Just to put big waves in perspective.....

The Met Office is giving out a severe weather warning for Saturday with gusts predicted to be over 70mph. Last weekend, storm force winds off the west coast of Ireland set a new record in wave height recordings smashing the previous record by nearly 4 metres.

The lighthouse on the end of the quay in Newlyn (from which all tidal heights around the world were based until a few years a ago) is around 10m from the quay. In this graphic, the photo of the Crystal Sea II entering Newlyn and the lighthouse have been scaled against the left hand axis - the line graph shows the height in metres of the biggest wave recorded by a UK wave buoy since records began - 23.43m last Sunday from the M4 buoy off the coast of Donegal.


As a reminder of what to expect this weekend here is Newlyn being battered by storm force winds in October 2008.

SOUTH WEST FISHING FOR LITTER PROJECT LANDS CROWN ESTATE FUNDING

The hugely successful Fishing for Litter South West marine litter project has made its first big catch of the year by landing £45,000 of funding from The Crown Estate. 154 fishing vessels from across the south west are currently participating in the scheme.

Fishing for Litter South West makes a vital contribution to protection of marine mammals by providing vessels with large durable bags to collect marine litter which are then deposited on the quayside for the harbour authorities to secure in dedicated Fishing for Litter skips and bins.

Launched in Newlyn in 2009 the project has gone from strength to strength and now counts Brixham, Plymouth, Newquay, Looe, St Ives, Mevagissey, Hayle and Padstow amongst participating ports. Almost 70 tonnes of marine litter has been collected as part of the project so far with this amount set to rise as funding from The Crown Estate and other organisations helps more ports and vessels join the effort.

The Crown Estate’s, Gary Thompson, said: “It has been really encouraging to watch Fishing for Litter South West grow from its launch in 2009. Although a voluntary project more and more vessels and ports are eager to sign up and contribute to the protection of our marine environment.

“The Crown Estate is committed to supporting projects which help reduce marine litter and we are extremely pleased to announce today that we will be supporting the fishermen of the south west for at least another 3 years”.

Alison Elvey de Rios, South West Fishing for Litter Coordinator, commented: “It’s great news that The Crown Estate has committed to continuing such an important project for the marine environment. The project has grown from strength to strength over the last three years, and the Crown Estate funding will help us build on its success, not only by helping to collect at least another 100 tonnes of litter, but also to increase education activity for children and the general public about the project and the impacts of marine litter.”

Cornwall’s first fishing training hub is in Newlyn

From left to right: Anthony Vage (CDC), Tony Tomlinson, Chair of the FLAG, Alison Elvey (SCT), Paul Trebilcock (CFPO)

The provision of the centre has been made possible through a 75% FLAG (Fisheries Local Action Group) grant funded by the European Fisheries Fund and the Marine Management Organisation and the project has also been supported by the landlords, Newlyn Pier and Harbour Commissioners.

Seafood Cornwall Training (SCT), which manages the training hub and match funded the project, provides a variety of courses aimed at improving the skills of fishermen.   Current courses on offer include the four basic sea safety refresher courses and under 16.5m skippers tickets which are all free of charge until the end of March.

Robert Parsons, Newlyn Harbour Master, said: “This training facility is fantastic for the fishing fleet and Newlyn Harbour.  The training offered will allow fisherman the confidence to operate both safely at sea and to understand all legal requirements of our high seas so that skippers can credibly operate now and into the future.”

The training hub can also be hired out for meetings, clubs and events.

Story courtesy of Business Cornwall.

Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day.......

Photo courtesy of DrecklyFish

Looking out into the bay past Penlee Point it's hard to believe the Met office have issued this weather warning for the weekend:

Issued at - 29 Jan 2014, 12:20 Valid from - 01 Feb 2014, 06:00 Valid to - 02 Feb 2014, 06:00

Winds will increase on Saturday, with gusts widely to around 50-60 mph, and perhaps to around 70 mph in exposed parts of the north. Additionally large waves could overtop coastlines. The public should be aware of these hazards.

The public is advised to take extra care, further information and advice can be found here:

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/links.html

You know you are the son of a fisherman when.........

A few signs that you were brought up in a 1970's Scottish fishing village and your dad was a trawler man.

You know when the back o Sunday is.

You thought all dads had a nap on Sunday afternoon when you went to Sunday school.
If you ever went on a fishing trip you were renamed - Jonah.

You thought that laughing at people being sea sick was the right thing to do. 

You thought all Dad's only came home at the weekend. 

You never looked forward to dad coming home as every time you were bad your mum would say "Wait till your father gets home!" 

The TV always got switched over in the middle of your favourite programme to watch the weather forecast.

Working on the boat in the harbour always involved a trip to the dole office. 

You thought the natural smell in all garages was that of curing herring.

A "fry" was not just a way to cook. 

Something being boiled alive on the stove was to be looked forward to. 

You though that anytime a dad called home from work it was compulsory to say "over" at the end of your sentence. 

You are good at geography because you needed a map of the whole of the UK to check out all the places your dad was working. 

You thought the volume always went up automatically when the fishing forecast came on the radio. 

You thought the "Isle of Man" was like Santa's Grotto because when dad went there he always came back with presents. 

You have worn a Fair Isle Gansey and thought it was cool.

You thought that the VW Dormobile Van was the fastest thing on the road bar non. 

You always have to donate to the RNLI every time you see one of those little lifeboats collecting tins. 

Your kitchen drawer always had a lone messer knife in it.

You are scarred by the memory of drinking tea with condensed milk it.

You have the ability clean your plate with a piece of bread or potato so you can use the same bowl to eat all three courses.

You thought a trip on a boat was a necessary biblical induction for all ministers everywhere when taking on a new church.
Billy Ritchie.org

"the mackerel quota for hand lining fishermen will not be reduced this year"

WEST Cornwall MP Andrew George has welcomed an assurance from Fisheries Minister George Eustice that the mackerel quota for hand lining fishermen will not be reduced this year. Mr George has campaigned to keep the quota protected every year since Scottish fishermen “threatened to squeeze the Cornish industry out of existence” 16 years ago.

​ Newlyn mackerel handliners

Now Mr Eustice, also Camborne MP, has confirmed the 2014 quota will remain at its historic level of 1,750 tonnes - approximately one hundredth of the quota large pelagic Scottish vessels catch each year. Mr George said: “It is essential that we keep this industry alive. This is natural justice. We shouldn't let those who do the right thing for the marine environment be bullied by the big boys who can siphon mackerel shoals with massive and powerful ocean going ships.

“I have has consistently pressed successive Defra Ministers to ensure that they defend the historic arrangements when negotiating the allocation for Cornish and South West mackerel handliners.

“The Government has again faced increased pressure this year from the Scottish Government to reduce the handliner allocation and to place the surplus into the UK pot. “This would result in most of it being redistributed to Scottish fishermen. “Mackerel handling is one of the most low impact fishing methods there is.”

A Scottish purse seiner can take as much mackerel in a week as the whole Cornish mackerel handline fleet would take in a year but the market value of handline caught fish is much higher.

In a letter to Mr George, Mr Eustice said: “…recognising the important contribution that the inshore fleet makes to coastal communities… Defra continue to defend the historic arrangements… and why I exercised my prerogative as UK Fisheries Minister to maintain the 1,750 tonne allocation.”

Read more: http://www.cornishman.co.uk/Cornwall-MPs-confirm-secure-mackerel-quota-year/story-20512357-detail/story.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#ixzz2rmhtwOSl

Those that Got Away: the Story of Newlyn’s Migrants

‘Those that Got Away: the Story of Newlyn’s Migrants’ Saturday 15 February 2014 10.00-3.00 at Trinity Centre, Newlyn.

The next open Day on Saturday 15 February 2014 10.00-3.00 tells the story of Newlyn's migrants. Some men left to make their fortune and did not get back, leaving behind grieving women and children; others were more successful and were joined by their families to make a better life in the new world; some returned much richer and named their homes after foreign places.

One such man was Joseph Johns Hichens (1866-1924) who built a double fronted granite house called Kenilworth on Buccas Pass, the new road between Newlyn Bridge and Jack Lane. (The photo shows JJ Hichens in later life playing the first wood on Penlee Bowling Green).

The house was named after a place in South Africa called Kenilworth, where Joseph Johns Hichens worked as a young man. As a boy, Joseph lived at Penguin House on St Peters Hill. He came from a long line of fishermen, being the second son of William Hichens, who was master and net owner of the fishing boat Dove. His middle name 'Johns' was his mother's maiden name.

He married Edith Richards from Chapel St in 1889 and some time after the birth of their second son, he joined the diamond rush to South Africa, alongside many other cousin Jacks and Jennies from Cornwall, and became tangled up in the Second Boer War.

He was at the diamond-mining town of Kimberley when it was besieged by the Boers from October 14, 1899 to February 15, 1900. There were at least three men from Newlyn in Kimberley during the siege. Joseph Hichens must have been fairly influential in Kimberley because he managed to send a post office telegram from Kimberley to local fish salesman, BJ Ridge, giving news that self, Harding and Wells had survived the Kimberley siege.

When Joseph returned to Newlyn he was full of the lucrative spoils of his South African adventure and this must have been used to purchase a substantial part of Chirgwin's Orchard, on both sides of the newly built Buccas Pass. He was engaged in a number of property deals leading in November 1905 to submitting plans for the substantial 8-room granite house in Buccas Pass. Hichens named it Kenilworth as a memorial to Cecil Rhodes who was instrumental in organizing the defence of Kimberley and during the long siege had opened his own house, named Kenilworth to his countrymen.

Do come and find out more about JJ Hichens and the many other Newlyners who sought their fortunes abroad.

The Newlyn Archive web site has been updated and now has links to all the documents on file.