Tall ships and top tables

You pays yer money and takes yer choice - to buy or to let, that is the question for anyone looking at investing in the stunning looking Abbey Wharehouse development in Penzance Harbour.....
and what striking scenes you would have to look out over each morning and evening....
there's a change of colour for the Seaking in the dry dock....
over in Newlyn, a pair of young gulls wait patiently for their supper....
as they are passed up by Dennis and son Andrew after an evening on the mackerel.....
has added some silver paint while she's laid up......
open for the first time this week, The Bistro, a new eatery in Newlyn openly celebrating the raison d'etre for the port - with a seafood menu.....
with several local successful restaurants behind him, chef Kevin Handley at the helm is sure to fill expectant foodies with fine fayre....
in bright and cheerful surroundings of what was for many years, Barry the Butchers on the Bridge.....
the Mount's Bay Lugger Association's Happy Return always evokes memories of days gone by when there were hundreds of these boats working in the Bay......
a new stocking gets stitched on to one of Ocean Spirit's nets.....
more tall ship activity as the resident local charter vessel Ruth is passed by a three masted barque......
here's a happier man aboard the Valhalla having made the first trip with a brand new Cat main engine providing the power.....
to put ashore another high quality trip from local grounds....
the stem of the Intuition looks all the better for her bottom scrub, weed grows very quickly at this time of year and can take several knots of the speed of the boat if left to grow too long......

another inshore boat heads for the market after a day trip, the Roannah....

Points of view

Mr Johnson Jnr cranes pallets back aboard the Jacoba after making her first landing of scallops to Newlyn this season.....
with fuel prices as they are its important that these dredges don't miss anything....
aboard the Lyonnesse, probably the smallest vessel in the UK fleet to sport a powerblock more normally associated with large pursers.......
a gaggle of gulls of all ages scour the quay for scraps...
it's around 7pm and the Scillionian, passing up a gaggle of local yachts in their Monday evening race, heads for the gaps in Penzance harbour after her day in Scilly....
a good combination, ice and fresh fish.......
stern view of the Lyonnesse and her large ring-net....
singing fisherman, Twinkle makes his way in through the gaps on the Two Boys.....
and if you are in town, here's the latest exhibition showing at the Orion Gallery......

with the ever-watchful Tom on his pedastel as the sun goes down.

Holiday reading of sorts

Hot off the press from the author (Mark Kurlansky) who brought us the enlightening tale of Cod, the history of the fish that changed the World, comes another thought provoking title, The Last Fish Tale: The Fate of the Atlantic and Our Disappearing Fisheries.

While fishermen tend to go on the defensive whenever conservation, the "Greens" or anything remotely environmental is mentioned, this latest book to hit the shops makes salutory reading - in the same way the current sharp rise in the cost of fuel has brought home to every household just how precious the natural resources of the planet are and the need to manage them. Reads like this are not good for getting off to a comforting night's sleep for anyone involved in the industry but should help to focus minds on how best to make way in the future.

Cornish Tuna boys' second landing

Time to wash down the decks on the Nova Spero after landing her second tuna trip to the FalFish and M&J Seafoods.....
Quentin, tuna-meister aboard the Nova Spero is happy to be back with over 1000 fish - Richard Ansell, the man from M&J, he say yes!
out in the Bay there is a jack-up rig anchored up....
while down the end of the New Quay, the Charisma puts her second trip of tuna aboard the waiting Falfish wagon....
good to see an old lifeboat still in service and making the rounds.....
catch of the day, brown crab from the Dom Bosco swing their way into the waiting viver lorry under the supervsion of Emma on the quay...
as the big tide passes, the Harvest Reaper heads for the netting grounds....
while the Charisma lands, the CKS passes by on her way up the harbour....

for these big tractor units, the private operators must be feeling the affect of fuel costs every bit as much as the boats.

One in one out

Brixham registered Ocean Spirit makes her way up to the market....

as the boys on the Sowenna leave their berth alongside the larket watched from the quay...

a couple of evening anglers take their chance to use feathers for a few mackerel...

as the Sowenna powers her way out the gaps...

the Plymouth Trawler Agents lorry is ready and waiting on the quay to take this trip off to Plymouth market...

FY269, Leven Mor has just put her day's work ashore, she sports some interesting decor above the wheelhouse these days - find out more about the boats from Porthleven...

a prehistoric scene of sorts!

Signs of Summer at last

With a blue sky and SW breeze, conditions for sailing and flag-flying in the Bay were perfect...
the market is busy with boats putting their catches ashore to catch a Monday market starved of fish before heading back out to sea again.....
crabbers like the Dom Bosco get the chance for fresh bait, and bait doesn't come better than gurnards for crab.......
taking advantage of the weather the boys have a BBQ going on deck....
fresh boxes go aboard the Ocean Spirit from Brixham.....
while a solitary gull inspects the net on the Amanda....
all hands get to pull the boxes off to the cold store on the market...
narrowly missing closing time, Edwin heads up the harbour to land...
where there are sure signs that the summer season is upon us as a gaggle of 'trippers' watch the proceedings with interest.

Cornish tuna round two!

Things are a bit quiet in the harbour now that most of the fleet has sailed after a particlularly unpleasant start to July so why not catch up with the Cornish tuna boys as they head south to the Bay of Biscay, a long way from home as they chase their elusive quarry!