New nets net fish for the CarolH - skipper hopes

Under the warm morning sun the Cathryn always does her bit for the aambience of the port, a painter's delight reflected in the still waters of the harbour....
up to his knees in soap-suds, with his chief box-washer's hat on Lionel puts the harbour boxes through the steam cleaner....
the boys aboard the Dom Bosco seem pretty pleased with the 20 odd bongos of quality offshore crab as they wait on the quayside for the transport to turn up.....
like a new broom, new nets always fish well, so Phil hopes aboard the netter CarolH as the tubs are swung aboard.....
down from Brixham way, RWS Marine Engineers peraper to start work aboard one of the port's beamers.....
with the weather a little more settled the punts are able to get back out to sea again.....
suspended under a great weight ......
fresh flake ice are bedded in to the counter display at W&S's fish shop in the Strand.....
hardly a ripple out in a misty Bay......
and for the visitors with an eye for contemporary art the Newlyn orion Gallery has two concurrent exhibitions on for the next three months, 'Fable' by Matthew Usmar Lauder and a collection of ceramics are on view in the Studio gallery.

A Bevvy of Bricky (Brixham) beamers

Going through their gear after landing, the Lady Maureen and the Carhelmar, both beamers from Brixham.....
heading back to her berth, PZ291, My Lass after landing to the cold store on the market....
ship-shape and Bristol fashion, two spare cod-ends on the Lady Maurenn grace her stern deck....
why lower fish down the fishroom using baskets when you can have a conveyor system, "wasn't like that in my day" they mutter on the quay.....
even though the boat in question is working 3m gear....
this box has found a new home overshadowed by the 10m gear on the Lady Maureen....
looks like a new set of cod-ends will be needed aboard the ChloeT...... power supplies to the Lisa Jaqueline, previously the Hubenada, skippered at one time by Newlyn's latest author, Fred Steele....
known in weather terms as a 'front', seen here hanging over the now floating Roseland......
in preparation for the return of the scallopers.....
seems there's some 'continuing professional development' going on for the Penlee lifeboat crews at the moment....
so the boat is happy to sit in her berth and the quiet waters of the harbour for the moment.....
one for Berkley CA, is this the first sight of a Breton onion seller for the year in Newlyn?....
looking down the marine gangway to SS126 as she pulls into her berth.....
there's plenty of pots to go........
on a glorious day its time to get the sailboat out in to the Bay for the first spin of the year.....
whelks, (boiled and pickled is good) and crab in store......
Pete Goss and crew on the Spirit of Mystery will not be enjoying the calm waters that the Ripple is currently sitting in......
where has he gone now?.......
here's a chance for someone to but a piece of historic Newlyn on the Strand opposite the Helen Feiler Art Gallery.

Under the lights

The Nellie has taken up temporary residence on the end of the quay....
an angle grinder makes short work of cutting lnghs of chaine needed to make new end weigths for pot strings aboard the Intuition......
there's still some late-night activity aboard two of the family's beamer fleet......
and on the deck of the Cornishman.

What lives have been touched by some of Newlyn's fishermen.

What have a surfing architect and a clog maker in common? Two different stories with, amongst others, links to Newlyn and fishing. Should bring back memories for anyone who crossed their paths at the time! And just for good measure some further links of a surfing nature. Any pictures, (like the tabletops which were in the shape of coffin lids) or more information on the comings and goings at the 'Graveyard' would be much appreciated!

Lack of Cornish interest sees some salty tales off to Eyemouth Museum

Despite trying for several years since the Pilchard Works Museum closed down in 2006, Nick and Mithe Howell have now found a new home for some of the more significant artefacts that once made up an historic collection of Cornish fishing paraphenalia. For many years British Cured Pilchards and then the museum were the only surviving remnants of the huge Cornish Pilchard industry that have seen thousands of tons of 'Salacche Inglese' exported to Italy since the 16th Century! The collection of fishing and processing items has now been broken up, proceeds from the forthcoming sale at David Lay's will help contrubute to the cost of new seating in Newlyn Fishermen's Mission.

Many of the items from the museum can now be seen at Penlee House Museum and Gallery in Penlee Park, Penzance - with a reminder to all that admission is free on Saturdays! The current exhibition of paintings focusses on both Newlyn and its near neighbour Mousehole - which includes the original artwork by Nicola Bayley for the Mousehole Cat - well worth seeing in order to appreciate the intracacy of her work!

The Eyemouth Museum will now provide a permanent home for major Pilchard Works artefacts including the giant net-making machine and examples of the Victorain pilchard presses.

Meanwhile, round the other side of our planet on 37ft of stout Cornish oak frames

By following the Spirit of Mystery with the tracking software from Sailblogger.com you can now see that the coastline of Western Australia has hove into view.....So its good to see the Spirit of Mystery live up to her name as she ferries Pete, his brother Andy, son Eliot and friend Mark across to Oz in style. Valentine's day was anything but romantic for Pete and his intrepid crew as they were forced to mark the halway point of the second leg of their historic voyage by weathering the worst storm they have yet to experience.

Catch Pete's blog for a fuller account of the last few days as they now begin what must be in their minds, the 'home run'.

What a difference a week makes

One week after the vicious little blow that swept the region last Monday sees barely a ripple in the harbour this morning...
as another porbeagle shark finds its way on to the market, this one from the Newquay netter, Band of Hope.....
on top of things and a chance to discuss the lowest fuel prices for some time on the Heltor tanker fleet....
it seems some mother's do 'av 'em......
evidence that there is now good monk fishing from the Aaltje Adriante ......
while the Little Pearl may have ended her winter sardine season last week there are tell-tale signs on the quay that other's in the fleet are continuing to catch away....
sign opposite the fish market, advance warning that the Fradgan will be closed for a few days next week.....
a tranquil scene looking across to the Jubilee Pool from the prom this morning.......
various members of the cephalapod family are still in evidence with trips from the beam trawlers on the market.

Ice and go

Work continues aboard the Ripple in preparation for her maiden voyage, more carpentry from the steady hand of John Lambourn now sees a set of wooden mounts for the port and starboard nav lights in place.....
sitting alongside relief RNLB Beth Sell, the Sound Diver a dive charter boat from the Lochaline Dive Centre based in the Sound Of Mull 44 miles west of Fort William.....
time to get the boxes back abord the Charisma before she heads out for another neap tide.....
a quick job on the hard for the Dom Bosco.......
as the CarolH heads out to sea on Sunday afternoon.....
in store its time to build up a season's worth of traditional withy pots for the Inspiration.....
and there's a queue at the iceworks this morning.