Bosun – often down on the beach with his fisherman companion Jimmy ‘Soda’ Adams.

Sea Dogs: Hastings fishermen and their companions

If you are at the Seafood and Wine Festival this weekend, make sure you pick up a copy of Sea Dogs – photographer John Cole’s latest collection of photographs documenting the lives of our local fishing community. HOT’s Erica Smith enjoys leafing through this volume of fishing folk and their canine companions.

You might have your favourite Boy-Ashore to buy your fresh fish from – but do you have a favourite fisherman’s dog? Mine is Bosun – a five-year old whippet/collie cross with a sleek black coat thanks to all the fish he gets to eat. Bosun’s owner, Jimmy Adams says: “I named him Bosun because I’m supposed to be the Captain – but it ain’t like that – he rules the house!”

Bailey, a six-year old cockapoo getting his paws on the controls in Paul Carter’s boat. © John Cole

The ‘sea dogs’ in John’s photographs include bulldogs, terriers whippets, labradors and ‘Heinz 57’ mongrels – but there are a surprising number of the small breeds of dog you’d expect to see on the end of a lead on the prom in St Leonards – pugs, cockapoos and dachsunds. You’d find it hard to match the fisherman to the dog unless you knew already.

Not many of the dogs actually go fishing with their owners. Bailey the cockapoo is an exception. His owner Paul says “It’s great having a dog like Bailey who goes out to sea with me – and he’s a better fisherman than me!”. Dessie, a Labrador / Lurcher cross was out at sea with owner Dean Brooker and Johnny ‘Magic’ Martin. Dean said “One day when me and Magic were on board the RX134, Magic asked me if Dessie could swim. I said I hadn’t a clue, so Magic picked him up and threw him over the arse end. Luckily we were coming into the harbour and Dessie swam like Mark Spitz!”

Gus with Darren Coglan

Photographing the fishermen’s dogs is a clever way to photograph the fishermen too. It puts people at their ease to be talking about their dogs – and it makes them more relaxed because they aren’t the subject of the photograph. It also gives John Cole a new focus for his long-running documentary photography project about our local fishing community.

Lily with Jason Adams

John Cole first started photographing the Hastings fishermen and women in 1991 and published, Generations: Hastings Fishing Families in 2021. Following on from Generations, he has now published Sea Dogs: Hastings fishermen and their companions. Both books are close up, intimate portrayals of the Hastings fishing community.

“When I first began laying out the photos for Generations, my wife Sally noticed that many of the fishermen have dogs and she suggested that I could do another book on fishermen and their dogs,” recalls John. “My immediate reaction was, ‘Please, I’m a serious photojournalist. I don’t do pet photography!’ And then Sally reminded me that one of my early photographic heroes, Elliot Erwitt, had throughout his long career shot photos of dogs all over the world, quirky photos laced with wit and eccentricity,” remembers John. “I quickly dumped my pomposity and got on with it.”

Jamie Ball with his doggie, Rory

The result is Sea Dogs, a collection of photographs of Hastings fishermen with their beloved canine companions, everything from Collies to Cockapoos and a full pack of breeds in between. The owners’ own words about their affection for, and devotion to, their loyal companions provide a touching compliment to the photos.

One of John’s biggest challenges in creating Sea Dogs was getting the dogs to sit still so that he could get a close-up shot. “When all else failed,” recalls John, “I’d gently bark at the dogs, who would then – if only for a few seconds – move closer and look intently at the barking mad photographer.”

The Sea Dogs book launch was a huge success, attended by many of the sea dogs who brought along their fishermen owners.

Skipper, with Stuart Hamilton

Sea Dogs will be available at the upcoming Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival on September 16-17.

It is also available at Hastings Contemporary Gallery, the Fishermen’s Co-Operative next door to the Contemporary, Hastings Bookshop on Trinity Street, Endlings Shop on Courthouse Street, Hastings Waterstones, the Bale House, Rye Art Gallery and the De La Warr bookshop. If you love Hastings and love dogs, please buy a copy. All profits from the sale of Sea Dogs will go to the Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society.

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