Hilary Lister arrives in Newlyn after rounding the Lizard overnight

Its the time of year when pots can get covered in ray eggs.....
a good tip for anyone planning on anti-fouling - make sure you turn the tins of paint upside down to upset the settled out contents of the bottom......
but before the paint goes on, the sh*** must come off......
which causes a little mist across the stern of the Elizabeth N......
with plenty of artists at work in Newlyn there's a local framer to be kept busy......
though this work of art is already framed outside the Star Inn.....
last of the netters to hit the harbour the CarolH is back......
the potters are busy now that the crabs are showing signs of moving in the warmer waters.....
the harbour's collection of scrap bales of monofilament gillnets awaits collection for recycling......
catching up where she left off last year, Hilary Lister arrived in Newlyn around 2am on Saturday morning accompanied by her support rib.

Turbot charged

Unusually stunning red mullet courtesy of one of the big beamers from W&S......
not such good news for two of the W&S fleet out in the Bay, another tow job comes to an end for the Twilight.......

sea debris - brought up from the depths, a bundle of Spanish mono longline and gillnet.....

five boxes of mackerel at a time from the punts....

"all hands on deck", making light work of passing the morning's catch to nearest the market....

while a gull heads off in search of breakfast from the punts on their way in.....

inside view of a withy pot waiting to go aboard the Inspiration - the rubber band used to hold the bait which entices the crab and lobster can clearly be seen.....

pots and stone wait for the boat to return from the mornings mackereling.......

mackerel-meister Dennis Pascoe prefers to wheel his morning's work ashore to the market....

at the end of another neap tide, spit and polish aboard the Silver Dawn keeps her looking as good as the day she was launched....

on the market, more boxes head back to the box-washer......

where auctioneer Robin Turner is enlightening another group as to the ins and outs of the market that lands the best quality fish in the country.....

as can be seen with this superb 60 box shot of turbot from the Golden Harvest.....

and a few boxes of exceptional plaice.

Its 8-6 to Paul

Out of the wet dock for the first time in ages, the old Lowestoft steam drifter, Feasible is about to get a lick of paint.....

heading back with the nights mackerel boxed up on deck.....

the punts make their way home......

flat out past the end of the stone quay, Patch Harvey steers the IRB Paul Alexander and knocks up another shout to go two clear in the Penlee Shout League......

giving the passing punts a rocky ride.....
and goes two clear!

Hilary Lister's round Britain Challenge - she's off again

Last year Hilary Lister's dream of rounding Britain ended at Newlyn, mainly thanks to the inclement weather. This year her voyage will hopefully be less taxing and the boat better able to take the strains of non-stop sailing with the incredible 'sip & puff' technology that enables her to control the boat's sails and rudder.

Her progress can be followed live thanks to satellite tracking technology from the "Harrier" Iridium Satellite tracking device fitted aboard her yacht Artemis.

We wish her well this time round.

Who's your friend?

A story of sweet success for the fishing industry! Some will remember, or even have connections with the vessel that became the artist's muse for the packets as we know them today. The Cevic, built for the Cevic Fishing Company in 1972 was later renamed Arctic Ranger with a second career as a stanby vessel, by then owned by J Marr who bought out Cevic.

Comprehensive underwater survey of the Western Approaches and English Channel reveal trawler damage

After a four-year long underwater study of the waters north and south of the English Channel representatives have accused fishing tralwers of damaging archaelogical wrecks. The Odyessey Explorer ex J Marr freezer trawler Farnella is engaged in a massive survey of the seabed around the coast hoping to locate ships with commercial value to salvagers.

The BBC video clip includes an interview with Chris Vinnecombe, isnhore fisherman from Falmouth.

Penlee lifeboat pics

Wayne Harvey, crew of the Penlee Lifeboat, Ivan Ellen sent in this camera phone pic of the Achieve (Skipper Steve Leach) being towed in assisted by the harbour punt on Saturday morning.

Its Lobster time again

Aboard the Pilchard Works' boat Inspiration, traditional withy pots require traditonal local blue elvin granite stone weights......
as Dick loads the last of the string of ten withies for the start of the lobster season......
across the quay, the Ben Loyal has mounted her tuna poles, a sure sign that summer is on the way.....
there's a bit of de-masting aboard one of the Nowell's fleet.

Out of sync

You can spot easterly and westerly cardinal buoys in the stern of the Trinity House flagship Galatea as catches the evening sun at anchor in the Bay......
another team practice aboard the gig Senara head out past the Scillonian.....
and aboard the Portheras there's a need for more practice as they are a little out of synch it seems - or just plain tired on the way in......
neat wheelhouse aboard the drag dredger Norma.....
who is weather-bound and waiting to head off to Liverpool - the dredger works by dropping the 'plough' up for'ard and dragging the silt out of a channel - a real plus in terms of lowering costs for harbours as this means that the operation is free from the environmental restrictions that would be enforced should the silt bew brought to the surface as was the case in Newlyn.

Technical hitch

Last friday's post went missing for a few days owing to a technical hitch - check out the gannet pics here!

Case adjourned.....

Despite years in the making, the case against W Stevenson & Son, the biggest fish company in the UK, has again failed to reach a decision and again been delayed. The case will now be heard in two weeks time with new evidence being presented for both defence and prosecution.

Whitby sets its sights on the future of fishing

Not prepared to take the recent knocks lying down, the community of Whitby is preparing to carve out its future on all fronts - from new restaurant developments to boats making the system work for them to an over-subscribed fish training school - read the full article in the Yorkshire Post.