Feels like the first day of spring as the temperature makes for double figures at last!

Bound away again......
a small step for man......
one windy gun and dozens of 'three linkers'........
as the gear aboard the Lady Lou from Brixham gets an overhaul at the end of her trip.....
view from the top of Church Street with its modern take on an adit running down the centre, the hand rail is necessary in snow and icy weather as residents were thankful this winter no doubt.....
the figurehead that adorns the garden of possibly the oldest properties in Newlyn, Matelot's Cottage......
that looks across to the aptly named Harbour View Terrace.

Busy market this morning.

Big ray make a rare appearance on the market this morning.......
and at 7.6Kg a single hake would be the perfect fish for a huge weekend feast......
the Lamorna appears to have gone to the dogs.......
while the Tracy Clare has some quality monk tails that Trelawney fish just could not resist.......
the honey fan has the pressure washer powered up......
every dahn has its day.......
today's donkey on the move......
won't be long before the Nova Spero is chasing the tuna again......
surplus to requirements the wooden warp drums are in need of a good home.....
out on the quay, PZ1001 is ready for a scrub.....
when there's a job to be done get the right kit for the job.....
back at last, the Ivan Ellen is now ready to do business.......
latest underground art movement on show at the Orion Gallery......
keeping an eye on the horizon.......
all sorts spotted in and around Newlyn.

Cornish poet Bernard Moore.

Not content with a poem recalling a huge mullet catch, Bernard Moore published an entire collection of poems many with the sea and fishing as a theme. The book, Cornish Catches, can be read online courtesy of the American Library's Internet Archive. Not so many years ago it was not unheard of for youngsters at school to take the odd day off in the winter when the mackerel were thick in the Bay - as a young David Pascoe (skipper of the Little Pearl)was known to do when he should have been sat in his lessons at Mount's Bay School. A copy of the entire book, in pdf file format, can also be downloaded from the same site.

Five of his poems were set to music and are available with songhseets for download.

Sennen mullet men.

Big shots of mullet off Sennen have been taken using a beech seine for centuries.

Last week, after a shoal hung around off Gwenva beach for ages then suddenly swam across Whitsand Bay and sought shelter in Sennen harbour - that shelter became their undoing as the mullet men of Sennen shot into action immediately - a few hours work and over twelve tons were on their way to market - though it has to be said that not every time the net is shot do the fish become so obliging!

One occasion, recorded for posterity in words, recounts the time when a huge shoal of bass, hugely more expensive than grey mullet, were taken on Christmas Day, 1917 during the dark days of the First World War. The poem (below) captures the sense of excitement, relief and joy at making such a catch in what must have been very hard times:






This poem, is taken from a book called ' A Cornish Collection' published in 1933 by Bernard Moore........
who also wrote 'Cornish Corners'.......
it would be good to find a recording of some of the songs indicated in these notes from the flyleaf of the book.

Men in black or, Newlyn in charcoal at the Tolcarne Inn

Something to look out for in the future, make a note in the diary to visit the Tolcarne Inn and check out Nick Henshall's exhibition of charcoal drawings - made from close observation of the port.

Newlyn Charcoals

Tolcarne Inn, Newlyn
April 2010

Nick's creative talents do not stop at working on paper; he has built a number of wooden sailing vessels including his own classic yacht based on a pilot boat - for many the ultimate small sea boat - the best compromise between speed, safety, comfort and seakeeping.......

the Jessie & Zac is very much modelled on traditional lines......
seen here before her mast was installed.

Beamer congers.

Clear decks on the Manx Ranger......
time to weld the port side scallop dredge beam back together again on the Jacoba......
as the Admiral Gordon makes ready to land to an Ocean Fish lorry bound for Plymouth market....
both sides up for overhaul on the Sapphire......
on the market there's a lovely run of quality flats from the George Johannes......
and another small dollop of anchovies......
the Sapphire's reds look to be in top condition......
while a few beamer boxes of the congers looks like one or two wrecks were passed close by!.......
fuel for the next trip being pumped aboard, the price of which is hovering around $80 a barrel.