Borders boat found sunk in Polish harbour to return home

The Incentive was left to rot in the Gdansk marina before being raised in 2020

A sunken Borders fishing boat could be returning home after being salvaged from the bottom of a Polish harbour.

The Incentive, a wooden fishing cutter, was once central to Eyemouth's fleet and a regular sight at the town's Herring Queen Festival.

After being sold on, it eventually wound up abandoned in the Polish city of Gdansk, where it sank in 2016.

It then became a curious attraction for locals and tourists as it lay submerged in the marina.

Now, enthusiasts have raised the vessel with a full plan to restore it to its former glory and return it to the Berwickshire coastline.

The sunken boat became something of an attraction in Gdansk harbour

In Poland the vessel gained something of a cult following in Gdansk's city centre.

Facebook pages were set up in an attempt to trace its history and campaigns were launched to have it lifted from the bottom of the harbour.

Once it was raised and won at auction by the Polish Maritime Heritage Foundation, they set to work piecing together its origins through old shipping logs and registers.

They were eventually able to track it to Scottish shores and contact the family of Alexander Dougal in Eyemouth, who built the vessel in 1960

They confirmed that it was indeed The Incentive.

Foundation president Robert Smagon joked that, at one point, it was "the most photographed boat in all of Europe".

The Incentive captained one last time by Alexander Dougal at the Herring Queen Festival in 2008

The Incentive was not just notable for the time it spent at the bottom of the Gdansk marina.

It was also a rarity, being one of only seven wooden fishing cutters left in Poland.

The Polish fishing fleet was dramatically reduced during World War Two when retreating German forces destroyed or seized many of the country's fishing boats, leaving coastal communities without a working fleet.

In the years that followed more modern materials, such as steel and fibreglass, replaced the wooden craft and the skills to build and maintain them all but disappeared.

The Incentive became the centre of much intrigue with locals and tourists

The restoration of The Incentive is a part of a wider effort in Poland to rebuild their fleet and ensure that traditional craftsmanship and boat building techniques are not lost to time.

Mr Smagon said: "It's a treasure, that is why there is interest to restore these wooden boats.

"It's not just about the boat it's about the skills, the history and the heritage."

The Incentive BK127 operated as a commercial fishing boat from 1960 to 1973

Restoration work is due to begin in spring next year with the aim of sailing The Incentive back to the Berwickshire coast in the not-too-distant future.

The majority of the work will be carried out by students at the Gdansk University of Technology.

Project leader Basia Staniewicz said the ultimate goal was to get the old fishing cutter back in the water and return it to its "place of birth".

She said: "I think it will be a great thing to bring it back.

"I think boats should sail, not go stale."

The Polish Maritime Heritage Foundation wants to see the boat restored and back on the water