Complementary colours.

Complementary colours complete the view of Newlyn this morning...

as the sun bathes the Bay in a golden glow...

though you would be hard pressed to believe that less than 300 miles to the East there is a heatwave...

that's a seriously big net drum awaiting fitting out...

Wednesday's market is top quality inshore fish...

from the inshore fleet and a couple of net boats...

with prices for turbot about as low as they can get - lets hop

signs that shellfish are on the move as the water warms are evident form the number being picked up by the boats that fish for turbot - though in the wrong place like in the Bristol Channel they are bombarded with brown crab on the grounds...

fast food fish...

new boxes for the Harvest Reaper...

it's demolition time for the old iceworks...

and it's demolition time at the fish market it seems, notice anything missing?...

the gulls are always on the scrounge...

if ever there was any doubt that Newlyn could become a major port for passing big yacht traffic here is plenty of evidence to support the plans to expand - considering Newlyn is not in the sailing almanacs as a preferred place to stop over it seems to attract plenty of big leisure craft - despite the extremely limited shore facilities - something that will surely change over the next few years if the port is to increase revenue and provide the kind of port services expected of a major player...

making it in through the gaps...

the Karen of Ladram heads for a landing berth...

while the trawler Our Olivia Belle waits to sail...

check those brakes Mario...

flying the new colours of the Mission...

and along the prom.

In desperation - another letter to the MMO.

Here is just one example of the dilemma inshore fishermen face - too little national quota available to share out to the nation's fleet of small inshore boats who, even if they fished to the max, would have little tangible effect on particular stocks of fish - based on their assessment of these stocks. One of them has written yet another impassioned letter to his local MMO office in desperation:

I have been fishing the wrecks in the Thames Estuary for the past week or so, I have been using 10.7 inch gear in very short fleets. I have been placing them right across the top of the wrecks and I still cannot avoid catching skate. I had four hauls last week and dumped at least 450 kg (71 stone/ 0.43 ton) of prime fish.

The reason for fishing the wrecks is to catch lobster as I have very little quota regarding other species of fish. How can the idiots that run your organisation (the MMO) come up with a monthly figure of 75 kg, I can catch that in less than an hour. There are literally thousands of them on the ground and as we both know, dumping fish with little or no chance of survival is totally unacceptable and does nothing for conservation.

Same story, different fish is being repeated up and down the length of the country - with no obvious solution.

Wanted, ideas please!

STS Lord Nelson - work in progress.

The cloud cover is beginning to get heavier... 

and the sails finally get to be picked out...

as the sun catches them in different light.

130 year old St Ives lugger Barnabas sets sail for the Shetlands

The St Ives-designed and built mackerel driver Barnabas, famed for flying an enormous St Piran’s flag at the Queen’s diamond jubilee pageant on the Thames in 2012, is the flagship of the Cornish Maritime Trust (CMT). To raise funds for the trust, Barnabas will recreate the annual voyage which many Cornish drift-netters made in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to catch the enormous shoals of herring which were then available off the coast of Britain during the summer months. 

Walter Langley : Departure Of The Fleet For The North

The idea is the brainchild of CMT trustee Peter Morgan, who said he was inspired to organise the trip after seeing the 1886 Walter Langley painting In A Cornish Village: Departure Of The Fleet For The North.

“The boats would pick up the Peel fleet from the Isle of Man, renowned for their kippers, and sail up to Fort William, then through the Caledonian Canal to Inverness and the Moray Firth,” he said. “Often the crews could not afford to hire a horse to pull the boat along through the canal and so the crew hauled the boat themselves – a two-day, exhausting effort.” 

Once they had reached the east coast, the fleet, which could number 1,000 or more vessels, would head up to Orkney and Shetland in search of vast quantities of herring. From there, they would have followed the shoals down the east coast of Scotland and England, fishing and landing their catches as they went. Mr Morgan says he has discovered that Barnabas definitely made this trip in 1883, 1884 and 1885.

This year, the journey will be undertaken over the course of ten weeks with volunteers, each paying £200, crewing Barnabas for week-long segments. Barnabas will set off on her journey from the Looe Luggers Festival which takes place this weekend and will called in on Falmouth early next week; she will be in Penzance harbour on Mazey Day before heading off on Monday from Newlyn. 

Follow their adventures on the BAB blog here:

See the Barnabas leaving Newlyn in the early hours of this misty morning!

Read more: http://www.cornishman.co.uk/130-year-old-lugger-Barnabas-prepares-recreate/story-26728360-detail/story.html 

Tiz another misty Monday morning!

Looking back towards Penzance the sun tries to punch its way through the low cloud...

and fights a losing battle for now......

giving Tom not much of a view...

as a yacht exits a harbour...

where many of the boats are...

barley visible...

some of which will be captured for TV later this year...

while things are clear enough on a market bursting at the seams...

 with some huge shots of the very best fish Newlyn can muster like these turbot and brill...

lovely Sapphire II lemons...

while the Britannia V...

put ashore a good shot of hake...

alongside monk tails for the Myghal...

now and then the turbot's genetic makeup gets confused and the white side begins to take on the same appearance as the white belly...

lights, camera, auction, action...

looks like the biggest ring-netter in the West is about to take to the sea...

while it looks like this little steel trawler yacht dreams of being a real trawler like the Olivia Belle when she grows up...

buried in the most confined space imaginable, Neil gets to weld the main winch brake band...

inside the close confines of the  Sapphire's winch housing - not a job for a claustrophobic engineer...

on an otherwise tranquil morning.

Golowan Festival!

It's Saturday morning and a sizeable flotilla of yachts have assembled in Penzance wet dock for the Golowan weekend which culminates on Sunday better known as Quay Day...

though Friday night's celebrations aboard the lugger Barnabus look as though they took their toll...

the historic lugger is due to make a round Britain passage and will include the Shetland Isles en route...

quay boat in her tier is another historic lugger...

the Guide Me, now well over 100 years old and still sailing without power - using just her lugger rig she has sailed the Atlantic and beyond in her travels...

a very Cornish weekend for all those who can make it to Penzance...

home of Pirates...

and others who will relieve anunwary public of their gold coins over the weekend...

there's a final opportunity to sample some of the amazing artwork produced by Penwith College students...

many inspired to use resources reflecting local tradition and working practices...

get your creative side in action and go sign up for a course now, full or part time or evening...

Golowan Band heads up the first afternoon parade

with their unmistakable style...

followed by a huge range of weird and wonderful creations from local schools who take part in this annual celebration of the eclectic mix that only Penzance could come up with!

Livecasting video from Karen of Ladram at sea, one of the newly certified MSC hake boats.

Today, the Karen of Ladram will livecast as she hauls her hake nets 46 miles from Newlyn.

The AIS shows where the boat is currently fishing North West of Land's End.