Falling rapidly? - Don't tap it!

The air pressure continues to fall rapidly at the SevenStones Lightship

People have a habit of tapping aneroid barometers - heard an old fisherman say once, "If it were meant to be tapped it it would have a hammer hanging next to it!"...

and now the wind has backed round slowly from the West over the last 24 hours to Sou'sou'easterly - the worst possible direction for Newlyn.

When the wind blows...

The shipping forecast for where three french boats are working:

Lundy, Fastnet: South or southeast, veering west later, 7 to severe gale 9, occasionally storm 10. Rough or very rough, becoming high or very high. Rain or squally showers. Good, becoming moderate or poor

Latest readings from the Sevenstones Lightship at 1200 today showing the air pressure plummeting this morning...

with a look at what is to come from the 'live' world wind map...125 km/h is just under 80 mph...

which won't be good news for the three 23m French boats trawling off St Ives, though it's not like they don't know the wind is coming. Also in the bay off Godrevy is a small 90m coaster sheltering from the wind.

Midnight forecast for Plymouth

Shipping Area Plymouth:

#plymouth: West or southwest 5 to 7, backing south later gale 8 to storm 10. Rain or squally showers. Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

imminent = less than six hours

soon = between six and twelve hours

later = after 12 hours


Latest forecast issued at 1030 for Portland, Plymouth and Biscay:

South or southeast, veering southwest later, 7 to severe gale 9, occasionally storm 10. Rough or very rough, becoming high or very high. Rain or squally showers. Good, becoming moderate or poor

Curing & Smoking - do it yourself

Read an extract from CURING & SMOKING

Looks like a book well worth investigating for anyone in a position to create their own home-grown smoked or cured culinary delights - a few pages from the book here provide a tasty morsel of what is inside - hot smoked mackerel paté off the press!

The book can be bought online here or, even better, treat someone who has the food bug with a day at River Cottage HQ curing and smoking.

More to come......again

Looks a bit fresh in the Minch today and not so good for those on North and South Huish...

earth.nullschool.net

today's live wind chart clearly shows the sou-sou-easterly breeze blasting Newlyn and the rest of Cornwall - hence the seas breaking over Penzance's promenade...

and looking at the T+48hr chart Wednesday will be just as bad - not just one but two giant lows set to hit the UK - not much chance for the Council to repair that hole in Newlyn Green - which will only get bigger if the seas continue to wash that high.

The path in front of Newlyn Green gets washed away this morning

Photo courtesy of Adam Gibbard

Sea power makes a hole in the sea wall, path and Newlyn Green this morning - just as well the seas breaking over the path prevented me from cycling along here at 6am this morning - when it was pitch black! #luckyescape

Video of Padstow lifeboat rescuing the skipper and crew of Le Sillon off Trevose Head at the weekend.

Six marins-pêcheurs sauvés in extremis au large des Cornouailles sur WAT.tv

Video courtesy of The Local -  all the French news in English

At 33 seconds you can see one of the crew jump in the sea on the leeward side ready to be picked up by the navy diver.

Footage from the Padstow lifeboat shows her standing by the disabled Breton trawler Le Sillon late on Saturday night. SAR helicopter Rescue 193 from Culdrose was tasked to take off all six crew. Unfortunately, with winds gusting in excess of 60 mph and seas of 30 feet the helicopter could not afford to risk their diver being dropped on the deck to take off the crew. This then necessitated a dangerous move for the crew - all wearing survival suits (compulsory on French fishing vessels of this size) - to jump in the sea so that the helicopter's diver could pick them up in the water. All five crew were rescued in this way but the injured skipper - he had glass in his feet, legs and hands - had to be taken aboard the lifeboat first. He was treated at Treliske hospital before spending the night in Newlyn. The rest of the crew were all looked after by the mission in Newlyn.

The skipper recalls the moment just before the boat was hit - describing how she dropped off the top of a 30 foot sea, then he looked up only to see the next, a 50 foot wave heading for the boat which completely engulfed her and hit her hard enough to smash in his wheelhouse windows.