St Ives and Penlee RNLI lifeboat crews assist fishing boat

The Beaumaris registered inshore scalloper, Lola K was damaged by a freak wave some 15 miles off Pendeen last night. The St Ives lifeboat went to assist the two crew members and their vessel whose wheelhouse windows had been smashed by a freak wave.

The boat was eventually towed back to Newlyn by the Penlee lifeboat for an assessment of damage and repairs.

Cold start.

Moving quickly in the cold weather, with the sea temperature around 8º or 9º.....
as cold blooded creatures, the brown crabs are slow to move over the grounds......
so at this time of year catch rates are lower than the warmer months when the warming effect of the Gulf Stream really kick in.....
the more traditional colourful paint schemes on the Sapphire and tug Taktow are picked out by the rays of the morning sun......
astern of the visiting Brixham beamer, Sasha Emiel......
under a new moon one of the local gulls keeps a watchful eye.....
unusually, the frost touches the coast!
have you been SOS'd?

Unusual beamer conversion.

Spotted heading West on the AIS, the Stellandam registered Johannes SL27 would appear to be an ex-Dutch beam trawler converted to stern trawling.

Major machines in Mount's Bay - will powerboats come to PZ?

Negotiations are in the final stages to bring a round of the Powerboat P1 World Championships to Penzance over three days – Friday 21st, Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd May 2010. This tremendous coup is thanks to the work of Penzance Town Councillor Mike Lovegrove who initially negotiated with the organisers of the races. Cllr Lovegrove gained the immediate support of Penzance Chamber of Commerce and the Penzance & District Tourism Association as both organisations saw the enormous economic potential for the town.

Not only will the event be held this year but it is possible that it will be held in Penzance for a further 4 years at least.

IFCA? Think Cornwall Sea Fisheries Commitee - as was!

Applications are being sought from the Cornish fishing community to join the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCSAs), which are due to replace the existing Sea Fisheries Committees in April.

As a result of the successful introduction of the Marine and Coastal Access Act, ten IFCAs are being established along the coast. They will have a wider remit to promote healthy seas, champion sustainable fisheries, and boost viable industry by managing inshore fisheries resources out to six nautical miles.

With the growth of community led projects and paying heed to terms like inclusivity, here is another opportunity for anyone with even a remote connection to the sea to become directly involved in influencing the day to day management of coastal resources including fishing. This can have obvious strengths for the resource concerned as such a collective should bring a wide range of views to the process and ensure that powerful, yet misguided larger bodies, do not get their way as a matter of course.

A good read.

With the recent legislation that all fishing vessels over 15m record their tracks comes a huge amount of data can now be turned into a more readily appreciated visible format. This document from across the water in Ireland makes fascinating reading, especially the fishing effort maps that chart fishing effort species by species around the coast.

Champion' slip and a little local history.

Hiden from view and well away from the water's edge, Champion's slip now ends on a tarmac road at the rear of Trelwaney Fish. Even today, many Newlyn residents have no knowledge of the early geography of this part of the inner harbour. The slip was named after the headmaster of the Weslyan School that opened to educate the children of Newlyn in 1873. Before the building that is now home to Cosalt and Trelawney Fish was built on reclaimed land and the new road in front, the slip ran down to the sea and was at the heart of the boat building industry where many Newlyn luggers began life on the stony beach. Until the road was driven across the beach linking Street an Nowan with Newlyn Town the tide dictated the traveller's route.