Newlyn surf video

Several days of prolonged gale force winds build a swell big enough to provide one of the biggest waves seen for years as three surfers and a weetabix rider chance their luck in the infamous graveyard at the back of the quay in Newlyn.

Surf's up at Newlyn's graveyard for the brave

The Idatsa was joined during the night by the Saint Brieuc boat Pors Mogeur......
with the Chephren and Eridan still in tier......
a solitary 99m coaster anchored very close to the shore given the onshore wind at the time......
half the job done on the derrick......
with a big swell running and the wind in the process of backing the surfers get a chance to sample the delights of the graveyard at the back of the quay in Newlyn......
with some real macho poses......
and a display of aerial acrobatics......
balding short-board action......
stylish and true.....
a more classic approach......
in the weather, the Children's Friend's mast has been brought down - wooden boats do not agree with being laid up where fresh rain water can get to them - they need that salt!

Trois chalutiers de la Bretagne en Newlyn abri de la tempête.

With a heavy swell running around the harbour the crew of the Idatsa were off in search of some additional fenders to keep her off the quay.....
while the Eridan and Chephren were berthed outside one of the beamers for the night. Looking at the forecast the worst is yet to come with the strongest winds predicted for daylight in the morning. These boats, all, from Loctudy, specialise in fishing for langoustine - the crest on the bow of the Eridan has a pair of them. Look down the page here for the link to langoustine.

Like Newlyn, Loctudy and other Breton ports have gone through a heavy decommissioning programme.

The web site for the local Breton paper, Le Télégramme very usefully gives the landing and sailing information for the fishing fleet, port by port. One day Newlyn will catch up.

Winds gust over 70mph at Land's End

It's not surprising that the entire fleet in Newlyn is safely tucked up inside the harbour - as the wind gusted to 74mph this afternoon as recorded at Land's End just before 5pm.

Image courtesy of the Land's End weather site.

Green & Black

There's 40 inkwell pots with traps, 60 without and 30 French pots up for sale on 01736 732072...... a case of green and black and grey and black, yes its cuttles time again.....

more black, but this time the food for feline fanciers, blackjack, coley or saithe, much loved by germans but here always sold in the old MacFisheries wet fish shops as plain old cat food, probably because coley always gives off a slight hint of amonia......
the western end of the market was full of fish from just two netters the Gary M and the CKS......
with some good looking tubs to excite the Chelsea gurnard fan club.......
another film crew descended on the market.......
while outside the pace quickened as the box wash team moved in......
and stacked the results alongside the boats ready to go aboard......

back in port again, the Kingfisher from Griffin Towage was the first boat to be featured on the blog on May 6th 2006.

Its a good year for Polgoon cider and sparkling wine

Most of the traffic that passes Penzance on the way to Land's End is unaware of the vineyard that nestles on the southerly facing slopes of Rosehill. Polgoon Vineyard & Orchard produce award winning sparkling wines and cider, grown and bottled on site.

As the season draws to a close the vines provides a spectacular display of autumnal tones, as rich as the wine they produce. The award winning sparkling raspberry flavoured Polgoon Aval is available along with the vintage Polgoon Aval. Bottles of dry, still cider can also be bought.

Enjoy a colourful tour of Polgoon Vineyard at the end of the summer growing season.

St Georges slays the king of fish

With the fine weather due to break, all but the just landed St Georges are at sea......
the punts are enjoying a fine run of bass, like these from Cap'n Cod aboard the Butts, from around the Runnelstone Reef......
el congero blanco, not like the big black one landed the other week......
there's more black by way of the new season's cuttles on their way to Ocean Fish......
while the inshore trawler Imogen lands a good shot of haddock......
this is one bass the punts would love to have caught, instead this monster the biggest bass on the market for some time, fell to the mighty St Georges, a fine 8.2 kilo monster that is well over the length of a box.......
another boat from the Cheetah stable......
is up on the end of the new quay.

Fancy a tasty pizza topping to tickle the taste buds?

Never slow to sniff out an opportunity, a few of the Newlyn ring netters slipped their moorings last week and headed east - not a decision taken lightly in this neck of the woods as the old adage has it that, 'West is best, East is least'!

However, where the elusive little anchovy is concerned its a case of, 'go East for a feast'! At around £2,000 per ton even a small boat can earn some serious moolah of an evening. When it comes to local Brixham boy Dave Hurford with his 17.8m pelagic trawling machine Constant Friend however, things look very different - here he is with a fishroom almost full of the little silver fish - that's a serious number of pizza toppings in the offing! Local Kingswear Chef Mitch Tonks can't get enough of them! Of course, these little fish are extremely shy and show a real reluctance to put in an appearance on a regular basis - though a few years ago the skipper of one of the boats was spotted in Newlyn passing slowly by in a new BMW - shouting out, the admirer queried the driver's apparent sudden solvency and was given a one word response - "anchovies"!

At this time of year the waters off Brixham generally come alive with a showing of other riches - Cuttlefish - or black gold as they are known in the port. Cuttlefish love eating anchovy eggs so the two species are linked very closely within the food chain and exemplify the method by which stocks are assessed - a case of fecundity and viability - the success with which they breed matched against their ability to survive - it's a numbers game.

For years, Breton fishermen have used the same approach within their fishing operations - all the prawn trawlers from the ports of Douarnenez, Saint Guenole, Guilvenec, Loctudy and Concarneau share their fishing information. As the prawns come on or take off the boats share the news, this can result in an entire fleet shifting from the Smalls to the Labadie Bank overnight - by doing so all the boats get to share the best fishing and in turn, over the course of time, they are on average much better off than if they operated independently - it's a numbers game - statistically proven.

Mizzly weather

"When I'm 63", up on the slip one of Newlyn's old timers, the Marie Claire gets some tlc below the waterline......
dipping her bow into a low swell, the Dom Bosco makes her way towards the Low Lee buoy......
while Mr Morley takes the inside route on his way out for a day on the 'king of fish', bass poles at the ready......
after several days of gales it will be a few more days before there is any significant amount of fish on the market, causing fishmongers of repute to work hard at promoting a reduced offer to their customers......
one man and his dog take an early morning constitutional beside Newlyn Green......
tomorrow, on the 11th of November, it will be 12 years since the beam trawler Margaretha Maria left Newlyn on her fateful voyage, according to the subsequent MAIB enquiry, the vessel capsized whilst engaged in fishing. Sailing aboard the boat at the time was skipper, Robbie Holmes, mate John Todd and deckhands Vince Marshall and Kerry Todd.

MSC update

MSC assessment status:

Read the latest bulletin from the MSC, Bristol Channel Ray assessment.

The certification body, Moody Marine Ltd, has announced that the Bristol Channel ray fisheries have entered full assessment. Initially Moody Marine seeks to open a dialogue with all organisations or individuals with a direct interest in the fishery.

Anyone wishing to provide comments or information to the assessment process (relevant to the status of the stock, ecosystem interactions or fishery management practices) is invited to contact Jim Andrews.

Refer to the downloads section for further details.

Fresh Northerly breeze before a few days calmish weather

Making her way past the Anglian Princess, the punt Zephyr picks up a wave and forces Cap'n Tucker to turn his head and dodge the spray......
meanwhile, alongside Mousehole Island the Butts takes more spray....
and it's at times like this Cap'n Cod is thankful he invested in that small cuddy.....
time to shelter from the fresh breeze and drop in the Old Coastguard for a pint and some nibbles.

"Lest we forget", a community remembers those who have served their country.

Minutes before 11 o'clock, gathered outside the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, representatives of the armed services, family, friends and others prepare to honour those who fell while serving their country.