Help guys! - Fish Festival Fish needed!

With the weather not helping supplies - this is a shout out to all the fishermen of Newlyn and beyond! 

#eatmorefish

Donations of fish for the Mission Fish Festival Auction central fish display that Sue and Duncan Lucas so kindly travel all the way down from London to put together are urgently needed.

Don't forget ANY fish and anything interesting you haul up can be used to help make the fish display the focus of the festival that visitors expect to see!

Seaweed and stars, whelks and miller's thumbs are all welcome!

Just mark the fish or a box with Fish Fest!

Did you know Newlyn boats regularly land over 40 different species in a week on the market?

Timely showing - First episode of The Catch goes out on the night of the Fish Festival at 8pm on Channel 4.

Here's a timely new TV documentary in the light of the changes to the way the Mission operates out of Newlyn - come and meet Phil Mitchell, skipper of the gill netter Govenek of Ladram as she plies the Western Approaches in her quest for hake, turbot and monk - in the kind of conditions that make most people thankful they are watching from the comfort of their sofa!

"In this new series Channel 4 have taken the fixed-rig camera to one of the most extreme destinations yet. Deep-sea fishing is the one of the most dangerous jobs in Britain, by some margin, and The Catch gives us unprecedented insight into the reality of life at sea.

The Govenek of Ladram in 'Through the Gaps' of Newlyn harbour.

Every day off the coast of England dozens of deep sea fishing crews are battling rough seas in order to hunt out the most valuable fish. But life at sea is often about so much more than fish. Miles out at sea the six-man crews only have each other to rely on, eating, sleeping and working together a matter of metres apart at all times – the work is tough, tensions are high and sleep is limited, how will these men learn to co-exist? Living in an environment like this is intense, and the fixed-rig shows fishermen like you’ve never seen them before – the on-board pranks, arguments at the dinner table, seasickness and the knowledge that a single haul can turn around the fate of a boat.
Though there's plenty of risk, the rewards can be high. After years of bad news stories and EU quota battles, the word is there is still money to be made at sea. Peak season for high-value fish is October to April – coinciding with the worst weather of the year. To succeed they have to pit themselves against dangerous weather conditions such as gale-force winds, 40-foot swells, and endless, driving rain.

Whilst the crew are out at sea, their partners and children are at home holding the fort. Constantly checking the weather and praying for a safe return some are parenting single-handedly, coping with the threat of bankruptcy, organising weddings and giving birth – life continues on land while the men are away at sea.

With a shortage of young men who have grown up in traditional fishing communities wanting to follow in their fathers' footsteps – recruiters are having to find new fishermen from further and further afield. This combined with rumours of big pay cheques has resulted in a new generation of landlubbers looking for work at sea, luring lads with no background in fishing to England’s busiest ports. The series follows these rookies as they join the tight-knit crews on board and see if they can hack it.

Episode 1 - Meet the realPhil Mitchell - skipper of the Govenek of Ladram

In the first episode of the series we meet Phil, the skipper of a large Gill netter called the ‘Govenek of Ladram’. Phil runs a tight ship, wanting his crew to work hard, eat together as a team and even makes sure that they dress up for meals without any fish guts on their clothes. Phil’s crew, Stan, Stevie, Sean, Bricktop and Simon, have been with him for years and are a well-oiled machine. But fishing can be a young man’s game and his crew isn’t getting any younger, Phil needs to bring in new blood and train them up before his most experienced deckhands move to an easier boat, or retire altogether.

Louis is a lost 21-year-old on the dole who has struggled in the past to feel part of a group and make friends. He lives at home with his mum and has never been to sea before. He has signed up for a deckie training course in the hope that he will be able to find a career, and a crew that will accept him as one of their own. But Louis has a rough ride ahead of him, to fit in he doesn’t just have to show that he can graft on deck but that he understands the rules of boat etiquette.

The Govenek fishes mainly for hake,

But life on board isn’t only difficult for the rookies, all the pressure and big decisions fall into the hands of skipper Phil. On a fishing boat there are no set wages, the crew earn a percentage of the profits – so if the haul is bad, the fish prices drop or a storm sets in they are the ones with the big decisions to make. Phil decides to steam 197 miles through a gale force 10 storm in the hunt for a good catch. But will his gamble of £7000 of diesel fuel steaming through 40 foot swells pay off and ensure that his crew comes away with a paycheck after a week at sea?

Behind the scenes: Just some of the camera cabling used to film aboard the Govenek...

and the kit going ashore after the last trip filming was completed.

See the story behind the new series on Channel 4 here:

And the full video trailer here:

After the monsoon.

Hard to believe there was enough H2O left in the sky to form any clouds this morning after the deluge during the night...

these guys must be thick on the grunds to be picked up by a gill net...

when your trip of fish is stacked five high you know you have been in the fish...

so the boys on the Britannia V should be happy with the prices this morning... 

as their trip had a good size run, like these 3-4 kilo hake...

and a few boxes of 6+ keeping an eye on things...

it's a weekend of fun for all over the Bank Holiday, the three days kicking off with the annual Newlyn to Penzance swim in aid of the Macmillan Trust on Friday night - it's still not too late to enter - a punt race in Mousehole Harbour on Saturday at 3pm followed 

by the Blessing of the Fleet on Sunday Evening  at 6.30pm and then on up to the Centre 

for the Last Night of the Cornish proms 

before heading to Newlyn Harbour itself for the Fish Festival on Monday - opens at 10am.

A Mission to serve.

On the eve of the 26th Newlyn fish Festival it would seem fitting to remind ourselves why the Mission in Newlyn is its sole benefactor.

2015 marked a huge change in the life of the Mission in Newlyn - or did it? For the fishermen of Newlyn the Mission was where you went for a proper breakfast, mugs of mission tea and a yarn - but in May this year, after 104 years the mission canteen served no more.  But serving comfort and providing hands-on and financial support to over 40 fishing communities in ports and harbours around the coastline of Cornwall is the real work of the Mission - and that hugely important direct community work carried out by the Mission team of Keith, Julian and Ian is where the RNMDSF has made and will continue to make a real difference.  Last year's appalling winter weather caused huge financial hardship in every fishing community in the UK with Cornwall being particularly hard hit - in all, over £350,000 was given out in direct support.

Here are a few words from Mission skipper Keith Dixon

"Poverty, debt, loneliness are some facts of life in our fishing communities. At best, fishing can be a precarious business. Success depends on a host of factors from the weather to fluctuating fish prices to restrictive quotas. Worst hit have been the men of the inshore fleet with many barely scrape a living or experiencing spiralling debts. The Fishermen’s Mission is committed to the welfare of fishermen around the shores of the UK. Here in Cornwall, we have a network covering every fishing port and cove to ensure that we reach active and retired fishermen and provide hope in difficult times. This work has increased over the last twelve months with the number of applications for grant assistance up by twenty five percent on the same time last year. This increase demand is likely due to the ongoing effects of the severe storms of 2013/14 and an ever more restrictive and burdensome national and international fisheries management system.

I still find it incomprehensible that a recent survey revealed that the average gross annual income for many of the small punts working around Cornwall is less than thirteen thousand pounds, which when broken down against the hours worked equates to less than half the hourly minimum wage. Yet the same survey shows that for each fisherman working in the Cornish water they support eight people’s jobs ashore. Cornwall was founded of Fishing, Farming and Mining and with the disappearance of mining only fishing and farming maintains that link with the Cornish heritage and culture. What would Cornwall be without its fishing fleet and fishing communities, certainly poorer both financially and culturally? If the fishing fleet ever left Cornwall it would take Cornwall’s heart and soul with it.  

Mark Twain once commented “reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated” after a newspaper reported that he was on his death bed. The same could be said about the Fishermen’s Mission in Newlyn after the sale of the building in June. The fact is the Fishermen’s Mission continues to serve the fishing communities of Cornwall as it has since its arrival in 1911. The commitment to be there and provide support for those struggling with the storms of life continues and indeed grows as time and resources previously spent on maintaining a building which was underutilized is directed towards supporting those most in need. The fact is the Fishermen’s Mission will still have offices and the Memorial Room in the Ship Institute. The fact is there are more uniformed staff working in Cornwall now than there has been for years. The fact is all the money from the sale of the building will be ring fenced for use solely in Cornwall. 

In the words of David Dickens the CEO of the Fishermen’s Mission, “the Mission will continue to serve the fishing communities of Cornwall as long as there fishing communities to serve.”

I would also like to thank all those involved for all their hard work and support in making the Fish Festival such a fantastic success as well as their generous contribution of £10,000.00 from last year’s successful show."

Keith Dickson (Superintendent Cornwall)

Right now the interior of the Mission building is being transformed...

with superintendent Keith happy oversee the work...

and looking forward to moving into the new office...

while next door another coat of paint is being rollered on expertly in what will be the chapel...

the window space in the middle having been made to accommodate the historic stained glass window from the old chapel upstairs.

So, just to remind all, the Mission is alive and well in Newlyn and is there to serve and be on call where and whenever it is needed for every Cornish fisherman and their families - and who knows, if the rumoured Bistro opens up in the old canteen space maybe fishermen will still be able to get a decent mug of tea and a cooked breakfast!

Work in progress, day two.

The sky and early morning clouds get sketched in before giving the sea some shape and depth...

by roughing out each of the heavy seas  as they pass under her including the crest of the swell that the boat is just dropping down from.

New work in progress - sketching out and underpainting

Charcoal sketch on 30" x 20" primed canvas...

with maybe too much detail gone in on the boat, hard to spot are the two crew holding on to the rail just foreside of the hauler hatch...

trying to capture one of our netting fleet enjoying a not-so-comfortable day at the office away west of the Scillys.

More muggy Monday morning rain!

Just the Ajax's hake on the market this morning...

these guys are rare enough on the market, then four come along...

good mackerel fishing over the weekend sees the mackerel fridge full to the brim with these marvellous fish...

while a big selection of beam trawl and top quality prime inshore fish filled the market at the grader end...

with marvellous monk...

and even more mackerel...

turbot don't come much bigger than this super specimen form the beam trawler Filadelfia...

the fridge looks like its the in place to be this morning...

Dr Dory has been in them again...

while Cefas Gary gives the lemons the once over...

before moving on to another shot of big prime flats...

outside things could be better weatherwise...

but it seems The Rain it Raineth as Lionel does his take ...

on that classic Stanhope Forbes painting...

doesn't look good for the crew on the Gallilee, isn't that a gangplank?...

this coming Sunday inside the fish market sees Keith and the Mission crew provide the annual Newlyn Blessing of the Fleet - starting at 6.30pm, the event will be livecast on the web for anyone with family or friends elsewhere in the world who cannot make the event in person...

there's a good set of nets for sale...

there's an excellent selection of Newlyn School and other paintings in a September sale at W.H. Lane's....

this study by Gyrth Russell, oil on board captures that high summer morning light...

and the kind of fishing activity still seen today - the Newlyn School artists were in some ways bloggers of their day!