Sacks on the quayside - the scallopers hit town!

Over in Penzance dry dock basin the old warehouse development is beginning to take shape......
inshore trawlers and scallopers from up the line take fuel......
and land a pile of scallops to the waiting transport...
here the Fleetwood registered Pisces and Betty G from Exeter wait alongside a laid-up beamer....
working 7 dredges a side these highly efficient inshore boats.

The scaffolding is up around Newlyn light in the gaps

Spotted at on the end berth of the pontoons, what look like two home-built sail-boats - you wouldn't want to go round the corner in anything other than a flat calm in these......but it has later transpired that these two derring-doers left Plymouth around 9 am Tuesday morning before arriving in Newlyn on Thursday evening!
in through the gaps comes the Brixham registered scalloper, Lerina BM166.... 
over on the slip, the Anneliese gets her bottom scrubbed.....
while a couple of netters and the inshore trawler Cathryn lay against the market......
Grimmy Mike steams in past the lighthouse, now shrouded in scaffolding and ready for a paint job.

The Subways - Music inspired by the fisherman of Newlyn

Great to see the port of Newlyn continues to influence the creative juices of artists around the world - read how Billy from The Subways saw a TV programme on fishing in Newlyn while ill in Germany and decided to come back to stay in the port and write more song material - see it's not only omega 3 oils that are good for the soul!

Nice one Billy!

Mackerel make merry in the Bay

Boxes of shining mackerel fill the decks of the punt fleet for those who touched on the samll shoals this morning....
the Viddy is one of the boats that has had a good morning on the mackerel....

many hands make light work, well two at least get the fish into the auction quickly to catch the sale....
where the fish need sorting into grades: large, large medium, medium and small...

Don't plan a barbeque tomorrow!

Plenty of punt action in the mornings this week as the mackerel begin to chew.....

another creative piece from the crab fleet....

it is not only lorry transport that sports vinyl vehicle graphics, here the Find It Locally car contrasts nicely with the lifeboat in the background....

Michael and the boys will be cursing the damp weather while they try to finish the anti-fouling aboard the Elizabeth N.....
with a sky like this in the evening you don't need Micahel Fish to warn you of approaching damp weather - this is a REALLY 'watery' sky at night and a good portent of very wet weather on the way!

Good communications

Taking advantage of the sunshine and dry weather, PZ100 gets the bottom treatment....

a serious looking yacht is berthed outside the crabber.....
mixed crew on the Pendeen Gig Club's Portheras get some practice strokes in across the harbour...
they make a good combination...
a forest or communication aerials aboard the Crystal Sea II

It must be a flat calm out there!

Heading back to her pontoon berth, Elizabeth Veronique turns past the end of the new quay....
there's a lttle bit of Essex in the port today......
after landing another superb shot of line caught pollack, the Sea Spray takes fuel.......
another casualty of the fog, what looks like a House Martin that spent several exhausted days aboard the inshore trawler Katie Clare.....
always a fine site on the market, a gleaming box of best Bay bass....
pollack from the Sea Spray present a golden gleam under ice
another artistic creation from the crab boys....
supervised from the wheelhouse with a fresh mug of tea......
the dive charter boat, Evert Maartje languishes at anchor in the hazy sun and still waters of the Bay...
waiting for the fuel man to arrive, inshore trawlers Nantewas and the Cathryn....
after a long morning on the market it's time to head back to the paint store for a cuppa....
the beamers consume vast amounts of wire, their new warp comes from Holland.....
on the market this morning, under the watchful gaze of Robert George, Cornwall Seafood Cornwall Quality Advisor, Nathan from the CFRC gets the reality of fishing message across to a visiting group of degree students from the Combined Universities of Cornwall campus at Falmouth. Hopefully, these surfing students will get a better understanding of the complex world of the oceans they enjoy so much and be better informed as a result of their visit - keep up the good work Nathan!....
seems it's not just the gulls that are getting it together and nesting at this time of year.....
in case you missed the shipping forecast at six this morning, here's a sure sign the weather has shed its winter topcoat and the sea state resembles glass, Cornwall Sea Fisheries Protection vessel, the aptly named Terrifier, sorry, Verifier makes her way towards the gaps and out on patrol.......
at last the fuel man has turned up, with the news that it is 2p more a litre today!

yet another birthday in the town.

Ross Bridge opens for the Gry Maritha

In the early hours of Saturday morning, after several weeks of repairs, the Steamship Company's supply boat Gry Maritha leaves the dry dock and heads out through the Ross Road bridge. Penzance Harbour Master Neil Clark supervises proceedings. Local fishing boat J-Anne under the command of Mike Mahon gets to be tugboat for the manouvre.