A local hero who dived into the freezing water of the Fal River to try and save the life of a woman trapped underwater took on a well-deserved and much happier community role at the weekend.

Mussel diver Matt Vernon started off the annual Castle to Castle swim across the river’s estuary for the RNLI.

Matt tried valiantly to save a woman from her car earlier this year when it rolled in to the River Fal where the King Harry Car Ferry crosses.

He was praised for his bravery after diving more than a dozen times to try and help Ann Pewter who was trapped inside the vehicle.

Yesterday (Sunday) Matt was recognised by his local community for his bravery by accepting the honour of starting the fund-raising endurance event in which hardy souls swim through open water from Pendennis to St Mawes castle.

It was near perfect weather as Matt set the 390 competitors off for the annual RNLI Castle to Castle Swim.

EastEnders star Steve McFadden, who plays TV fiction Phil Mitchell and is a keen supporter of the RNLI, joined in again this year and shaved ten minutes of his personal best time.

The fastest swimmer was Haddon Page from Redruth who completed the mile long swim in 22 minutes and 9 seconds, just 42 seconds short of the course record.

It took an army of 50 volunteers to run the event which raises around £30,000 a year for the RNLI.

In sunshine and calm but cold water, the swimmers set off from Pendennis Headland on the Falmouth side, heading for a small beach on the St Mawes side of the river.

Fastest woman home was Emily Theobald who also took the under 18 title with a time of 24 minutes and 55 seconds.

Emily, who is from Falmouth, was swimming in the event for the first time and is a member of the Portreath Surf Lifesaving Club.

TV star Steve, who lives locally and done the swim twice before, clocked up a time of 37 minutes and 36 seconds; he said he’d enjoyed the swim, especially as this year he shaved 10 minutes off his time.

The last person to finish the sea swim was Peter ‘Bunny’ Bartell from St Agnes who is in his late sixties.

He was greeted by the loudest cheers of the day from the crowd watching the swim when he stepped ashore after one hour, 15 minutes and 11 seconds.

Peter said he had found the water very cold but that the RNLI lifeguards had been extremely supportive during the swim.

Guy Botterill, RNLI Community Fundraising Manager, was the event organiser and says the biggest thank you must go to the volunteers who ensured the event was a success:

‘It takes more than 50 volunteers to run the swim, from the RNLI lifeguards and lifeboat crews who play a major safety role on the water, to harbour teams from Falmouth and St Mawes, kayakers from as far away as St Austell and including Mark Bower who runs a kayaking business in St Mawes and members of Surf Lifesaving Clubs in Portreath, Perranporth and Hayle.

‘There were also members of Falmouth Diving Club, RNLI fundraisers, Tim Goldburn and the list goes on.

‘I can’t thank them enough for their support and hard work, especially as for some of them the day began at 5am this morning.

‘It’s hard work but worth it because of the money the swim raises for the RNLI to support the charity’s work saving lives at sea.’

All the swimmers finishing the event were presented with a special commemorative T-shirt and a bottle of water, and prizes, sponsored by Steve Coram of Cycle Logic in Helston, were given to the winners.

For the full results list please follow this link: http://racetimingsolutions.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=16269&RId=131

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The Tall Ships Regatta 2014 hits Falmouth on Thursday August 28th and wil stay in town until Sunday 31st.

The big corporate and charity event will see a fleet of stunning historic ships fill Falmouth harbour and it’s estimated should draw around 100,000 tourists to the town.

Since the ships first visit in 1966, Falmouth hosted the Funchal 500 Tall Ships Regatta in 2008 and The Tall Ships Race event in 1982. The economic impact of the event left a lasting impression on the area, attracting 100,000 visitors and generating over £12 million for the local economy.

The finish port, Royal Greenwich, will be hosting the first major Tall Ships event since London hosted the Tall Ships Race in 1989. Watch a BBC news report about the event here.

Paul Bishop, Head of Race Directorate, Sail Training International said, “This Regatta will see an interesting fleet of up to 50 sail training vessels and Tall Ships from around the world competing in competitive racing over three days.

It will follow the main Tall Ships Races in 2014 – which visits Harlingen, Netherlands; Fredrikstad, Norway; Bergen, Norway and Esbjerg, Denmark.

“Vessels interested in entering will be given the final race course once set by the Race Committee at the Captains Briefing in Falmouth on Saturday 30 August. It will include a series of waypoints in the western approaches that will take advantage of the forecasted wind to maximise the racing conditions.

“After crossing the finish line off the Isle of Wight the ships will have the opportunity to stop-over briefly in the French or English ports en route to Greenwich.

The crews will enjoy a full programme of activities in Greenwich over the four days including the prize giving on Sunday 7 September.

“The event will be a great opportunity for individuals of all ages and organisations to be involved and take part in an exciting world class event in UK waters.

As well as being a great location, the welcome and support the Tall Ships can expect will be second to none.”

Cllr Chris Roberts, Leader of Royal Borough of Greenwich, who recently signed up to the event said: “Royal Greenwich boasts the longest river front in London making it the best place to host the Tall Ships Regatta.

This will be a fantastic opportunity to boost the economic potential of the borough even further while providing a stunning visual display and opportunities for local young people to experience sailing on the high seas.”

Vessels interested in taking part can complete the entry form on the Sail Training site.

About Sail Training

What is sail training?

Sail Training is an adventure activity, which includes far more than sailing instruction. Participants are required to confront demanding challenges, both physical and emotional. It is an activity that inspires self-confidence and personal responsibility. It promotes an acceptance of others, whatever their social or cultural backgrounds, and develops a willingness to take controlled risks. Those who undertake Sail Training on Tall Ships generally find it a positive life-changing experience.

About Sail Training International (STI)

STI is the international voice of Sail Training, a registered charity (not-for-profit organisation), which has worldwide membership and activities. Its purpose is the development and education of young people through the Sail Training experience. It organises the annual Tall Ship Races and other international Tall Ship sailing events. STI members are 29 national Sail Training organisations around the world and STI’s head office is in Gosport, Hampshire, UK.

The organisation was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 2007 for its work in promoting international understanding and friendship.

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St Ives volunteer RNLI lifeboat crew launched the station’s all weather Mersey class lifeboat The Princess Royal to reports of a life raft drifting a mile off Godrevy light house on Monday

The life raft was initially spotted by RNLI volunteer crew member, Barney Stevens who was on duty as part of the charity’s lifeguard team patrolling Gwithian beach.

Barney contacted Falmouth coastguard who requested the lifeboat launch.

Using Barney’s initial information along with further details from the National Coastwatch Institution who are based on the Island at St Ives and who had sight of the life raft, the lifeboat crew located it two nautical miles north of Godrevy lighthouse.

Paul Whiston, RNLI all weather lifeboat Coxswain at St Ives said: ‘As soon as we sighted the life raft, it was immediately obvious that there was no one inside.

“It was taken aboard the lifeboat and bought back to St Ives in good condition.

“On arrival at the harbour, we were able to check the serial number and trace it to the motor vessel Cwind Athenia who had reported a life raft that had been lost over board off Lands End the day before (Sunday 12 May)’

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The yachtsmen behind one of Europe’s most prestigous races have chosen to sail over to visit their Cornish cousins this year.

Sailtica, the 500 mile contest that starts out from Pornichet in Southern Brittany will be crossing Biscay and the Channel to Fowey next month.

Often the organisers turn around at San Vicente in Northern Spain but this year they’ve chosen to visit their Cornish cousins.

It’s the first time the organisers of this bi-annual race have chosen Fowey and they’ve told us they chose to visit because they’re keen to cement their Celtic roots with the Cornish.

For the four days the 120 Breton sailors are in town (from 5th-9th May), the locals will be pulling out all the stops, (and hanging out the bunting) to make their visitors feel welcome.

They can learn to play Croquet, teach us to play Boules, take guided walks around the beautiful estuary, enjoy hog roasts, share sea shanties with the local sailors and Rum & Shrub Shantymen, and watch the spectacle of 32 Morris dancers dancing on the town quay.

The sailors are also being invited to join the Wednesday night racing aboard the local Fowey River boats and afterwards, share race night supper with the Fowey sailors.

There will be a spectacular start to the return leg of the race on Thursday, 9th May, at 1200.

Paul Thomas, the Fowey harbour master, will be closing the harbour to commercial traffic while the 20 yachts cross the RFYC in-harbour start line.

For more information, go to the Sailtica website HERE or contact Ken Wittamore (01726 832094) or Lizzie Morgan (01726 833918).

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Guy Cotten‘s life was a classic rags to riches story.

The eldest son of seven children, his farmer father died when Guy was just seven years old. The youngsters first career was as a racing cyclist, before he turned to selling overalls.

He started the Guy Cotten safety clothing range from a workshop in Concarneau. In 1966 Guy invented the Rosbras, a jacket with a double velcro and a zip fastener designed never to let in water through the seams.

In 1974, Alain Le Quernec drew the little yellow man ‘le bonhomme jaune’ which became Cotten’s famous brand logo.

In the 80s Guy took over Pirelli’s survival equipment company Piel – for four years he laboured to create the ‘Thermal Protective Survival’ suit – a piece of clothing credited with saving the lives of Raphaël Dinelli and Thierry Dubois in 1996′s Vendée Globe Race.

Guy’s multi-national company today owns factories across France and as far flung as Madagascar, employing around 300 people.

On their website this afternoon the firm wrote: “Today, the little yellow man has his eyes full of his tears – but, faithful to the spirit of his creator, he’ll not lower his outstretched arms. All of Guys family and the workers for the company would like to thank you all for your numerous messages of support.”

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‘Support Our Fishing Community’ – the real fish fight – is top fishing blogger Laurence Hartwell ‘s virtual grass-roots movement backing our local fishermen.

He’s created posters and banners you can print off at home on your laptop or PC and hand around fishmongers, markets, and pretty much any business outlet that sells sea produce.

The campaign comes in the wake of the national ‘Fish Fight’ crusade – which saw a historic defeat of the hated EU discards policy, but then also focused controversial, and much disputed, criticism on the fishing industry as a whole.

Laurence explained in a blog post: “Pressure from environment has left every fishing port in the UK with a sense of persecution, and concern for their very existence.

“Now fishermen from aorund the coast are coming together making their voices heard. Using the power of the web to share ideas and provide a platform from which to proclaim their cause, the fishing communities of the UK are urging people to ask their fishmonger, “Is it local?”

CCN is happy to ask our readers to get right behind this laudable campaign – and you can get the ball rolling with a bit of basic web-enabled people power!

The jPegs in our gallery above can all be printed off at little or no cost, and will all work pretty well as posters advertising the ‘Support Our Fishing Community’ Campaign.

And if your printers down – just make your voice heard and ask your fishmonger or supermarket the sixty-four thousand dollar question;

Is it local?

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The RNLI’s annual Castle to Castle swim across the River Fal is returning for its fifth year on Sunday 2 June, 2013 and the lifesaving charity is now welcoming entries into this ever popular event. One of the first people ready to sign up to the 2013 swim is EastEnders star Steve McFadden.

Steve has taken part in the swim several times and has always offered his support, even when he’s been unable to participate due to his work commitments. He’s delighted to be signing up for this year’s swim and has already started training for the one-mile route from Pendennis Point to St Mawes.

The Castle to Castle swim sees hundreds of people take to the water, each helping to raise thousands of pounds for the RNLI. Last year alone nearly £30,000 was collected, with all the money going towards helping to support the RNLI lifeguard service in the Devon and Cornwall area.

The 2013 event will be run on Sunday 2nd June 2013 at midday, to coincide with a neap high tide (the lowest level of high tide).

RNLI Community Fundraising Manager Guy Botterill said: ‘Thanks to all the participants over the past five years we’ve been able to raise a tremendous amount of money for the RNLI.

“It’s has gone directly to helping saving lives at sea by supporting RNLI lifeguards on our beaches around the south west coastline. The swim is an absolutely fantastic event largely run by volunteers, and without them it would simply not be possible.

‘We’re delighted to now be able to launch the 2013 swim and hope to see as many people as possible come forward to take part. The event promises to be great fun with a fantastic atmosphere so do come along and get involved.

‘Anyone interested in taking part can now email to register their interest and we’ll send out an application form in the coming weeks.’

The event has a maximum limit of 400 swimmers and is open to anyone over the age of 14. Participants should also be intermediate or experienced sea swimmers.

If you are interested in entering the 2013 Castle to Castle Swim please email us HERE to register.

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Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Fish Fight campaign, which is urging people to march on Parliament and demand the implementation of 127 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in UK coastal waters is, in Seafish’s view, in danger of undermining and undervaluing years of environmental improvements, unless it stops its vilification of the UK fishing industry.

Paul Williams, CEO of Seafish, said: “The Fish Fight Charter is simplistic, indiscriminate and lacking in scientific evidence in many areas. The inconvenient truth to campaigns such as Fish Fight is that fishermen’s knowledge has shown how the boundaries of a number of proposed MPAs, and the location of features within them, are wrong. So you need fishermen on board in order to achieve the environmental, social and economic improvements that everyone is striving for, and the science must be in place before you designate MPAs. Going down the ‘evidence-lite’ route, as this Fish Fight campaign does, is likely to achieve very little and the campaign will simply alienate the fishing industry – a sector that is vital to leading environmental improvements in our seas.

“Hugh’s Fish Fight has lost sight of the fact that 31 proposed MPAs have been approved, out of the original 127 proposed, for a reason. That reason was that the Government’s Scientific Advisory Panel found that the review of the scientific basis for the additional areas – what was being protected, why it was important, what would be the benefit – simply wasn’t adequate. To put pressure on the industry and Government for more at this stage is therefore irresponsible and opportunistic as it is our understanding that more MPAs will eventually be considered anyway once proper scientific evidence for them has been gathered.”

Seafish’s response tackles many of the assumptions made in the Fish Fight Charter and also questions why the celebrity chef is raising these issues now when industry and environmental groups have been working with Government for years to improve the vibrancy and productivity of the marine environment. Some of the key points raised hinge on the assumption that all mobile gear destroys the sea-floor. The fact is that the right mobile gear used in the right place and at the appropriate intensity does not destroy the seafloor.

There is also the false assumption that all MPAs enhance fishing communities. Fundamentally, mobile gear fleets are important to many economically fragile coastal fishing communities. Another false assumption that the campaign operates on is that MPAs bring unalloyed environmental benefit. On the contrary, displacing fishing activity from MPAs could negate the ecological benefits afforded by an MPA network.

There are some areas where Seafish does agree with the Charter such as the importance of establishing MPAs in order to protect the environment and enable sustainability. This is already being done in many areas and has created vibrant and productive seas around the UK. The difference of opinion is how this is achieved and also in how the campaign has chosen to illustrate the need for action.

If you enjoyed this well-informed and written piece by Laurence, why not bookmark his regular blog Through the Gaps ? Laurence is out pretty much every day gathering the latest fishing news and pictures from Newlyn and beyond and you can take part in an ongoing Twitter conversation about local fishing through his popular site whether you’re at home or at sea!

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What with Brian Cox spending an hour explaining the importance of body size in ecological systems, and then prime time marine conservation courtesy of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s ongoing Fishfight, I feel that my research interests have been rather well covered by TV of late.

But whereas I have nothing but praise so far for Cox’s Wonders of Life, I find myself more ambivalent in my views of Fishfight.

On the one hand, it is fantastic to see the issue of marine conservation gain such prominence. Hugh F-W is an excellent and extremely savvy campaigner, and his energy and drive to reduce the wasteful practice of discards (subject of the first Fishfight series) has had a real, positive impact at the EU level.

Of course, we need to make sure that the fish now landed instead of discarded at sea actually make it to market, rather than landfill – but that’s not to take away from what Fishfight achieved.

And the focus of this second series, on marine protected areas, is also a really important issue – few would argue with the central tenet that we should take better care of the marine environment, and that protecting certain areas should be a part of this.

Neither am I entirely averse to using shock tactics to elicit an emotional response in the audience – indeed, I attempt just this in my marine conservation lectures here in Sheffield, where I channel Jeremy Jackson in documenting the often calamitous history of human impacts on the ocean.

On the other hand, however – and notwithstanding the considered input of scientists whom I know, like and respect such as Alex Rodgers and Callum Roberts– we need to recognise that Fishfight is a campaign, and campaigning TV by its very nature is not especially fussed about issues of balance.

This is the point made by SeaFish in their response to the series.

SeaFish were derided on Twitter last night by George Monbiot as an industry quango whose interest is “minimum of conservation and maximum of exploitation”, but actually they are a respected body who take science pretty seriously – although as an industry body of course they consider the social and economic as well as the ecological consequences of marine environmental policy.

They have been making the point that MPAs in the UK ought to be established based only on sound scientific criteria – the reason rather few have so far been agreed is that often we lack these data.

Now, I used to be of a similar view to the Fishfight gang – that the priority ought to be just establishing MPAs, on the assumption that even if they were suboptimally positioned, any protection of any area would be better than none.

Then I started talking to people who study these things and was politely told that, actually, a poorly designed MPA can actually do more harm than good.

The view from the Shetland Antarctic - compelling

So, my view now is that MPAs need to be carefully designed, set up with specific and explicit goals, and not simply placed willy-nilly.

More generally, and as always, the truth will usually lie somewhere between environmental campaigners and industry groups. Some scientists have been quite vocal regarding the oversimplification of complex issues that is inevitable in campaigning TV.

Marine conservation biologist Mike Kaiser, for example, has been quite active on Twitter putting across a fisheries science view, and I agree with this blog post by Jess Woo, that framing this campaign in terms of a ‘fight’ is unfortunate – “the last thing marine conservation (and particularly fisheries management) needs is a ruckus”.

All of which has got me thinking: what does marine conservation need?

Well, some kind of clear vision would be useful, regarding how we balance the needs of conservation with feeding 9 billion people.

There have been studies looking at this from a fisheries perspective, but it struck me that there are real parallels here with the land sharing vs. land sparing debate in terrestrial conservation.

Should we concentrate conservation effort into the preservation of wild areas, and exploit other areas for food production as intensively as we can?

Or should we aim for a more balanced approach, seeking a way to allow human activities and nature to coexist?

In farming terms, this is the difference between a mosaic of industrial farms interspersed with nature reserves, and a more extensive system of wildlife-friendly farms.

The obvious upshot of this terrestrial debate is that if you want a large network of fully protected nature reserves, you have to balance that with farming the fuck out of what’s left.

Translating this to a marine context, a network of no-take MPAs requires fishing the fuck out of unprotected areas.

There is no real incentive for more responsible fishing outside the MPAs: the focus should just be on productivity.

So the depressing images of dredged and trawled habitats that Fishfight uses to tug the heartstrings would not disappear if MPAs were widely established.

In this case, you’re pinning an awful lot on not only the (widely supported) in situ success of MPAs, but also in their (often positive, but more variable) spillover effects.

Responsible fishing, by contrast, requires more extensive areas to be exploited, which may limit the extent of fully protected MPAs.

More generally, whilst we should be cautious extending the fisheries—agriculture analogy too far (fishing, remember, still largely targets wild, and often highly mobile organisms), I think it does provide some useful context.

Ray Hilborn, a fisheries ecologist who also happens to be a farmer, has commented on this before: how farmers are praised for bringing the landscape under the plough in order to produce food, whereas fishermen are castigated for doing similar (often in farm more hazardous circumstances).

Let’s just remember that (to use Oxfam’s terminology) the social foundation of access to an adequate, healthy food supply is of equal importance to the environmental ceiling of preserving biodiversity.

If we get marine management right, we should be able to do both. I’m not convinced that starting a fight with some of the most important and knowledgeable marine stakeholders is the best way to achieve this.

Many thanks to the Mola Mola blog for this instructive article; you can find much more on the same topics HERE

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RNLI lifeguards and volunteer lifeboat crew worked together to rescue two kayakers in difficulty off Trevaunance Cove on Monday afternoon.

The kayakers had capsized several times in the strong offshore wind conditions and needed assistance to get back to shore.
 
Lifeguards patrolling St Agnes beach were first alerted to the incident at about 1.15pm.

They saw the kayakers capsize and then get blown offshore very quickly in the strong wind.
 
RNLI lifeguards Ishmael Hammon and Joe Ainsworth grabbed a rescue board and paddled out to the kayaker’s location to secure them.
 
Watching from the shore, RNLI senior lifeguard Tony Clarke decided they needed the assistance of the volunteer lifeboat crew of St Agnes.

The D-class inshore lifeboat was launched with Gavin Forehead at the helm.
 
Gavin said: ‘The kayakers were battling force four-to-five offshore winds and were tired and in need of assistance to get back to shore.’
 
The crew of the inshore lifeboat arrived on scene and took the casualties aboard.

They were transferred back to shore, along with their kayaks.
 
This incident was the second call out for the volunteer lifeboat crew at St Agnes RNLI over the weekend.

On Sunday, the lifeboat was called out to assist a man and his dog cut off by the tide.

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