Sunday, and off to a good start.

On reflection before the sun gets up...

Barry the bass, the fisherman who stars on the cover of the Salt of the Earth, sales of which have now made over £21,000 before the New Year!...

gets to grips with the new electricity supply down the pontoon  berths...

bow study...

the hands of a man who has spent a lifetime at sea cutting up bait for his pots, wrasse make great bait for lobsters which is just as well because rumour has it W Harveys have been paying £25 a kilo - which means there must be very few lobsters about!..

bait now split open and ready for the pot...

then it is time to head off and haul the pots before the weather breaks again..

inshore trawlers are always pushed for clear working deck space...

powerhouse of the smaller under 10m fleet...

like the Sowenna make use of net drums to help keep the working deck clear of gear...

whereas this small cat from St Ives has taken a novel approach to keeping shellfish live aboard the boat by having a vivier built into the hull without encroaching on any working deck space...

the Mayflower has been putting ashore good trips of sardines since she started fishing just before Christmas...

as can be seen from the 'tide' marks on her bulbous bow...

double indemnity on the Bonnie Grace...

lets hope they keep it this way for good while yet, stay safe at sea...

and keep the lifeboats in their berths...

dredging operations in the entrance to Penzance harbour continue into the new year...

with the spoil being dumped several miles offshore....

having fished over the New Year, the Ajax has made her first landing of the year and now heads off to Penzance dock for a short break over the coming spring tide...

there's plenty of mackerel for some during the daylight hours...

and a good run of fish too...

 almost stripped to the hull.

Huge 51,000 ton car transporter Hoegh Osaka runs aground on the Brambles off the Isle of Wight after leaving Southampton dock.

The AIS shows two lifeboats helping to evacuate the 28 crew from the stricken transporter...

while exactly what happened remains a mystery as the vessel's AIS track shows her continuing to make a port turn after leaving the channel from Southampton.

Latest news from the BBC:

Updated news with video:

Upturned cargo ship found in the Pentland Firth - #SAR and #RNLI lifeboats in huge search mission.

VesselTracker AIS traces at approx 1900 Saturday evening - showing the last recorded position of the casualty.

SAR teams and lifeboats from Longhope, Stromness, Thurso and Wick, are helping search for survivors of the upturned cargo ship, Cemfjiord east of the Pentland Skerries.

According to BBC Scotland a major search operation has been launched after a vessel overturned off the north of Scotland. Eight people are reported to have been on board the Cypriot-registered Cemfjord, a cargo ship carrying cement. 

The upturned hull was found by a passing ferry in the Pentland Firth. Four lifeboats, two rescue helicopters and other vessels are searching for the crew. Shetland Coastguard is co-ordinating rescue efforts. The NorthLink ferry Hrossey also took part in the early stages of the operation. The 83m Cemfjord had been sailing to Runcorn in Cheshire. 

The last confirmed sighting of the vessel was at 13:00 on Friday. It is understood the alarm was raising by the crew of the ferry Hrossey at 14:30 on Saturday. According to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, they reported no survivors in the immediate vicinity. As darkness fell, lifeboats from Stromness, Scrabster, Longhope and Wick were searching the area along with the helicopters, the Shetland coastguard aircraft and an RAF rescue helicopter.

New Year gets off to a typically wintry start as poor visibility, wind and rain lash the coast.

Out with Christmas and in with another New-lyn Year...

as the aptly named Millenia takes one and half tons of the finest Newlyn ice...

the Harvest Reaper makes her way in #ThroughTheGaps...

there are some great lines to draw in artists looking for subjects over the weekend...

looks like an interesting year for the crab fleet in Newlyn...

two of the port's top inshore trawlers lay outside the oldest trawler in the port, the Excellent...

her net drum in bits...

and sure signs that her fishing days are now well behind her...

she makes a good study for pen and ink studies...

away in the distance the Mount is shrouded in mist...

with most of the fleet held in port as very fresh weather system passes across the Western Approaches...

over in Penzance Dock things look quiet...

with many of its resident boats getting some attention from the paint pot...

or in the case of the Ygraine more serious work...

buried amidst a sea of rigging and buildings the Scillonian II is undergoing her annual dry dock refit. 

Marine Management - not so well managed for some?

Info from a fisherman on the East coast:

January quotas for Under 10's North Sea

Cod.....................1.75ton.......................value approx £3300

Skate...................200kg..............................................£280

Sole.....................200kg............................................£1300

TOTAL>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>£4880

Fuel (approx 10days)....................................................£600

Total to be shared........................................................£4280

25% share for a month..................................................£1070

And to make matters worse there are plenty of fisherman out there with less quota.

Excellent

A virtual tour round the last of Stevenson's ex sidewinders painted in 1992  to commerate the hugely popular Working boat festival in Brest. She was built as the Efficient by Forbes of Sandhaven in 1931 and bought by the family firm in 1937 and re-named Excellent. 

Seeing the New Year Ajax style

Deep in traditional Spanish hake fishing territory the Newlyn netter Ajax is working her gear on the Pistola Bank...

 - so named because of the outline shape of the bank resembling that of an early flintlock pistol.