Waiting in the gaps

The Scillonian III passes up the Trinity House vessel, Galatea at anchor as she services a channel buoy.....
an crisp morning in the Northerly breeze will put paid any thoughts of a BBQ this weekend.....
behind one of the early season yachts, the refrigerated transport waits on the quay for half a dozen Belgian beam trawlers that are expected laetr today, as a rule these boats will spend Sunday in the harbour......
waiting for water in the gaps is the William Sampson with a winch problem to sort out......
one of the visiting yachts on the pontoon berths, some of these will be making their way to Scilly for the World Gig Racing Championships next weekend.....
looking spruce with a fresh coat of paint.

Helford waits for the Easter influx and riots in the tranquil streets?

The fisht to get proper landing facilities in place along the foreshore at helford look like continuing - read the full story as it appeared in the Telegraph yesterday from Jasper Gerard.

Silver Dory update

Doug Herdson, from the Marine Fish Information Services laboratory at Plymouth, has kndly filled in the missing information regarding the Silver John Dory caught by Roger Nowell aboard the inshore trawler Imogen working off the Scillies earlier this week.

"The fish is a Sailfin or Silver Dory Zenopsis conchifer http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=336&genusname=Zenopsis&speciesname=conchifer). This is probably the tenth for the UK (plus eleven or more in Irish Waters), there was one at Milford Haven in June 2007, but all the rest have been landed at Newlyn; the first in June 1992 and the last in November 2008."

Doug goes on to say that he does not know of any Rosy Dories caught in British waters but there have been at least 3 in Ireland.

Pair team first

Boxes of frozen bait wait to be picked up by a crabber....
with the water still cold, fishing is slack with the pot boats, so it is a question of going through the gear and picking away for the time being......
first time in port and heralding the start of a new venture, the Ocean Star from Fraserburgh has joined forces with local boat Defiant to form the first pair team to operate from Newlyn for some time - previous notable attempts back in the 80s saw the Keriolet and Ben My Chree try their luck for a winter season......
the Ocean Star with the pair partner Defiant astern......
first job in the morning seems to be a replacemnt sweep for the pair team to sort out.....
on the market, the CEFAS team are busy recording small haddock......
while outside a heavy mist is beginning to lift as the sun burns through......
and Ryan conducts the early sale for W&S, there is news this morning of some interesting developments on the way forward for the proposed new fish market it seems.....
boxes of line caught pollack are making good money ahead of the Easter tourist influx.

First of the season's yachts arrive

The Billy Rowney clears her exhaust as she heads out to sea and is passed astern by local angling and charter boat Mermaid II......
a man at one with the world aboard his punt heads back to the pontoons....
as another heads out for an evenings work.....
one of several yachts arriving to herald the start of the season....
in addition to the more familiar bow of the Crystal Sea II heading in through the gaps....
where there is time to throw a rope ashore......
take on board fresh store, land and head back out ot sea later in the evening....
others make their way to the fish market to drop off the their catch into the cold store...
the rig catches the early evening sun on the deck....
another yacht in berth on the end of the pontoons.....
as the Anna Too arrives from Plymouth.

Rare Mediterranean visitor arrives in Newlyn

MTS Indus, the newest Falmouth tug is in harbour - and with the wonders of modern technology you can track recent activity of the Indus online.....
this must be what they mean by an 'all-round-white'......
the Imogen makes her way round to the iceworks before heading out to sea.....
on the second of April, the aptly named May blossom brightens up Keel Alley.....
appearing out of the depths, the jack-up rig stands alongside the slip.....
after landing another good shot of line caught pollack the Sea Spray's tubs wait to be cleaned before going back aboard the boat.....
not too many mackerel around , just enough to tempt some of the handline boats out, these were caught by the ringnetter, Pride of Cornwall......
a real rarity in these waters, a stunning Silver Dory, caught by young Roger Nowell on his inshore trawler, Imogen and only the eleventh recorded in the UK......
only a single sea gull heads out through the gaps as the sun comes up this morning.

The gill netters are bound away for the next neap tide

Padstow registered Berlewen passes the Mount on her way to the fishing grounds west of Cornwall.......
St Ives registered multi-purpose inshore catamaran, Dignity waits for the tide to drop so that the hull can be cleaned below the waterline....
en passage, the new build dive charter boat for ScubadiveWest Brazen Hussy, registered in Connemara lays to a pontoon berth....
it's the night for the ladies team training aboard the gig Portheras as she cruises past the Lisa Jacqueline up on the slip.....
one refurbished engine sits astern of the Sea Jay, something to keep Ryan busy......
heading out through the gaps of Penzance's wet dock, gill netter Ocean Harvest heads over to Newlyn for ice.

An Icelandic view

This article appeared in the online version of the Icelandic quarterly magazine, Icelandic Review - an insight into how a situation may be perceived from another perspective.

Made criminals - big time!

The size of the fine and the jail sentence for two fishermen, both of whom featured heavily in the third series of the Trawlermen on BBC TV, makes for salutory reading and to make a mental note not to appear in Liverpool Crown Court if that's the kind of sentence they feel justfied in handing out to hard working fishermen - until the quota system is abandoned, fishermen will see those penalties imposed on them in the name of conservation as inequitable - throwing back dead fish haul after haul does not conserve stocks.

There is an online petition to sign if you are in support of the fishermen here.

Bags of gear

Not sure who was the first person to use builder's bags to transport gill nets but the idea caught on quick and they make for much easier (and cheaper) handling than the heavy duty plastic tubs that were once popular....
as the big spring tide makes way for the the neap, the netters prepare for their next foray.....
Badcock's window display is showing a touch of Spring with a splash of colourful daffs in vases suspended from the ceiling to complement the 'Bring me Sunshine' exhibition which features the work of Simeon Stafford.

Windcat 17

Loacl residents will be looking at the refurbished Ross Bridge, resplendent in shades of turquoise, and wondering when it will swing back into place, thereby alleviating the daily traffic chaos it has inflicted on the town.......
part of a twice daily ritual, the gate in Penzance Wet Dock is lowered, roughly an hour and a half before high water......
your favourite local food store, the CO-OP wagon brings in fresh supplies bound for Scilly......
all aboard the Scillonian III, just hours away from making her first trip of the season.....
over in Newlyn someone has arrived with a strong desire to maintain a clean ship.....
and take fuel - No17 is the latest from the production line at Wincat, the windfarm service vessel people from Fleetwood....... these highly specialised vessels service a number of key windfarms in the UK and Europe.......
with this, the latest example, bound for Holland.

All aboard the Titanic

'Through the Gaps' takes time out to visit the National Maritime Museum Cornwall - though not so much a museum on the grand lines of its parent at Greenwich or other classic museums like the V&A, the Falmouth sibling does put on themed exhibitions and supports talks and workshops on maritime related subjects. The current exhibition would be more accurately described as a look at the White Star Line and its fleet of trans-oceanic liners, with its most famous being the unsinkable that sank - the Titanic - given that most relics associated with that ship are still on the seabed....
a nice touch, once you have paid £8.50 for an adult ticket (which then allows for any number of free visits in the same year :-), is the facsimile boarding pass....

complete with the details of a genuine passenger or crew member of the day - at the end of the tour you get the chance to see if you were one of the lucky survivors by checking your allotted name off against the passenger or crew list that records your fate - there is a direct connection with the ill-fated ship in Newlyn, Nigel 'Rockets' Richards' father, George Richards (also a fisherman), was a survivor then aged 10 months, Nigel (seen here doing his own version of Leonardo DeCaprio) currently crews on the beamer George Johannes, there is a chance to hear the record voice of his grandmother relating her experience of the event that shook the maritime world on the 14th April 1912 - the museum asked for contributions from local people with connections to the sinking - go to this page and search for the word 'Titanic' and you will see details of another survivor who emigrated - along with more details here from the West Briton of the day......
on such a chilly day it was good to be inside and looking out......
as with most significant projects in the Duchy, a member of the Royal Family had the honour of opening for business back in 1999.....
the unmistakable funnel arrangement of the Titanic greets visitors in the entrance.....
one excellent permanent feature of the museum is the remotely controlled sailboat tank where you can master sailing a yacht through varying wind strengths in order to navigate your way around a series of buoys and hazards.......
visit over, now time to head for Harvey's Wharf, the nearest restaurant alongside the museum and enjoy a range of local fish with superb views across the harbour waters and out to Carrick Roads where you can catch pleaure craft and huge commercial shipping (in red behind the letter 'A') movements from the comfort and warmth of your seat.....

after a quiet drink in the bar area, a table was taken at the far end of the restaurant, a delicious salt cod fishcake starter with rhubarb based compote set the tone for the rest of the meal.....
in surroundings that echo the interior of a luxury liner's dining room, much in keeping with the White Star's, Honour and Glory exhibition next door.....
with a range of intimate or open eating tables throughout, the restaurant melds each section together with wavy contours on walls, fixtures and fittings....
and, a nice touch for those who like to see what they are eating, on ice and in view of the open kitchen, the evening's selection of haddock, hake, whole lemon and monk fillets ready for the pot....

obviously a popular place - as more early evening visitors make a dash for the warmth of the bar and restaurant.