Plethora of propulsion in the Bay

Novice yellow-welly Zac locks up his new command after bringing her down from Plymouth with brother Ben and John......
ahead of them lays yacht Elizabeth, a big steel visitor......
must have been a fairly hairy tow to inflict this sort of damage aboard the tug.....
bass punt in action of Penlee Point on Friday evening.......
as a coaster heads for open water past the Low Lee buoy......
another small craft complete with fishing rod travels the shoreline in search of a few mackerel......
as the prawn trawler Tranquility heads through the gaps, Dan turns up the volume on his outrageously fast punt....
its that time of year again for the Cornish tuna boys, won't be long before the Nova Spero, Charisma and Ben Loyal are back in action with the poles.....
the Ajax takes back her freshly laundered boxes.

End of the Line

Coming to a cinema tomorrow - but not in Cornwall - yet!

Let's hear it for the hake

Inshore netter, Sadia Louise takes ice ahead of the Silver Dawn......

in response to Phil Mitchell's plea to develop a stronger UK market for hake, the Ajax has a good shot in her mixed trip of gill and tangle net fish...

the beamers are chasing megrims at this time of year, with the Boss' namesake putting 80kilos of size 3s ashore....

all of which will keep the box washing service at full tilt for a few hours.....

late start for a visting yacht given the forecast for the day......

TN Trawlers delivers yet another trailor load of spares to keep the big scallopers at sea.....

like the Olivia Jean and her thirty-six dredges.

Sail meets oars in collsion regs duel

When two vessels meet head to head what should happen - read the regulations here....

the Trinity House vessel Galatea drops anchor off Penzance Harbour for the night......

insulated fish tubs help to maintain the high quality of fish landed by the boats on Scilly as they are transferred ashore from the Scillonian III in Penzance dock under the supervision of those well-known knees in shorts......

Scillonian supply vessel Gry Maritha is operating under reduced power....

the fair has arrived to give visitors a thrill or two.

Skipper Phil takes his fish to top Cornish chefs with a challenge

Phil Mitchell, skipper of the gill netter CarolH is determined that the weak Spanish market for hake can be supplemented by developing a home market through Cornish restaurants and hotels. He has gifted a couple of boxes to the chefs from Jamie Oliver's Newquay Fifteen and Rick Stein's at Padstow in an attempt to persuade chefs that they should be using this top quality fish landed in abundance locally - hake is one of the tastiest white fish to eat with meat that comes away easily from the bones after cooking.

Put to the vote - The Star wins

Despite local objections, for the next 12 months the famous Star Inn, birthplace of the, "lets jump on the boat and sail to Australia boys" idea, will be allowed to have a number of trestle tables and seating in front of the pub where there are a number of parking spaces.

Classic boat

The National Cycling network will take you past an area that used to be known as the 'quarry bins' on the way to Newlyn.....

with a breeze blowing the punts get a less than smooth ride along the shore.....

a solitary angler tries his luck with a set of feathers from the North Quay in the harbour....

back to the pontoon berths after landing for PZ56......

while the immaculate Carissa Ann heads for the market with the morning's handline haul.....

a truly partisan flag flies in the harbour - the Pan Celtic flag......

the resident Icelandic gull does not seem to perturbed by the heat.....

this classic motor yacht is today's star visitor.

Square rigger cruise ship off St Michael's Mount

Anchored in the Bay, an square-rigged cruise ship, passengers were ferried ashore and enjoyed a guided tour of St Michael's Mount during the day - for anyone who has not yet visited the Mount - do so - the history is fascinating - especially the occasion when the locals, defending the Mount under seige, decide to 'go ashore' for a 'few beers' of a Friday night - thereby ending years of seige in a trice!.....

being West Cornwall, the local council employs seagulls as car park attendants.....
practice night in sultry conditions for one of the Portheras crews.....
as they row out past the old Lowestoft steam drifter, Feasible (more here) laid to alongside the old stone quay after being towed back from the Isles of Scilly.....
up on the slip for the first time, the Cornwall Sea Fisheries protection vessel St Piran gets her bottom scrubbed.....
out in the Bay, another sail boat is enjoying the gentle breeze with an evening sail for the MBLA's lugger Happy Return.

One swallow is enough to bring out the sunshine

Away at first light, Rowse crabber Dom Bosco.....
followed by a handliner away later than the rest of the fleet who like to be looking for signs of fish on the ground at, and not after, first light.....
out through the gaps, the Girl Pamela heads off for another day on the gear......
as the Inspiration heads back in to sort some pots.....

after almost a week in the water the new withy pots have been fishing well....
with some good sized fish coming aboard, this male was probably already 20 years old when the Bay saw plenty of naval action during WWII.....
a withy store pot with restaurant sized fish waiting to be sent away packed in boxes .....
in a bed of bladderwrack freshly picked from the harbour walls......
glorious weather finds a classic boat waiting for a crew to take her out to sea.....
and, perched aloft in the rigging, a harbinger of summer preens himself, ....
lithesome fishermen takes a the rope ashore.....
as the Go For It heads away....
time to reflect on the state of the harbour......
there's a new set of ceramics on show Babcock's Gallery......
while one of local potter Alan Brough's huge tile pieces gloes in the morning sun outside the Swordfish.

Mackerel maximises mindpower

From Mevagissey to Mullion - no wonder mackerel men are smarter - recent research shows just how important oily fish like mackerel are to minds and bodies!

The future of Newlyn

The saga of Newlyn's proposed new fish market building development never ceases to amaze - after backing Newlyn Harbour Commsssioner's plans to go for a brand new, state of the art, temperature controlled fish market to the tune of £300,000, the MFA has now decided that it's time for another look at developing the existing market on dilapidated foundations and a woefully inadequate building - must be the heat!

Read for more details here and in the local 'Cornishman' newspaper here.

Weekend winds gives way to gentle zephyrs

Floating holiday home for silver surfers, the Saga cruise ship Ruby off Porthcurno on Sunday afternoon makes her leisurely way along the western shore.....
Sun and surf greeted visitors to the coast of Cornwall at the end of the break....
even though Penberth Cove's resident grey seal appeared bored with the proceedings.....
possibly because the local fleet, which includes Frank Chappel's punt Grey Seal, were pulled up out of the water at the time.....
out to sea the Inspiration makes her way back to Newlyn through the choppy waters off Logan's Rock after a day on the pots......
Monday morning sees the few boats left in port making their way to the iceworks....
in near mirror-calm conditions.....
which are ideal for a yacht of this size travelling two-handed.....
the western end of the fish market was almost devoid of fish.......
as buyers inside the market jostled for the best fish away from the heat of the morning sun for some mixed trips from day and trip boats.....
with plenty of ice being used to keep temperatures down to acceptable limits.