When the wind is in the west, the fishing is best.....

Shipping forecast for the south west:

Gale warnings - Issued: 0338 UTC Thu 15 Dec

Severe gale force 9 backing southwesterly and increasing storm force 10 soon, then increasing violent storm force 11 later

Shipping Forecast - Issued: 1130 UTC Thu 15 Dec

Wind Southwest 7 to severe gale 9, increasing severe gale 9 to violent storm 11, veering northwest 7 to severe gale 9 later.

Sea State High or very high.

Weather Rain or showers.

Visibility Good, occasionally poor.

But not when the wind has been consistently around gale force 8 for several days with gusts over 60mph........

and the wave height at the Sevenstones Lightship is beginning to approach 30 feet........

so as Cornwall is lashed by gales, dozens of property damaged by lighening strikes and any number of trees blown down - spare a thought for this group of French trawlers working south of the Dodman Point hoping to gain a little from being in the lee of the Lizard land mass!

The AIS tracks from VesselTracker show how some of the boats have steamewd stright from their home ports across the channel (that's at a time when the huge Brittany ferry has been cancelled) to fish their last trip for the christmas market when prices are sure to be sky high.