Through the Gaps! - Newlyn Fishing News Cornwall UK fish commercial fishing fish cooking and art

Friday 7 February 2014

#eatmorefish - RNMDSF - saving lives, the Mission's mission to fishermen - even when a storm blows through the building!

Here's a great story from Julian at Newlyn's mission proving the value of PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices - life-jackets to you and me) - in this instance when seas crashed through the buildings windows on the very day the Mission was due to hand out free life-jackets to fishermen - plenty ofg jokes about needing to wear a life-jacket in the Mission!

The Fishermen’s Mission has retained three main aims since it’s inception in 1881. The first, is the safety of fishermen and over the many years we have evolved from taking out (in the Bethel boats out to the guys at Sea) fresh dry cloths to obtaining oils and life jackets for our UK fishermen. Last year, the fishing authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland obtained European funding monies to buy these new Mullion personal flotation devices (PFD’s). They are designed for fishermen by fishermen. As the only fishing related charity it was obvious to partner with ourselves and then distribute the life jackets.

Julian, RNLI Frankie and Mission skipper Keith Dixon demonstarte the PFDs

We together with Seafish and the RNLI applied for a European grant to obtain more PFD’s for Cornwall and England. Thankfully a trail of 200 was allocated to the Duchy and now they have all been allocated to Cornish fishermen around the whole of the coast. Superintendent Keith Dickson and Centre Manager Julian Waring raced around the coast putting up flyers, using every media outlet and talking to fishermen to ensure they would come to the two day road show in Newlyn this week.

Training session from the RNLI's Frankie.

Overwhelmed with the response, we coped well due to the scores of volunteers who helped with the distribution, form filling and handing out of pasties and refreshments. At each training session, the fishermen listened to Frankie from the RNLI who ran through the need and the importance of life jackets. Then on the second day just before we were about to train and hand out over 100 PFD’s, a wave crashed through the window at the Mission Centre in Newlyn destroying the carpets and all the paper work ready for the event. Fishermen a plenty came to the rescue and cleared up within the hour.

Just the paperwork to complete!

Then Emma at Seafood Cornwall reprinted all the paperwork required. Together with Andy from the CFPO they stayed and helped with the form filling. Without them, our volunteers and the fishermen these events wouldn't have happened.

Thank you, Julian

Weather window sees work start on repairing Newlyn Green before the next storm hits the Bay

Sun-up sees the Gry Maritha heading back to Penzance at the end of her first supply run for over a week...

while work starts at first light making good the damage done to Newlyn Green...

all hands will be glued to the new giant TV screen in the Star and other Newlyn pubs to hoping to see Jack Nowell score his first try for England against Scotland tomorrow at Murrayfield......

that Sennen man Shannon has been busy with his brushes again...

empty pallets are the only things being loaded on the fish lorry transport this morning...

much of the path along the front from Wherry Town to Newlyn has been damaged...

and in some places the beach appears to have shifted inland a considerable distance...

the Green will need some TLC soon...

all that is visible of the lugger, Children's Friend...

thogh the view across the harbour looks tranquil enough...

surveyors surveying the scene...

there were other casualty's of the storms...

still a few hours of tide left before high water...

one of the old outfalls has been revealed by the shifting beach...

huge chunks of tarmac were shifted along the path...

and holes scoured in the sea wall...

many of the beach's bigger stones form the old causeway have been relocated even further up the beach...

along with pebbles and seaweed....

the Green has been closed off to the public...

in places complete sections of paving stones were blasted form the promenade.

Newlyn netter Ajax spots a window in the weather and heads for the fishing grounds

From Twitter:

All shot 28miles NW of the Scillies, start hauling at 3am #Eatmorefish
— Ajax TO32 (@Ajax_Hake) February 6, 2014

An approximate position for the Ajax - she is out of AIS range at the moment - when in range you can follow her here.

Only a handful of boats have ventured back to sea from Newlyn in the last 24 hours - the netter Ajax has shot her gear around 30 miles North West of the Scillies. She began hauling around 3am this morning and will steam back to Newlyn ahead of the next storm due to arrive tomorrow morning - stay safe guys.