Mousehole Sea, Salts & Sail Festival 2018

Mousehole's bi-annual Sea Salts & Sail festival enjoyed three days of unbroken sunshine and family fun over the weekend. A record number of traditional, mainly fishing type sail boats created a daily spectacle both inside the harbour where many were tied up or out to sea when they paraded around Mousehole Island.

With the festival over for this year...

first thing Monday morning saw heavy cloud hanging over Mounts Bay...

as a few handliners began the search for elusive mackerel shoals...

watched by some early-risers walking the beach...

between the gaps and St Clement's Isle a handful of gaffers and luggers lay at anchor...

with not enough air to disturb the festival's colourful silk flags...

as a classic wooden-hulled Colin Archer yacht takes advantage of the early morning high-water to leave the harbour...

where in years to come the legacy of EU funding for many fishing projects will no doubt be enjoyed...

by all visiting vessels.

From all the organisers and those who made it possible a huge thank you - and see you in 2020.

Monday morning market in Newlyn.

Young Jeremy heads off to pick up a few pots on a fine morning...

as some serious metalwork is taking shape aboard the Resurgam...

though those heavy clouds overhead would suggest the odd shower may strike later...

not that they will stop the first auction for the week to get underway...

with some cracking top quality fish like these red mullet...

John Dory...

brill...

turbot...

and monk on the market...

and, at last, it would seem the mackerel have finally deigned to put in an appearnce in some number...

judging by the multiple box landings from the punts who fish for them...

the beam trawler put ashore the biggest haul of greater weavers seen for some time - anyone would think big Don was towing up and down Sennen beach!..

young Roger Nowell must have touched a little hard patch if these little blues are anything to go by...

all duly noted in Edwin's little black market book...

along with Dovers and their recalcitrant apostrophe...

Mr Smith landed plenty of pollack and blackjacks...

while the punt Tillerman broke all personal bests with his shot of mackerel...

and the Pascoe clan covering three generations weighed in with some fine landings of bass and mackerel...

the beam trawlers keep the crab boats in bait...

the it is fish like these Dovers that make up the high value of their landings...

although Plugger on the Shiralee picked up the top prize in the World Cup football sweepstake...

each one of these beauties is worth over £20...

which is why some 20 boxes of John Dory will have given young Roger and his crew on the Imogen III a good week's wages...

fishing knows no borders...

on the lookout for breakfast...

in a day or two the spring tide will give way to the next neap and allow the netters to get back to sea again...

Phase II of the market refurb is well underway...

with most of the insulated panels now fitted and the chill units installed overhead...

the view down the length of the grading machine.

Cadgwith basking in the summer sun and music.

Early evening stroll taking the car park footpath to Cadgwith...

passing a pair of short-tailed voles enjoying a skirmish in the dry grass...

before happening on Cadgwith's summer charity Folk Festival...

in aid of Cancer UK...

just about every kind if stringed instrument could be heard from guitar and double bass

squeeze box...

piano accordion...

harmonica...

all taken with the right spirit...

and great company...

then, so as not to disturb the still evening air, the music moves indoors for the final few hours...

of traditional songs, old and new.