While the rest of the UK freezes, no snow in balmy Penzance

Not sure when collection day is......

it's hard work aboard a crabber........

waiting for the engineers to turn up, the powerful visiting Dutch beamer Hessel Senior........

has bent the derrick.......

and the beam on the trawl.......

damage viewed from the bow.......

the Penlee cycle boys done well........

waiting for the beach cleaning brigade.........

Penlee Park houses a fantastic collection of art.......

and has just changed shows including a photographic exhibition.......

'Through the Lens - Magic Lantern Slides' for which there is an illustrated lecture on Monday the 20th of February, one for the diary.

Toughest Place to be a Fisherman - Sierra Leone.

Jump have created the titles for the new series of 'Toughest Place to be a....' on BBC2. The series consists of 3 programs - each with a different theme. This title is from 'Toughest Place to be a Fisherman'.

For centuries the fertile fishing grounds off Sierra Leone have provided a living for coastal villagers, but unwelcome intruders are now threatening their way of life. Has it become the toughest place to be a fisherman? 


Each morning, Ishmael Kain and his cousin Kaba Kain push their canoe from the sandy beach of their tiny fishing village out towards the open sea. Together they furiously paddle the canoe, called a kru, out through the fast-moving breakers - often rising up to four metres high - which form a daunting obstacle on the path to the best fishing grounds. 


These coral blue waters are home to large catfish, barracuda and sea bream. In the past they yielded enough fish to feed the village of around 100 people and a small surplus to sell. But not any more. Now the villagers' way of life hangs in the balance. 


It is a chance for Ishmael and Kaba to prove what has been happening to Cornish fishing boat skipper Andy Giles who has travelled to Sierra Leone with a BBC film crew. Of course, these guys are not alone in haveing their livelihoods stolen by much bigger vessels working far from home in their waters - see this  post on Through the Gaps from last year.


First in the new series, last night's opener featured London dustman Wilbur Ramirez as he worked alongside the local bin men in down-town Jakarta - a humbling experience for the Londoner used to a much higher level of comfort and protection from some of the nastier side of human waste.


Toughest Place to be a Fisherman is on BBC Two at 21:00 GMT on Sunday 5 February or watch online via iPlayer (UK only).

Fine frosty fishy Friday.

Skipper's car at the Mish has a fresh frosted coat this morning.......

after a night at sea there's a pelagic landing......

gloves and coats order of the day.......

bound for the Scillies with a cargo of excavation equipment......

the ex-landing craft heads for the gaps.....

waiting for ice.......

one of two beamers from W&S landing this morning......

more speed = more heat........

looks like its going to be a fine day.......

as the sun lights the Lizard across the Bay.......

with some very subtle early morning pinks.

Twinned with Concarneau - Breton and Cornish Sardine fishing.

All in a night's work, the AIS tracks the sardine boat Asthore as she searches for fish between Newlyn, St Michael's Mount and Mousehole........

over 100 miles south, another Celtic sardine boat, the War Raog IV is tracked leaving her home port of Concarneau and then searching the bay for Breton sardines!

Hunting for sardines

Tweeted by @JessicaS_PZ last night - There are 5 trawlers fishing close by in Mounts Bay at the moment - never seen that before. Big shoal of fish? #penzance #newlyn

The Cornish Sardine boats were out in force in Mount's Bay last night. Only the Asthore is fitted with AIS which gives us a chance to follow the boat as skipper Peter Bullock traverses close inshore in the hunt for a suitable mark of fish.  Fishermen use the term 'mark' that once described the patterns left on the old paper type echo sounders that were used to find fish before electronic versions were introduced.

31000 miles to go - with a little help from you?

Cyclists extraordinaire - Damian Barnes - Justin Morgan - Wayne Davey

Here's the word straight from the 3100 web site:

Three hardy men from 771 Search and Rescue squadron, based out of Culdrose, Cornwall, are setting out to ride 3100 miles from Oceanside, San Diego to New York City's, Times Square. We aim to complete the ride in 17 days following the RAAM (Race Across America) route through 12 states, 88 Counties, 350 communities and 170,000 feet of climbing. 

The team are attempting to raise £20,000 for charity along the way. The Little Harbour Children's Hospice, St Austell, the Cornwall Air Ambulance and the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund. We have been working hard raising money in supermarkets, shopping centres and even women's clothes shops! With concerts, children's parties, coffee mornings, auctions and much, much more planned! Donations are available via our 'donate now' tab.

We will be offering corporate opportunities to any businesses who would like to support us and the charities. We have a partners page, where our sponsoring company logos and links will appear. Additionally, our team will wear clothing printed with their company logos, who choose to sponsor the event.

Wayne Davey is a well known face in and around Newlyn having played rugby for Penzance & Newlyn Pirates and is a regular crew member of the Penlee lifeboat, Ivan Ellen.

Girl Rona waits for salvage team to arrive.

Image courtesy of Torbay Surfing web cam.

Attempts to re-float the capsized fishing vessel Girl Rona appear to have been halted - despite the valiant efforts of the local team, strong easterly winds have made pumping out the vessel impossible. In this shot taken around 2pm from a web cam overlooking the entrance to Teignmouth Harbour, she can be seen laying on her side on a shingle bank. All five members of the crew were taken off safely after the boat capsized when a freak wave hit her as she attempted to navigate the narrow channel entrance to the port on Monday evening.