Tuna fishing update - Gloria Maris

It seems the video clips of the Petite Marie Claude fishing for tuna have provoked plenty of interest in the Breton ports of Douarnenez and beyond.
In particluar, the fourth video has a sequence where the skipper and crew appear to have some sort of altercation with other boats, at one point a firecracker is seen being thrown in the water by the skipper. I have added a narration kindly provided by Jacques Blanken, a Douarnenez fishing historian who has tried to make sense of the incident recorded in the film.

Voici un essai d'analyse...

Le premier bateau filmé (film n°4), le rouge et blanc est à l'évidence un basque (l'avant est frégaté et la passerelle au milieu, typique du pays basque Français ou Espagnol), les deux suivants sont soit Audiernais, soit Douarnenistes et apparemment, l'un d'eux (le bleu) se met devant la Petite Marie-Claude, ce qui énerve l'équipage et au delà, a au moins deux effets
1° Risquer d'embrouiller les lignes lorsque la Petite Marie-Claude relèvera son poisson mais surtout
2° Lui "piquer" son poisson... ou au moins le faire partir...
Je pense que celui-là est peut-être bien un Audiernais... Ensuite on en voit un autre (blanc) vu de côté, navigant de conserve, ce doit être un Douarneniste. Mais ce n'est que pure hypothèse. Au passage, il est intéressant de voir qu'en pêche, pour ne pas trop rouler, tous les bateaux envoyaient deux ou trois voiles!



Suivent quelques images des lignes (mais on ne voit pas les perches) et deux bateaux très loin au large et effectivement après, il semble qu'il y ait une excitation à bord. Manifestement on n'est pas content et on voit d'ailleurs sur l'image suivante, pendant que le patron parle à l'équipage une zone d'évitage ce qui semble confirmer que le bateau va ailleurs... ou est obligé de manoeuvrer ! Puis la scène se termine par l'envoi par dessus bord de ce qui semble effectivement être un pétard...et on voit de nouveau le bateau bleu qui pêche très près, sur babord arrière et va donc passer là ou a été envoyé le pétard... 


Serait-ce une vengence pour faire fuir le poisson ? Il faudrait avoir le témoignage d'un des matelots pour savoir exactement ce qu'il se passait...Après on (plie les gaules) en fait, on love les bas de lignes pour rentrer, pêche finie. Car en pêche on est à 4 ou 4,5 noeuds et en route on est à 9/10 noeuds...Toilette... et arriviée à Douarnenez avec les mauritaniens au port et sur le slipway !

Bonne journée
Jacques


Here is a translation of the explanation provided by Jacques:

In the fourth film, the red and white boat is obviously a Basque (the bow is typical of the Basque Country or Spanish), the other two are either Audierne or Douarnenistes and apparently one of them (blue) goes to the Petite Marie-Claude, which upsets the crew and appears to have two effects:


1 the potential to cross the lines when Petite Marie-Claude hauls his fish up but mostly


2 he pinches the fish ... or at least takes them from the Petite Marie-Claude


I think this one is perhaps an Audierne (a gentle sneer)... then we see another (white) from the side, navigating according to the rules of the road, it must be a Douarneniste - but this is pure speculation. Incidentally, it is interesting to see that while fishing, they all have two or three sails set to steady them.


In the next scene are some views of the lines (but you cannot see the poles) and, in the distance, two boats, when it seems that there is an agitation on board. Visibly they're not happy and we see also in the next shot, while the skipper is talking to the crew, a wash in the water which seems to confirm that the boat has turned hard or was forced to manouvre! Then, the scene ends by the skipper throwing what appears to be a banger and again we see the blue boat that is fishing close to the port quarter who will then pass where the firecracker was - is this revenge or an attempt to scare the fish? We should have the testimony of one of the crew to find out exactly what happened.  


The final scenes show them stowing the poles and lines ready to return, fishing over. When fishing, the boat does 4 or 4.5 knots and they are steaming at 9-10 knots, spending the time cleaning down the boat while heading for home. When arriving in Douarnenez you can see several big Mauritanian langoustiers in the port and one on the slipway!


Alain Gourret has also sent over a photo of Newlyn's own ex-tuna boat, the Gloria Maris, now Ben My Chree when she was working from her original port of St Guenole. Her decks appear freshly painted so this could be the first trip for the season when the chances are she would steam as far south as the Azores - there are several 40 gallon drums (fuel?) on the deck and a ladder at the foremast to aid fish spotting - unlike the giant tuna pursers with their helipads today!


Gloria Maris steaming with tuna poles rigged.
©Gildesein

Vessel details from the French equivalent of Olsen's Almanack.
©Gildesein




  

PGI status for the Cornish pasty!

Good news for pasty lovers but not necessarily the world over - in Australia you'll only be able to buy a pasty it seems - will the Australian Pasty makers give a XXXX?

This promotional video was made to support the PGI status bid fought for by the Cornish Pasty Association - yes there is such a thing.

First it was Cornish Sardines, now the Cornish Pasty has at last been meted out the recognition it deserves with official EU recognition that not only is it how you make your pasty, what goes in it but also where it's made that counts - what will ex-pat Kevin Hanley do in Dublin and all the other makers of 'Cornish pasties' outside Cornwall? Should keep the sign re-writers busy!

"Poor weather in the North Sea" - they didn't see that one coming!

Video shot from the wheelhouse of a large Norwegian demersal trawler.

To get a sense of 'being there' have the volume turned up and enlarge the clip to fill the screen as, despite being filmed inside the wheelhouse, the howling wind is easily audible. 


The video starts looking out over the bow while the trawl warps are being wound on the main winch - then, looking aft, at one point a swamped fulmar is seen unable to take off from the deck and is given a helping hand from one of the crew who launches the gull over the stern. Eventually, the trawl doors arrive and are made fast to the gantry before the trawl bridles are attached so that the net can be hauled. There's a helpful visual tour round the wheelhouse and the electronics on a modern fishing boat - note the three trackball mice on the arm of the skipper's chair. Back aft to watch the hauling process - as the bridles are hauled you can hear the lower bridle chain clattering over the stern ramp - once the trawl itself is wound on board the crew then put a strop round the stocking so that the cod end can be brought to the stern. 


Up to this point the clip seems to be nothing more than capturing on film everyday life aboard the boat in poor weather as the guys on deck contend with a deck washed by the occasional sea coming over the stern ramp while they haul the gear until ..............I think the expression, 'yoy' means much the same in English as it does in Norwegian!

Newlyn port record goes again! - St Georges has it!

St Georges enters the gaps at Newlyn on a quiet day.

Skipper Billy Worth will be pleased - although the big beamer St Georges didn't quite smash the port record this morning, more nudge it gently out of the way - by £80 or one box of big megrims - but it means that, at the end of the day, the record is hers again at a shade under £54,000. 

Newlyn Archive - Newlyn School artists and their models - what do you know?

The Newlyn Archive will be mounting a display at the Newlyn Gallery as part of the Passmore Edwards Centenary.

They will be there from 2-4pm on four consecutive Tuesdays, on February 22 and on March 1, 8 and 15. The latest display focusses on the Newlyn people who modelled for the artists and the places and homes where they lived. The Newlyn Archive are hoping residents will come along and share their anecdotes, memorabilia and stories from friends or relatives - email them in if you can't make it to the Newlyn Gallery.

On Tuesday February 22, Liz Harman will be in role as a Newlyn fishwife to add to the fun.

Help promote the event by dowloading the poster and display it in your window

Check out the Blind Spot at the Lugger Hotel in penzance.

Transition Penwith have a film screening at the Lugger Hotel on the Penzance seafront this week, the coming end of reliance on oil will drastically change the world as we know it before our Grandchildren have retired......

though that still doesn't seem to stop us building extremely drab buildings in town.......

a few more weeks and the local yachts will be back on their moorings......

later tonight the Scillonian III will make her way round to the dry dock.......

now that the big Dutchman now turned Cornishman has exited.......

the weekend's litter pick seems to have been a success.......

high water on a big tide, time for the Girl Pamela to go on the hard.......

and Saturday was warm enough to bring out the harbour's daffs collection.......

good to see the gear back aboard the big ship.......

big megs up for auction.......

the nonchalant pose of a man on a mission.

Cornwall's latest new build Asthore nears completion - meets with professor Villy Christensen's approval!

 The business end of the Asthore sports a five bladed propellor and a stern thruster.........

from the bow on she appears huge out of the water as she sits on her legs in Penryn, near Falmouth..

The boat will be targetting sustainable pelagic stocks in the South West such as Cornish Sardine and anchovy. This will come as good news in the wake of a recent symposium on the state of global fish stocks at the American Association Advancement of Science's annual meeting where Professor Villy Christensen was quoted as saying; "I wouldn't bother waiting for the politicians to sort this one out, guys, you can really help from the comfort of your own kitchen ... lay off the cod, haddock and tuna, diversify and cook up a wider range of fish." - and by that he means fish like mackerel, pilchards, sardines and anchovy! - good news for the Cornish Sardine fleet!

You can hear the professor talking about his findings here.