Major machines in Mount's Bay - will powerboats come to PZ?

Negotiations are in the final stages to bring a round of the Powerboat P1 World Championships to Penzance over three days – Friday 21st, Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd May 2010. This tremendous coup is thanks to the work of Penzance Town Councillor Mike Lovegrove who initially negotiated with the organisers of the races. Cllr Lovegrove gained the immediate support of Penzance Chamber of Commerce and the Penzance & District Tourism Association as both organisations saw the enormous economic potential for the town.

Not only will the event be held this year but it is possible that it will be held in Penzance for a further 4 years at least.

IFCA? Think Cornwall Sea Fisheries Commitee - as was!

Applications are being sought from the Cornish fishing community to join the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCSAs), which are due to replace the existing Sea Fisheries Committees in April.

As a result of the successful introduction of the Marine and Coastal Access Act, ten IFCAs are being established along the coast. They will have a wider remit to promote healthy seas, champion sustainable fisheries, and boost viable industry by managing inshore fisheries resources out to six nautical miles.

With the growth of community led projects and paying heed to terms like inclusivity, here is another opportunity for anyone with even a remote connection to the sea to become directly involved in influencing the day to day management of coastal resources including fishing. This can have obvious strengths for the resource concerned as such a collective should bring a wide range of views to the process and ensure that powerful, yet misguided larger bodies, do not get their way as a matter of course.

A good read.

With the recent legislation that all fishing vessels over 15m record their tracks comes a huge amount of data can now be turned into a more readily appreciated visible format. This document from across the water in Ireland makes fascinating reading, especially the fishing effort maps that chart fishing effort species by species around the coast.

Champion' slip and a little local history.

Hiden from view and well away from the water's edge, Champion's slip now ends on a tarmac road at the rear of Trelwaney Fish. Even today, many Newlyn residents have no knowledge of the early geography of this part of the inner harbour. The slip was named after the headmaster of the Weslyan School that opened to educate the children of Newlyn in 1873. Before the building that is now home to Cosalt and Trelawney Fish was built on reclaimed land in front, the slip ran down to the sea and was at the heart of the boat building industry where many Newlyn luggers began life on the stony beach. Until the road was driven across the beach linking Street an Nowan with Newlyn Town the tide dictated the traveller's route.

Black gold and big pollack

Fish of the day on the western (netters) end of the market were a good run of pollack were evident from the likes of the CKS and inshore boat Girl Pamela to name but two.....
down at the heavyweight beamer end, box after box of black gold .....
greeted the buyers this morning..... while the box washer was made to work overtime.....
with the rest of the 14 tons of cuttles filling the cold storage space.....
room for a handful of big squid on show.

Haiti art sale at the Orion Gallery.

Newlyn artists are holding a sale of artwork for Haiti charities.....
including Shelterbox.....
some interesting clothes and accessories start the sale on the ground floor.....
up the stairs a collection of media cuttings tell a graphic story......
take a spin and make a wish......
Cornish Sardines on sale.......
the lorry car park alongside the iceworks captured on a busy day......
possibly a tad hard on the soles......
two examples of Bernard Evans' work at a very reasonable £350 each, doing what he does best - images of the harbour......
something for the kids.....
first visitors of the day.

Around the harbour on Saturday.

Running repairs to a beam trawler's derrick on the quayside.....
the hatch coaming and hatch badly damaged by the derrick head.....
a piece of trans-Atlantic cable fetched up from the sea bed, any one of these bits might be from the first such cable to run from the link at Porthcurno......
with the netters restricted to fishing only over neap tides, a disaster for Alan aboard the Ajax as she failed to start......
the worms have been busy in the harbour timbers again......
the level of damage to crab pots is apparent after the winter storms......
made in Truro by Calseamin.......
more winter work in readiness for the summer season....
the tug is about to get back her winch......
well it may now be February but the beer is still cheap in the Swordfish, which comes highly recommended if you need a B&B in the harbour..........
the Spring is sprung it seems.....
keeping warm atop of the mast.....
towed out through the gaps at high water.

Another Lands End.

There are plenty of Land's Ends around the world, Finnisterre being one - the Danes have their own mobile version seen here discharging to a fishmeal plant.

Berlewen drops by.

Padstow registered netter Berlewen in town for a few days before she headed off to the the Southard.