The legend that is Cod.

Cod, an inspiration to one and all in Newlyn. Nuff said.

A case of Cod and the Trawlermen's Rash.

Back in the 1950s and '60s thousands of deepsea fishermen sailed from Grimsby, Hull, Fleetwood, and Aberdeen - three weeks at sea and two nights ashore for men who on top boats earned film-star sized wages nicknamed 'three day millionaires' - their working life lived in extremis as they manhandled heavy trawls in often in both stormy and icy conditions elements of the distant water grounds off Iceland and the Barents Sea - the absolute harshness of the work and the phlegmatic approach they took to it living on the edge probably summed up most appropriately by terms coined like, 'he's suffering from trawlermen's rash' - which actually meant a losing a finger, or or two...

even on modern trawlers and in addition to the sometimes sleepless days at sea, the unstable platform and the frequent interruptions to normal operations from passing ships, ground and fishing gear problems there are umpteen opportunities for fingers, hands, heads and bodies to get in the way of gear weighing tons when hauling and shooting huge trawls on a heaving deck...

while on a small inshore boat, although there are not such extreme physical dangers from deck gear - apart from getting 'hooked up' or trapping a hand there is still one major adversity that afflicts fishermen the world over and often determines more than the abundance of fish or any other factor in them making a living - the weather - so for one day last week a truly momentous occasion was recorded for posterity as Steven 'Cod' Astley, seen here heading his boat Butts for Newlyn after a day on the bass, was caught on camera...

by fellow but 'rival' bass fishermen, Andrew Pascoe on the Cynthia - momentous because 18 months ago Andrew was in hospital by Cod's bedside as he fought to stave off a devastating attack of sepsis which took both legs below the knee and some of his fingertips -along with a huge toll on his immune system - Cod's reaction to his life and career threatening condition was simply to treat it as a case of 'trawlermen's rash' and just deal with it, "After seeing him in hospital I never thought I would ever see him alongside me at sea ever again. There’s men and there’s Cod" said Andrew.

Just some of Cod's bass on the market this morning

If you talk to Cod you can't help but be struck by his lack of regard for the enormity of what he has achieved. He simply smiles, gently shrugs his shoulders and even looks slightly perplexed if you even begin to hint at what he has achieved as being anything other than normal - he got his licence back and was back behind the wheel of his car many months ago too. His major concern (outside of making a living wage again of course) is that his story will ensure that others are now much more aware of sepsis and just how easily it can take hold of the body, often with devastating debilitating and sometimes fatal results.

Much of Cod's recovery was down to the support afforded him by the Seafarer's Society that helped set up his intensive physiotherapy.

No "If's or but's" Butts is best at bass!

Brighter than it has been as a result of the clocks going back yesterday, first light...

sees Nimrod (named after grandfather) the latest addition to the Rowse crabbing fleet nestling between the Harriet Eve and the Chris Tacha...

 though as yet the sign-writer has not yet had a chance to weave his magic over the old name numbers and name on the bow...

shades of the past when there were no market fridges to hold fish in and with only half the market space available two netters are waiting in landing berths for the market to be cleared of fish before putting their fish ashore...

despite a flurry of forklift action ferrying fish away...

meanwhile, in the market Cefas are busy collecting fish data from the Resurgan's landing...

with the single fridge full of mackerel landed by the handline fleet over the weekend...

and fish from two beam trawlers, five inshore trawlers and a handful of punts...

saw some solid landings of haddock...

plaice...

and more plaice...

but all of these landings were totally overshadowed by the fish from this boat - there are fishermen, good fishermen and the best fishermen and then there are the best fishermen that fish for bass - and the best of the bass fishermen in Newlyn has just returned to fishing... 

and let us remind ourselves that Steven 'Cod' Astley now goes to sea with two titanium legs after a suffering from sepsis...

so with over 70kg of bass on the market this morning - 20kg more than the next nearest boat its heartening to see he is still the master when it comes to chasing what Keith Floyd always referred to as, the "King of fish"......

while Dennis Pascoe aboard the punt Sprigs of Heather, probably the oldest working full time fisherman in Newlyn, hauled in a few big squid to go with his bass haul...

during the refurb, access is now kept clear at the western end of the market...

despite the hundreds of boxes being stacked across the market floor...

from the big netters like the Joy of Ladram...

and the Ajax...

long-dead fisherman Freddie Howis would often joke that conditions for working on the market were worse now then they were 100 years ago when, "they had donkeys and carts to move fish about"...

a sentiment no doubt shared by that happy market chappy, Roger as he drags another stack of boxes to the exit...

while this big pollack has been doused in tallies it seems...

Plugger on the Shiralee must have been well pleased with this trip of rays - big by any standards not just for a 10m inshore trawler...

as more light begins to crack the sky...

two of the hake netter Charisma's crew exchange pleasantries...

as they wait for the market to be cleared of fish so they can land and sort their fish for Tuesday's market...

since work began on the refurb half the market space has been lost which means that on days when big trips from beam trawlers, netters and the fleet of 30+ handliners coincide...

the market is pushed for space...

and with the morning light giving such stunning vistas...

it's now wonder you just have to take the time to record the moment...

while others work flat out to keep pace with the fish being bought...

the beam trawler, Resurgan made £31,000 last trip, will she beat that this morning...

all three Rowse boats picked out in the morning sun...

while the wreck-netter Gary M waits to sail again...

work is forging ahead and a new roof is on one end of the market...

out in the bay a handful of mackerel boats have found a biggish mackerel mark...

back in the Dry Dock, the new IoS supply ship, Mali Rose.