Newlyn wakes up to an early start - setting up for the Fish Festival

Harbour boys, unsung heroes of the festival get off to an early start....
while Nick Howell begins to set up what will be a display of largely pelagic fish this year - few boats landed during the week so it was not possible to get donated fish from the fleet as per normal....
Emma Rowse, matriach of Rowse Fishing assists with the addition of shellfish from their bpats....
just some of the companies who source their fish from Newlyn.....
as ever, the Kipperman has put in an appearance...
Shane brings the St Piran to her berth for the day over the top of the Spirit of Mystery.....
a fine mini display of local fish from one of the exhibitors.....
a favourite foody pub in Penzance sets up their stand to keep visitors fed...
last minute checks by Sarah Henshall, Festival Co-ordinator before the gates open.

Rigging the Ripple slideshow

View a slideshow of the masts being craned aboard and details of the rigging now in place aboard the Ripple. She will be on display at the Fish Festival alongside Pete Goss' Spirit of Mystery on a pontoon berth.

Pete Goss and crew aboard the Spirit of Mystery arrive in newlyn

Just in case the visitors are caught short, Andy's Loos provide on Fish festival day.....
looking back from the bowsprit of the Spirit of Mystery as she lays in berth alongside the lifeboat...
skipper Pete Goss (2nd left) and crew: brother Andy (left), Pete's youngest son Eliot and Mark Maidment at the rear.....
you just have to have at least one Scotch sponsor on any boat worth its salt, in this case Talisker have come up with the support.....
down below immediately feels safe and secure with everything to hand making the most of the space that would have been the fishroom on the original boat...
a piece of oak from the Victory plays a part of the galley....
while another piece from the Cutty Sark provides the top to the galley table locker....
and American side-loading stove complete with flue from a German U-Boat will provide cabin warmth in colder climes.....
every part of the boat looks ship-shape and fit for purpose...
on the stern the Cornish flag will fly for them as they re-create the worlds first trans-oceanic voyage.

Rigging on the Ripple

Standing tall and ready for a suit of sails to hang aloft....
the Ripple is nearly ready to go....
but the rigging has yet to be completed - you can see where the expression "learning the ropes" comes from!

Only the sails to go!

Crew from the visiting St Brieuc registered, Lecume des Jours, literally translated as Foam of Days - more accurately as Spindrift - return to the boat before taking ice....
John Lambourn, ably assissted by antipodean cousin Grant Collins, is about to see months of labour rewarded as the masts for the Ripple are rigged ready to be hoisted aloft and placed aboard the waiting boat....

further up the quay freshly painted pound boards dry in the welcome sun.....
first aboard is the bowsprit......
steadied before moving, the foremast hangs in the air - it clocked just over three quaters of a ton on the cranes's load meter.....
guided across the quay by Grant as the cranes swings the mast towards the bow of the boat...
and placed over the deck while the alignment is checked......
watched, as ever in Newlyn, offerred plenty of vocal support by those on the quay, the mast is lowered to its final resting place....
guided down below.....
where John is immediately keen to check that all is well.....
before the final task of pitching the giant mortise and tenon joint is completed.....
there follows a brief discussion with the man on the controls of the crane (AC Removals and Storage provided the crane hire on 01736 787268 or 07773 330302)as someone has forgotten to put a line on the strop - making it difficult to retrieve the strop once the mast is allowed to stand and chocked in place...
she's beginning to look like a sailing vessel at last - and will undoubtedly will have Pete Goss aboard over the weekend to compare notes on this restoration project and his own re-build of the famous lugger Mystery - with which he intends to sail to Australia later this year.
someone appears to have parked an old VW camper van at the end of the North Quay?

Award-winning fishmonger and England rugby star tackle Bass

Mid-morning and a mackerel punt heads back to port, must have been too busy to grab a cup of tea it seems...
as the tides cut away the netting fleet can head back out to sea, just in time to miss the Fish Festival this weekend, the youngsters aboard will be gutted!.....
down the end of the quay the stage is set for a spot of location film work for a new UKTV Food series to be shown later this year - Mitch and Matt’s Big Fish - it's great to see personalities in addition to top chefs showing showing a real interest in the fishing industry - positive programmes like this can only help in the current difficulties being faced by the guys who go out and catch the nation's fish...
so it's time to for Rollo to ask the kids angling on the end of the quay to keep the noise down while the cameras roll.....
under the watchful gaze of master fishmonger and seafood chef, Mitch Tonks, England rugby star and self-confessed foody Matt Dawson, begins the job of preparing a fresh sea bass....
first job, remove the scales with a knife.....
once the fish is wrapped in foil with seasoning its popped in the oven....
and time for the next dish, fried bass fillet.....
out in the Bay, the Anneliese is picking up her gear that has been buoyed off.....
and back to the cooking action with Matt at the helm under the watchful eye of Mitch Tonks....
like any good chef, Matt gets to check out the sauce....
out of the oven and a quick check-over for the baked bass...
and then its time to prepare the next shot, eating the results of their labour, but not before a drop of fine Abbot Ale has been quaffed by the man who did all the hard work.....
of course, every now and then the comings and goings of the harbour get to interrupt the shoot, this time thanks to the singing fisherman Twinkle aboard the Amanda.

Mitch Tonks runs the unique Fishworks Restaurants - where you can choose to eat at one of the restaurants or, for the more adventurous, sign up for a fish cookery school - the man has even written a book aimed at those who love to cook fish on an Aga - and, as anyone who has ever used one knows, getting to grips with the Aga and its vagaries is something approaching an art form!

It's a misty start but maybe that's a good sign?

More crush barriers arrive from Speedy Hire for the fish festival.....
as the Defiant sorts out some trawl damage....
there's a few of these guys around courtesy of the local crabbing fleet.....
who sit under heavily misted skies this morning.....
lined up and ready to go aboard, the two main masts for the Ripple's lug rig.