End of an era

Regular maintenance is paramount on the running gear of any vessel, especially any of the overhead deck gear.....
love him or not, Newlyn will miss Grimmy Mike taking every opportunity in talking bollocks to Brussels over the VHF at sea, on TV or over the radio.....
at least his final boat was decommsssioned while still capable of fishing and not reduced to a worn out wreck.....
visiting Peterhead registered Calisha is back on the scallop grounds again.

A familiar story round the other side of the world....

Inshore fishermen in Vietnam are currently enjoying a bumper harvest thanks to the appearance of two species that have made their mark in recent years here in the south west, tuna and anchovies - read the full story here.

Duchy original bound away

Not showing her best side, the Dom Bosco makes her way to a fish market berth...
down the North Quay, some heavy lifting gear is being used to land the Twilight.....
while just astern of her the Aaltje Adriaantje, one of the origibnal trio of steel beamers in the Stevenson fleet, has just dropped a springer to get her away from the quay....
while Gary takes in the bow line up for'ard.....
she still has to come hard astern in order to turn and make for the gaps.....
bound away for another trip......
another eco-friendly fishermean leaves his transport on the quay.....
visiting Brixham beamer lands to the back of a waiting truck......
now showing signs of winter wear, the Nova Spero is waiting for the start of the tuna season....
keeping the fleet at sea, Mobil is doing its bit....
Nigel Taylor makes ready to get a stern rope ashore....
from the Imogen under the command of Roger Nowell Jnr, member of the Seafish responsible fishing scheme.

Next on the list.

Stripped of anything useful, Grimmy Mike's J Anne follows Twinkle's Two Boys on the decommissioner's list.....
the waters of the harbour are relatively undisturbed as the sun goes down....
a punt is being made ready for the mackerel season..........
while down below, there are signs of life aboard the Ripple.

Twinkle twinkle little star.......

For the last time, the Two Boys carried the singing fisherman, this time to her final resting place on the Canner's Slip - in the morning the JCB will see that another Newlyn boat joins the decommssioned list. Last year, the skipper and owner of the Two Boys, made a brief appearance on the X Factor billed as the 'singing fisherman' - sadly, the judges could not see an obvious market for the sweet tenor voice and cheeky Cornish humour that the local fleet have lived with for many a year! Hopefully, Twinkle will no doubt find another vessel from which to serenade the other boats during the small wee hours while on watch.
An enormous moon hangs over the gaps at dusk......
as another beamer heads out to sea.

Spirirt of Mystery off the coast of Australia

Of the many boats that greeted the arrival of the Spirit of Mystery in Australia one shot some video of the boys under sail in light winds making ready the boat for their arrival.

Newlyn Fish market - the future is bright!

Change is a thorny subject at the best of times - especially in an area with deep-rooted local traditions, customs and cultures at play - investment in the future through the funding available, Newlyn now has the opportunity to provide the best possible facilities in order to attract further investment ensure livilehoods in the industry for today and tomorrow.

Designed for tomorrow's markets, the new fish market and auction has been captured in a virtual 'fly-by' video which gives external and internal views of the things to come. A script describes the virtual tour video at the foot of this section - download the script from here.

Proposed Fish Market and Auction Hall for Newlyn - description to accompany the virtual video below:

External view:

The fly-by begins with a look at the landing quay and then moves towards Keel Alley. From there, the wooden structure reveals the front entrance, reception area and multi-function hall and then swings left to show the working bay for goods in and out (capable of taking articulated goods vehicles). At the Mary Williams end of the market is the box pound and washer service area where boxes and tubs can be loaded via platform on to trucks or forklifts.

The landing process and internal views:

Boats will land directly to the front of the new fish market using the existing deep-water ice-works berths. Numbered pallets will be used to transport the catch into a sorting area or inbound chill room. In controlled temperature conditions, grading and sorting by both hand and computer-linked graders will then begin a traceability trail for every consignment of fish. From there, tracked catches move to the output chill room where a sample box is separated off for the shout auction viewing area - the blue moveable partition is visible at this point. Upstairs, the computer auction room will cater for those attending the auction in person who will bid alongside remote online buyers - all processes clearly displayed on individual terminals and larger displays.

Auction and function space:

The internal structure of the building housing the computer auction, reminiscent of wooden boat construction with curved beams and planking also doubles as a multi-purpose facility and provide the harbour with a much needed public area where conferences, meetings, education and training can take place. Visitors can now view video or other exhibitions from local artists or organisations. At one end, is a cafe for fishermen and shore staff. The internet auction room also doubles as a training or conference room for office tenants. It would be easily possible to make use of the shout auction to double as a Producer Market at weekends secure access being gained through the large double doors.

Sit back and enjoy the view - (it may takes few moments for your computer to download the video before it streams smoothly)

The video was created for Newlyn Harbour by local company TigerX Studios in Hayle.

The Spirit arrives in body!

Pete Goss and crew, seen here aboard the Spirit of Mystery in Newlyn just before she set sail for Australia. Was he to know that brother-in-law Mark Maidment (top right) would meet the crew from the comfort of the quayside after being put ashore prematurely as a result of being injured a few days before the boat completed the epic voyage......
looking forward, home for the last 5 months......
Mark seen here taking some very useful provisions aboard the Mystery in Newlyn......
a close up view of the fastenings employed to keep the bopat's dinghy on top of the coachroof - the dinghy was ripped from here, along with the fixings when the boat rolled 160 degrees in the storm encountered one week ago. If you take a close look at the starboard planking down to and below the waterline there is evidence that the boat was well shaken in the knockdown.

Storm video from the Spirit of Mystery's blog

The full force of an ocean storm can be judged from this video shot from up forar'd on the Spirit of Mystery as she shows off her sea-keeping capabilities at the start of their two and a half day ordeal - gives you some idea of what the guys must have endured running before the wind during the hours of darkness when they could not see what was coming!

Spirit of Mystery update - Rodney it is now.

Having put crew member Mark Maidment ashore the Spirit of Mystery is now bound for Melbourne as originally intended - at least that way Mark made the voyage to Oz by boat all the way instead of having to suffer the ignominy of being airlifted ashore by helicopter as they planned at one stage. The rescue services there were obvioulsy not familiar with the deck layout and rigging of a traditionally rigged lugger or they would have known that there was no clear deck space from which to work a hi-line as an SAR helicopter would have done back here in the UK.

After undergoing several hours of surgery, Mark, now nicknamed Rodney on account of the metal rod pinning his broken leg (in two places) together! - read a full account here from the BBC.

UPDATE! Pete Goss has just posted this account of the knock down on the blog - you can sense the enormity of the event from the highly charged narrative.

End of another neap - a poor ride home for the boats.

The CKS lands to the back of a waiting truck under very heavy skies, the netters that arrived this morning enjoyed avery uncomfortable steam back home in gale force winds.....
with Sennen lifeboat station undergoing work their boat takes a spin out with the Penlee boat on exercise......
out in the Bay the MCA's Anglian Prinsess rides at anchore......
in port for the first time this year, regular on the local crab grounds the en Glas from Salcombe......
just in through the gaps and no doubt glad to hit calmer waters of the harbour, St Ives man Barney Thomas' Ajax.....
one of the biggest beam trawls in the UK......
a good trip from the CarolH will later be on sale at Plymouth market.

It is that time of year again, the mackerel are coming!

The first post to the 'Through the Gaps' blog using a mobile phone - uploaded from the quay seconds after the photo was taken - the wonders of modern technology - a Samsung i900 Omnia for those who are interested!

Seems there's a crucial piece of kit missing aboard the boat at present.