Withy pot making

Penzance provides an eclectic mix of entertainment of you know where to look, more recently the area has been further enhanced by the arrival of a new community radio station launched over the internet......
ever since the marina berths were installed, Newlyn has proved a popular first stop for those yachts coming from the land of the Liffey water.....
waiting for a break in the weather - no chance over the weekend with gales forecast......
heading back from a soaking; Dick Ede's apprentice withy potmaker Nick Henshall has just retrieved a new pot from the harbour, the pots are soaked for a few days to help set their shape.....
additional staves are hammered into place to fill any gaps......
that fail the 'two-fingers' maximum test.

Rare as hen's teeth - gannets galore off newlyn!

While Don turns and heads the Filadelfia for the gaps, he may have witnessed close inshore a rare sight - a small flock of gannets 'working' a mackerel mark between the back of the quay and Battery Rocks......
at the start of a dive from fifty feet or more the gannet wheels and begins to pull in his wings......
as the diving bird rapidly gathers speed.....
the wings are retracted further......
at this stage it is easy to see how the wing configuration was the inspiration for swing-wing jets.....
at the moment of entry (just after another) the gannet resembles an arrow - which is where it gets its Cornish name Scrytha.......
after impact, and with just the wing tips showing there is little evidence in the way of a splash (top marks as an Olympic diver).....
out at sea this is one of nature's great spectacles to witness in areas like the Clyde alongside Ailsa Craig; thousands of these stunning birds can be seen fishing for herring or mackerel - when the fish are deep in the water the gannets dive from even greater heights....
and hitting the water in unison......
before taking off slowly and climbing high into the air for the next attack.

Ready and waiting for the tow round to Sennen

Built for comfort and speed and a far cry from the days of the Monarch, Pete Downing heads back to a berth after a spot of mackereling.....
harbourmaster, Andrew Munson checks in with the rig boss.......
before putting a line aboard......
and beginning the tow......
back to the temporary berth alongside the slipway.....
where the rig will wait for a window in the weather to make the journey round Land's End to Sennen.....
with that much weight aboard and the height of the jib all hands will be hoping for no ground sea running when they reach the Runnelstone Buoy......
the harbour punt is flat out during the tow.....
about to drop the tow. The rig will, when in place, sit astride the slipway of the lifeboat station - a new lifeboat will arrive on completion of the works in June.

Under grey, grey skies

Good to see the boats are making use of the litter bags provided in the 'fishing for litter' scheme....
checking inshore gear and almost lost in the low cloud that descended on the Bay for much of the day.....
the graffiti artist on the side of the Jubilee Pool is hedging his bets with the forecast.....
alos off in the gloom, one gig saltues the other in passing.......
and the whole area turns various shades of grey......
you have to wonder when the proliferation of signs from organisations moved to cover themselves with these seemingly blindingly obvious safety notices as a result of a risk assessment will eventually diminish and common sense prevail - the level of language used in this sign would preclude around 30% of the population from reading it for starters.

Sennen LIfeboat Station - making ready with the crane in Newlyn

One of several vessels currently waiting for sailing instructions before moving round the corner to start work on Sennen's lifeboat station; seen here, the business end of the Norma, a small inshore dredger from Westminster Dredging - where there are currently some job opportunties.......
also at the end of the New Quay waits the crane, with its 10.5 ton heavy counter-balance from Carillion, a heavyweight company with a broad range of services in many areas that include construction......
resting on the quay, the working end of the jib capable of lifting 80 tons.......
Doris K, built in 1969 at Richard Dunstones' historic yard on the river Thorne, accessed by canal from the sea, one of the waiting tugs shows signs of recent wear and tear......
the Taskis will be used to tow the platform and crane to Sennen shortly......
but not before some running gear is changed.....
with a 19mm wire in need of replacement being pulled off......
spliced temporarily to the replacement on a drum.....
the rig has been jacked flush with the quay to allow the crane to motor aboard......
the harbour provides better rubbish services these days, in the past all this would have been 'recycled' (dumped) at sea!

Just a sail at Twilight

At the end of a long day, the walk up the quay.......
as the Twilight II sails into the evening mist.

Biggest shell of its kind found.

Mevagissey fish merchant, Peter Randall has just handed over what appears to be the biggest oyster ever caught in the UK to the aquarium at Mevagissey. The giant mollusc was in the bottom of a box of mixed fish bought on Plymouth fish market earlier in the day.

Away today

Plymouth registered beamer Admiral Gordon will sail later today.....
as another visiting inshore scalloper heads away from the gaps.....
after checking her gear over earlier.....
never leave your tender out in the rain without turning her over or she'll fill up.....
back in early, the Dom Bosco.....
waiting for the off......
along the road at Wherry Town, the seemingly endless job of rebuilding the small bridge that carries the stream running through the boating pool continues to disrupt the traffic flow.

Tug Taktow tows tug Doris together to Newlyn

At high water the second tug leaves Penzance Dry Dock.......
and is towed through the gap spanned by Ross Bridge......
as this plethora of aerials suggests, good communications are at the heart of fishing today......
putting the final withies in the base of a pot.....
and almost complete pot will soon be ready for soaking......
on the Crystak Sea II, both ends are bar tight as the tide reaches high water - smaller boats have been known to sink when left made fast to the quay at the wrong time......
the Ben My Chree is boaund away past the harbour punt as Royden waits to escort the tugs through the gaps and into a berth....
the MTS Taktow acts as tow boat......
and is escorted across by the Danmark on standby....
on an evening training session, the gig Portheras passes the tugs being manouvered into position.

Big lift

While temporarily berthed at newlyn, cox'n and crew on the Sennen lifeboat exchange a few pleasantries with harbour master Andrew Munson after they were called to assist a 20ft single-handed yacht that was in trouble off Sennen - the yacht, unable to make headway in the strong to gale force nor'easterly winds was towed back 'round the corner' (Land's End) by the lifeboat to Newlyn......
before heading off to take on fuel......
the local crabs have begun to move on the grounds.......
a fresh enough May breeze has most of the fleet in and tied up......
there's some serious lifting gear arrived over the weekend, now assembled and ready to go aboard the rig platform before beong towed round to Sennen where it will be used to complete the structural changes currently in progress to the Lifeboat Station.......
the paint-up is almost complete with the topcoat catching the evening sun......
with the harbour full, even the market berths have been taken up.

Breezy enough

Taking it easy after the biggest World Championships ever last weekend on the Scillies, steady as she goes, always a tricky moment lowering the oars on a gig......
on the hard for more scrubbing, Harvey's remaining crabber is beginning to look spruce again.....
with the wind in the East the Ripple is kept off the quayside.....
a couple of long-expired pots complete with a scrap of French nylon trawl attached.....
the market's grading machine makes short work of lemon soles......
a few early season bass have put in an appearance, a welcome boost to earnings for those on the punts who are prepared to put in the long hours needed to chase these wily fish down.....
shimmering scales on the Sea Spray's pollack show off the top quality of line caught fish....
boxes of Dorys, just some of the giant Dutchman's fish from the Dora et Labora......
the trend of investing in new boats shows no sign of dropping off, two examples of the latest additions to the fleet of punts.....
another Dutch presence, this time in the shape of a concrete-hulled barge style yacht....
the Gary M passes the back of the Old Quay and heads for a berth alongside the net loft at high water.......
inspired, no doubt, by the cartoon characters in Asterix the Gaul and built for comfort and a place to escape it seems.....
the owner obvioulsy like to keep things tidy including the mooring rope ends......
another new boat, the Lady Jacqueline, with a 100hp Mercury pushing her along the Runnelstone Reef and all those bass are only minutes away......
the 'Reds' team have their work cut out by the looks of the damage to their trawl this morning.....
as the water warms in the harbour it provides ideal growing conditions for the algae between the pontoons......
heading in through the gaps and out of conditions that have most of the local fleet in and tied up, a visting yacht with just her fores'l up......
the Catharina is just one of four visiting Brixham beamers using the port to land their trips......
registerd in Dublin, the delivery crew of Meg of Muglins are still attached to their safety harnesses.....
crabbers and scallopers, two shellfish boats land at the market berth.......
watching over the welfare of the harbour, the ever-present Mission flies its flag and tells us the wind is nor'easterly.