Blog post: PSS visit to Dunbar Harbour

Ahead of the Port Skills Group in November, PSS CEO Debbie Cavaldoro and Skills Lead, Angela Ward, made a visit to potential new member, Dunbar Harbour Trust.

Debbie and Angela spent time with Fiona Kibby, who is the Harbourmaster for both Dunbar Harbour and Seahouses Harbour in Sunderland. Fiona splits her time between the two sites and explained her unusual job and her unusual route into maritime.

Although originally from Scotland, Fiona had spent much of her career in London undertaking compliance roles in the food industry. Her love of sailing and a desire to move back to Scotland led her to apply her the Dunbar Harbourmaster role ‘on a whim’, and she has never looked back. Her compliance role has seen Fiona make great strides in modernising procedures at the harbour and she was recently asked to add Seahouses Harbour to her portfolio. Fiona is now looking to expand both harbours by taking on Harbour Master apprentices.

The harbour in Dunbar is a very traditional fishing harbour, with most of the boats family owned and operated. The harbour includes a building, thought to be Britain’s oldest, where the lobster harvesters still mend lobster pots.

Fiona showed Debbie and Angela around the harbour and introduced them to some of the families working on the boats. It was clear that, despite her unusual entry route to Harbour Master, all the harbour users have great respect for the wisdom that Fiona brings to the role.

We extend our thanks to the Fiona and the workers at Dunbar Harbour for their hospitality and for providing an overview of the harbour and their operations. Getting out and meeting members and highlighting the important work they do, is a vital part of PSS’s work. To organise a tour of your port, please get in touch.