancies. Then the first set of pontoons was in 2008 in the outer harbour. At the same time, a survey was done by Highlands and Islands Enterprise which said Wick could service up to a 25-berth marina – which we disputed. We said we could service more than that.
“In 2009 the marina went in. It started off as a 72-berth. It was then expanded by making some adjustments and it's now 80 berths.
“It's a fantastic facility. It has uplifted a very drab harbour into something that's good to look at. It was mentioned by Willie Watt, our former chairman, that we are 'the marina on the High Street' because lots of marinas are more than walking distance.”
Wick found itself at the forefront of the emerging offshore wind industry when Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited (BOWL) chose the town as its base and redeveloped 200-year old harbour-front buildings designed by Thomas Telford. The 84-turbine wind farm was Scotland’s biggest when it was officially opened by Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, in 2019, after much work behind the scenes.
“That took years of negotiations and meeting people," Malcolm said. “At the same time, SSE/BOWL took over the redundant slip area. They spent millions on the harbour and, as I've said many times before, it is one of the best things that happened to Wick harbour financially in 100 years."
Earlier this year plans were unveiled for a high-water protection gate which will enable vessels to use the outer harbour berthing facilities all year round. “There are more activities ongoing," Malcolm said. “I just hope that the board continues with the high-water protection gate because there are developments on our doorstep but the ports in the north of Scotland must be prepared.
“We're in the position where we've got the Beatrice base here – we know what they expect. Yes, it was a learning curve, but we didn't have any problems.
“One of the questions that has been asked is, 'How did your local stakeholders react to Beatrice coming here?' Well, we had 100 per cent [support] because at the end of the day it's local jobs, and there are apprentice schemes. This new industry will create many jobs, which then spills over to the other companies in Caithness.
“There is plenty of future in Wick harbour and Wick itself. There are different developments that are planned.
“It has always been stated that Wick harbour takes a stepping-stone approach. The stepping stone next time is the high-water protection gate. When that goes in, we can take up to 40 more crew transfer vessels in Wick harbour.”
Malcolm has had a good relationship with his counterparts at Scrabster and views the economic opportunities in the context of the county as a whole.
The days of Wick's vast herring fleet may be consigned to the past but fishing still plays its part in the life of the harbour. “The fishing activity has increased this last last 18 months," Malcolm said. "We have more boats now fishing for shellfish than we ever had before.”
During Malcolm's time, Wick harbour has hosted a variety of major community events. It is the setting for the town's annual RNLI Harbour Day fundraiser and there have been three HarbourFests, while last month it provided the backdrop for Lyth Arts Centre's acclaimed Northern Lights Festival.
“I've said many times that if it wasn't for the volunteers around Wick harbour – the lifeboat crew, the coastguards and members of the fishing and leisure community – Wick harbour would never have run. We haven't got the manpower," he said.
“I've always had a great rapport with all harbour users. I hope that I can walk around Wick harbour and say, 'I was approachable.'”
This summer, Malcolm was honoured for his 24 years as Danish vice-consul in Wick – receiving the Knight’s Cross of First Class of the Order of Dannebrog at a gathering in the town with the Danish ambassador to the UK, Lars Thuesen, joining by video link. The award was bestowed upon him by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark in January 2020 but the ceremony was delayed by the pandemic.
In his spare time he is also vice-chairman of the Wick Society and a driving force in the boat section, part of the team looking after the historic vessel Isabella Fortuna.
Malcolm, who lives in the town with his wife Angela, won't be disappearing entirely from harbour activities. “I'm retiring but I've offered to help out in any way I can,” he pointed out.
He added: “I've left it as clean and tidy as I can. We've installed new lighting, there's a new water main going in just now, new navigation lights...
“My deputy, Ian Cormack, who is taking over as harbour master, has been with me for three years and I wish him well for the future.
“It has been a great team. I've worked alongside Norma Simpson [harbour treasurer] for 29 years and we've got on well together.”
“I've treated Wick harbour as if it was my own business. I always got the best deals, as if I was spending my own money.
“I've been 29 years here. I've lived Wick harbour. I've sometimes put family aside to accommodate Wick harbour. So now it's my time, it's my family time."
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