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A Day out on the dive boat Obsession 11 (& how she came to Boat Stories rescue thrice)

9/3/2015

Obsession 11 after dropping divers on Lundy

Last September, I was on board, (the original plan) to film Beccy McDonald, wildlife warden on Lundy, surveying the Atlantic grey seals which haul out on the island’s rocky shoreline and breed in the caves. Lundy's new rib was out of action in Appledore, when Andrew offered us the chance to film from Obsession 11 -saving the day. Andrew and the other charter boats often offer Beccy a lift, giving her a chance to survey or dive. “The divers love having her aboard” he told me, “she is so knowledgeable about the wildlife and the marine reserve and we will help the island when we can.” I was fascinated by this generous, symbiotic relationship. It’s the way much of the boat community works in North Devon, helping each other out where they can – and I would have included it in my film story. But as some as you will know, disaster hit boat stories and before we did any filming of Beccy or the seals, we lost our principal camera over the cliff – where it smashed to pieces on the granite.

Our camera after its encounter with Lundy's granite

While the divers drifted, I chatted to Andrew and his son, first mate Ben and noted they were keeping a close eye on the divers’ whereabouts – following the bubbles! Andrew, whose winter day job is accountancy, is from an old sea faring family. His great grandfather came over from Wales with the coastal sailing barges, delivering coal to Lee Bay. His father worked on the gravel barges in the estuary and as a child in the early 70s, he remembers riding in the bucket that unloaded goods on to the quay – a free fairground ride if you like. Eighteen year old Ben, is trying to continue the tradition, making his living as a skipper. It’s much harder for youngsters today, but Ben is making a go of it, dividing his time between assisting his Dad, volunteering on the lifeboat and setting up his own charter business with Silver Spirit. She is the only boat in Ilfracombe with both a commercial fishing license and a passenger license. Ben takes people out teaching them how to become lobster potters for one day. As a reward they get to keep and cook their lobster.

A family day out as lobster potters on the Silver Spirit

Obsession 11 is perfectly equipped as a dive boat. She even has a platform which the diver can clamber on to underwater and then get winched up and step on to deck, water cascading off, like a space man emerging from a time capsule. Andrew Bengey, her skipper, had her designed to his specifications, building on from Obsession 1, with a bit more room and comfort and hot chocolate and coffee on tap. The latter is essential for divers who must wait between dives while the nitrogen inside them dissipates or wildlife film crews, who by the nature of their job – do a lot of sitting around.

Beccy McDonald, Lundy Island Warden

curious Lundy seal

We’d booked our passage home on the Lundy ferry, MS Oldenburg, leaving two days later, so Simon Vacher (the cameraman) and I were essentially stranded on the island. This would have been a bonus, if we weren’t worrying about the lack of camera and the boat stories budget!! Andrew came to my rescue a second time, offering me the chance to join his party of divers for the day and swim with the seals. It was a rare day “off” for Boat Stories. I was fascinated, watching the divers equip themselves to enter an alien world and then after a pep talk from Andrew, disappear into the depths. Their first dive was a ‘drift’ dive – literally drifting with the current down the east side of the island, over the marine conservation zone. “Stay on the pea gravel, release your surface marker buoy when you’ve had enough and we’ll find you.”

Andrew at the helm of Obsession 11

Diver heading into Lundy Marine Conservation Zone

Talking about lobsters, the orange lollipop-like marker buoys are popping up and we take the boat to pick up the divers. There are tales of rare crawfish (spiny lobsters) giant cock crabs and lobsters ‘bigger than two metres with claws as big as fists.’ I wonder whether divers are a bit like fishermen – prone to exaggeration. It sounded a bit like ‘the land that time forgot’ and in a way it is for Lundy’s marine conservation zone was the first official marine reserve and no take zone (no fishing zone) in the country. Fish and shellfish have been protected there for nearly thirty years so it is conceivable that Lundy’s lobsters are bigger than everyone else’s…

As other divers popped up, dripping but hopefully not fizzing like champagne corks, they compared photographs of pink sea fans, snakelock anemones, cup corals, stag horn and chimney sponges. Their underwater camera equipment was making me drool! But it was their stories of the playful seals which made me seriously jealous: one diver lying in the kelp, while a young seal seemed to be trying to mimic his actions, another seal swimming through their legs and nibbling their fins, a third blowing bubbles mirroring the divers and two more who appeared to be kissing. Chris Pearl, who had been diving for thirty years said, “it was on my bucket list, one of those things you dream about. It was far better than I imagined. We were just sitting on a rocky ledge and a seal came up to us and rubbed itself against us, just like a cat rubbing itself around you. It was an absolute privilege to be there in their world with them coming up to you – you don’t touch them - you let them investigate you. That’s me done now. I don’t need to dive again; I’ve had my dream holiday.”

Milcombe house on Lundy where the divers stayed

“It’s been like staying on a Greek Island for a week,” his wife added, “we’ve had such glorious weather.”

pink sea fan by Carole Mapstone

Lundy seal taken by diver Carole Mapstone the gloves belong to husband Tim

They were a mixed aged group, from a Surrey based dive-club, some had come back into diving after retirement and others old and young, were newly qualified. They were staying at Milcombe, the large white house which nestles in the folds of the hillside, just above Lundy’s harbour. “We’re really impressed with the accommodation” one gentleman told me, “our only complaint is that we have to hike up to the Marisco Tavern for supper.”

The divers had to sit it out before they could go underwater again so this was my chance to swim with the seals. “Are you going to free dive?” one asked, noticing that unlike them, my only piece of kit was a mask and pair of fins. Sadly no! I was going to snorkel with the seals. I know from past experience, that the seals have much more fun with divers who can enter their element. I spent the next half an hour entertaining the waiting divers as they chorused “it’s behind you” and I came up in a flurry of bubbles and ungainly yellow fins, startling the seals who stared back at me with that soulful, dog-like glance. Snorkelling with seals may not be as amazing as diving with seals, but as you can see from my article ‘swimming with seals’ (under boat trips) it's still a mind blowing experience.

'that soulful, dog-like stare'

I clambered aboard and we headed out to one of the wrecks. There are over30 dive sites around the island, so Andrew consults with the holidaymakers and the weather forecast before making plans. That afternoon they chose the Robert, a small coaster which capsized in 1975. Andrew and Ben, experienced divers themselves, did the original recce for many of the dives and tied a diving buoy with a shot line fixed to the wreck, so all the divers had to do is follow the line down –about 20 metres to the ship. She is still intact, so it is possible to fin through her hold and (with a torch) meet her various, new occupants –including conger eels. I was glad to hear that our crew were experienced divers – because it seemed as though they were dropping off divers with a fast current running in the middle of nowhere into the Bristol Channel which has one of the fastest highest, tidal races in the world. “That’s not current,” Andrew corrected me, “that’s just surface wind!”

Ben Bengey with divers, Carole & Tim Mapstone

photo taken in Lundy marine conservation zone by Jonny Aird

Lundy Island by Jonny Aird

The divers soon reappeared, ready to head home. By now it was low tide and the jetty was several metres above the boat. “If you’re up for climbing the ladder” Andrew told the holiday makers, I can drop you now.” Despite the stiff wind Andrew and Ben held the boat steady against the quay. “It’s my lifeboat training,” he explained “and years of experience in these waters, which means I can drop off passengers while other boats have to sit off in the rough.” Two years ago the “Don’t tell the bride,” bridegroom had come to Lundy with a group of friends & his fiancée on a couple of speed boats to check out the wedding venue! On the way back, one of them lost their engine and all their electronics. They sent out a mayday, but having drifted helplessly, gave out the wrong position. Obsession 11 was one of the nearest boats and with dusk falling went to search for them. They reached them ahead of the lifeboat and later handed them over. Interestingly the blurb for the film due to be shown 10 March, states ‘whisk his water phobic bride-to-be Rosie off to a remote island wedding. Not just any island, its windswept Lundy Island off the coast of Devon, where Rosie once nearly drowned and had to be rescued.” Andrew is relief coxswain for the Ilfracombe lifeboat and Ben is in training to join the team - so the bride & her fiancée were in safe hands! Watch the Lundy 'Don't Tell the Bride" for a cameo appearance from Andrew & Obsession 11.

Obsession setting off from Ilfracombe harbour

razorbills by Rick Morris

The day we lost our camera over the cliff, I managed to track down a spare camera in Dorset and Andrew got on the radio to see which local boats were crossing to Lundy the following morning. The wind was preventing any charter boats coming out, but he tried to organise a relay system, from fishing boat to potting boat to dive boat to us. In the end we heard there was a potential problem with the camera and it wouldn’t get to us until nearly dusk, so we decided to postpone and I got my day on the dive boat. Luckily for us, Beccy and the island has offered us a second chance this Spring and as Simon, the cameraman, keeps reminding me, we are hugely privileged to be returning to Lundy– this time as the seabirds are arriving back to breed.

In one final act of generosity, Andrew offered us a lift back to the mainland, so we could get the insurance claim on the camera going... Meanwhile I fully recommend a trip out on Obsession 11. You can dive or swim with seals, dive the wrecks, organise a stag or hen party, fish or scatter your loved ones ashes. Or have a go at lobster potting aboard Silver Spirit. Out at sea, off the beautiful North Devon coast with Lundy Island as your destination – what’s not to like?
You can book Obsession 11 or Silver Spirit on 01271 866325 or 07971 462024. Check out other North Devon charters & boat trips on our boat trips page.

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OUR FIRST NINE MONTHS

2/1/2015

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Wow – what an incredible nine months from when we set sail in mid March when we finally got our go-ahead to start making our films. As so many people have reminded me – ‘time and tide wait for no man’ and we’ve been chasing the seasons all year. I knew when I set out to film a series on working boats that it would be tough to call the weather, the wind and the swell, but I had no idea how crucial the exact timing and height of the tide would be for each story – with for some films the shooting window coming round only once a fortnight.

A berried hen which was tagged, then released.

So to the famous show business adage ‘avoid working with animals or children,’ I’m adding ‘be wary of boats and tides’. But I will not be adding the fishermen – they couldn’t have been more helpful and generous with their time and open to what I was trying to do. We don’t have the budget to charter fishing boats or filming boats so when lobster fisherman Geoff Huelin agreed our film crew could come aboard on a working day to film life as it happened I was relieved and excited in equal measure. Letting us film him at work was the easy part for Geoff – I had a much harder challenge for this modest, unassuming, brilliant fisherman – I wanted him to tell his story in his own words –so no voice over – no presenter.

I started out wanting to tell the story of Lundy’s marine reserve and no take zone –how it was the first in the country, how it was the fishermen themselves who helped set it up. The reward for encouraging the fishermen to tell their own story – is that Geoff gives us a unique take - revealing a fisherman, passionate about conserving the lobsters he is fishing –and so the film became ‘Lobster potting and the berried hens’. And as so many people said to me – Geoff is a natural – a total pro on camera! These short films are documentaries – yes I do research and plan them – yes I do know the story I’d like to cover – but even for a five minute film the story can change out on the water –and we go with what we get. The one thing I keep promising is that all our stories will be different.

For our second film ‘Salmon netting on the Taw & Torridge’ with ‘old age pensioners’ Sheila (76) and Stephen (84) I faced a different problem. Stephen Taylor is so knowledgeable, so eloquent on the history of salmon netting, the characters, so full of fascinating and funny anecdotes that it is difficult to get him to stop talking. I could have listened to him for hours but I needed him to tell the story in five minutes so the audience could follow what was going on. At the end of the shoot they were tired and wet after rowing the open boat and lugging the heavy net that after a short ‘piece to camera’ we had to ‘wrap’. I planned to return to film an interview about fishing techniques and history to help link the story together. But (the joy of working with radio mics!) watching the rushes Simon (the cameraman) and I found ourselves laughing out loud. I decided that it was more important to let their characters, their banter and their humour shine through rather than worry too much about the detail. If you haven’t seen it, take five minutes to watch a very funny, interesting little film.

The subject of our third story, Dave Gabe, is my local fishmonger and having taken my family on his boat trip up the river Torridge, the inspiration behind the series tag line ‘every boat tells a story.’ He was also extremely reluctant to be filmed on camera but off camera, I knew he had a fascinating story for every boat we passed along the river: it’s history – who sailed it – who had fallen in love and then broken up and left the boat abandoned to rot.. I warned our cameraman, Matt Biggs, before we sailed, that we would have to get the story out on location. As we passed each boat, I planned to draw out Dave’s own fascinating life story – a life spent working on many different boats working his way up from ‘deck boy’ on the tugs, to the deep sea trawlers, lifeboats, Lundy boatman and his own trawler out of Appledore . We couldn’t fit Dave’s story into five minutes – instead we mix in a bit of history and anecdote and wildlife as we follow the route the river takes us. On the rushes I can hear Dave saying, “no you don’t want to hear about me – the story’s about the river.” If you watch ‘Life’s Journey on the Torridge,’ I believe you’ll agree – our title may be boat stories – but our stories are about the people who sail them.

For our fourth film ‘Fishing for the Long Haul’ we had to spend much longer out at sea. I’d been warned when I was trying to get the series going that none of the commercial fishermen would let us film on their trawlers. So I was hugely grateful to Scott from S&P fisheries who agreed we could go aboard as long as we were prepared to spend several days out at sea in tough conditions. For me this film was the biggest learning curve –the hours fishermen work – the fickle nature of the fish and the sea –decisions whether and where to fish made at the last minute and every time they came into harbour a new regulation or ban awaiting them. After several weeks when filming was on then off, Paul Stone skipper of the Sparkling Star generously agreed to take us out squid fishing and to land our cameraman, Mark Brindle, back – along with the squid – after 24 hours provided we were ready to board at 2am in the morning.

My original pitch was to follow the squid and ask why so few people in North Devon were buying and eating this wonderful local seafood. But even back in July, when the sun was shining, the crew were seriously considering whether they could continue fishing and I became far more interested in the people and their dilemma than the fish! By the time we returned to film S&P fish shop, the squid had disappeared and the Sparkling Star was landing ray –which allowed me touch on another story – the local trawlermens’ efforts to protect the nursery grounds for ray and make this a sustainable fishery. And then just as we were completing the film – the blow that took the heart out of the North Devon fishery - a (hopefully temporary) ban on landing ray (60% of their catch and their main money fish for the winter) which meant that the Sparkling Star and her sister trawler could no longer make a living in the Bristol Channel and spent the rest of the year fishing from the south coast. So a few choice comments which we didn't show –and I came away with total respect and admiration for the guys we worked with. I had no budget to change the film once we heard this news –but it does make this a very current, poignant story. Again, as so many have remarked, a reluctant star proved a total pro on camera and I hope we revealed a bit of Paul's sense of humour which kept the crew going through their roller coaster year. I’m really pleased that Paul is now keen to make another film to show the sustainable ray fishery in the Bristol Channel -in more detail. Watch a new outtake below to see Paul in action cooking a healthy supper on the boat..

No sooner had we got this film out – the herring run started in Bideford Bay. We went from filming 24 hours on a trawler to a couple of hours in a small open boat as Stephen Perham tells us on camera ‘we either row or we sail’. I wrote some articles on Clovelly several years ago, so I knew Stephen’s quest to revive the small herring fishery and get more local people eating herring would make a great short film.

As Stephen says ‘it would be hard to find a more sustainable fishery’ and yet the way of life you witness in ‘Fishing for Clovelly Herring’ is also threatened by a ban. Detailing the complexities of the proposed EU ban on drift netting would have scuppered my five minute film –but in the video blog accompanying the film Stephen explains the reasons behind the ban and why Clovelly should be exempt.

Each film raises more questions than it answers and during each edit so much beautiful footage hit the cutting room floor or stayed on the hard drive! So for those who want to follow the stories in more depth, I’ve written a ‘the making of’ video blog around each film.

Women feature in all the films we’ve released so far but save for the lovely Sheila (who almost has equal billing with Stephen) they are all led by men. The next two films we have in production are led by women! Our film of the Appledore ladies gig rowing crew was overtaken by the herring film (because herrings are only available until Christmas) but I like to think of it as our ‘sunshine and champagne film’ –memories of a lovely sun-kissed summer and champagne –well you’ll have to watch the film when it comes out early in the new year.

As for our other film –about Lundy island –thereby hangs a tale… Lundy is proof that Boat Stories wasn’t all plain sailing and of the fantastic support we’ve had from North Devon’s fishing and boating community. We travelled to Lundy on the Oldenburg as she is part of our story. We planned our main shoot with Beccy the warden, for the next day, when we had a generous offer from Andrew Bengey to film from his dive boat, Obsession. The day we arrived had the best sunshine forecast so Simon and I headed up the east coast, walking along the coast path to get a shot of the Oldenburg tied up at the Quay. The short of the long is that we lost our main film camera over the cliff! We were not on the cliff edge – it did not drop dramatically into the sea. But it did roll (Lundy is made of granite) and spill its guts – ending up as a mangled mess of electronics and plastic scattered and hidden under tall bracken. The team on Lundy and the boat skippers couldn’t have been more helpful.

Ooops!

While we tried to track down a spare camera, they tried to find a boat which could get it to the island. But the forecast was poor and the only boats braving the channel the next day were fishermen. Andrew offered to meet one of the potting boats out at sea – but the camera (from Dorset) would have to be driven through the night to catch the boat leaving at dawn and we wouldn’t receive it until a couple of hours before dusk. Reluctantly we decided to postpone the main scenes with Beccy and shoot what we could with our spare camera and Gopros. I took the opportunity to go swimming with the local seals -one was so friendly it swam right round the dive boat! But with the seals entering their breeding season and the first white-coated pups appearing on the beaches we decided to postpone until the Spring. Even with our little mishap, Lundy was a highlight in an event full year so a big thank you to Beccy and co for agreeing to have us back and the boating community for once again doing their best to help us!

One goal of Boat Stories was to work with local talented crews (rather than bringing film crews in from Bristol or London.) So I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of working with three different freelance cameramen who were all lovely to work with. They each like to work differently and have different styles and as you can see from their work they are all talented and together we make a successful team. So a huge thank you to Simon Vacher, Matt Biggs and Mark Brindle for also taking a punt on this project and helping to make it reality. If you are looking for someone to make a film, their details are on our crew page.

Yet another target was to work with young or new talent and for every film we have found someone with a different style to create the music - so thanks to them for their enthusiasm and creativity and willingness to work on our tight budget. We’ve also taken young talent out with us on location on sound and camera throwing them into the deep end to help us cover events such as Appledore gig regatta or the Clovelly herring festival. The ‘deep end’ is probably not a good analogy for boat stories – only Matt came close to landing in the brink when ‘Locky’ from the Appledore Gig vets team gave him a piggy back and threatened to give him a dunking.

I owe a huge thank you to our supporters and funders, listed below. Particularly to Amanda McCormack who agreed to host Boat Stories under the umbrella of North Devon Moving Image (NDMI) which she had only just founded when I first approached her and which has become a thriving community film-making organisation in little over a year. She was totally enthusiastic about my idea, but she did let slip as she waited for the first film to come off the production line ‘the whole project is just one big experiment’!

In the beginning, with the knowledge that anyone with a mobile or digital camera can make films it was difficult to explain boat stories – why it was needed –who would want to watch films of fishermen or working boats - how they would be different. Now I hope the films, blogs and the fact that we are revealing people who wouldn’t normally be on film or have a voice - speak for themselves. We welcome aboard new funders: the West Country Rivers Trust and the Clovelly estate and we are still looking for funders who would like to be part of Boat Stories and help match fund our next four films or final celebratory film show events. We have also received a huge amount of in-kind help from organisations like Lundy or Bideford Film Society. One of many unexpected delights of the year is the fact that Bideford Cinema show our films on their big screen before their main feature. Other organisations like Appledore Book festival, Petroc, Devon Maritime Forum and several local film societies have shown the films and Barnstaple Museum ran a special event and exhibition around the salmon film– a reminder that they are yours to show and share. Don't forget to follow us on facebook boat stories north devon or twitter @boat_stories for updates on new events and films.

So my final thank you goes to you the watchers and supporters for sharing and commenting on our films. The support, comments and enthusiasm have been fantastic and beyond my wildest imagination and kept me going! Please continue to show or share boat stories on social media or send the link to people outside of North Devon. It’s always difficult to watch your own work but for the first time over Christmas, I sat still and watched all five films together with family and visitors. The response was rewarding and it’s lovely to see how everyone has a favourite and everyone champions a different film!

Which leads me to our final films. I have about ten ideas for the remaining three stories but if there’s a story you think we should be filming we’d love to hear from you. We’re looking for interesting people who have fascinating stories to tell. The story must be set in North Devon, feature a working or heritage boat and it must be filmic. By that I mean we want to get out and film an active story on location –on the water! And we’ll do our best to keep up the standard.

More events planned for 2015

I’ve had such fun this year meeting and working with so many lovely people and making films on and about my own patch. Happy New Year to those who have let us briefly into their lives to share their stories and to everyone else who has joined our adventure on the rivers and the high seas. I hope you’ll stay with us to continue the journey and that 2015 is good to you. Jo Stewart-Smith January 2015

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Latest Film Released: Fishing for Clovelly Herring with Stephen Perham

4/12/2014

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Boat Stories' latest film Fishing for Clovelly Herring with Stephen Perham is now complete. You can watch the five minute film on our films page here and read all about the 'making of' on our Clovelly Herrings page.

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Clovelly Herring Festival diary date Sunday 16th November

12/11/2014

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The short of the long is that Boat Stories recommends the herring festival! The following is adapted from an article I wrote for Devon Life in 2009 after the first herring festival. Cheating I know! I will write a blog about the making of our film & going out with the herring fishermen - but I've got to finish the film first...

Clovelly harbour by Charlie Perham

Park above Clovelly, search for the harbour, and at first all you will see is thick woods wearing their Autumn colours, a sea as blue as the sky will allow, slate grey cliffs and a stony shore. The ancient village, tucked in the shelter of the cliffs, hides its secrets well. Cars are banned from Clovelly, so take the opportunity to meander slowly down the history-rounded cobbles and let each bend reveal its story. On a normal winter’s day the steep streets are quiet, just the odd fat cat disappearing behind narrow alleyways. It’s easy to take yourself back in time and imagine donkeys heavily laden with wicker baskets, brim-full of fish, plodding slowly upwards. The sledges which villagers still use to cart their goods up or down are stacked outside the cottages. But on Sunday 16th November the first warning that the village is not sleeping will be the mellow sound of sea shanties drifting up the natural amphitheatre of cliffs. The shops which spill out from the white-painted cottages on “Down-along street” will be open, so will the Charles Kingsley (author of Westward Ho!) museum, so allow plenty of time.

Then turn a corner and from the spot where wives used to watch for returning fishing boats, two arms appear to hug the tiny harbour in a protective, benevolent embrace. The right arm is the sea cliffs leading round to Westward Ho and beyond; the left the man-made harbour wall, decked with stalls, full of local produce and crafts. One final leg and the herring festival with all its bustle and colour is laid out before you. Coming in from the top (you can always ride back up in the landrover!) allows you to plan your day. Take it slowly, breakfast lightly, remember one of the things on offer is lots of different ways to sample the delights of Clovelly herring.

Down along street down to the harbour

Gossiping fish wives at the festival

Stephen explained that picarooners were favoured because they could get into the water and out to a dancing shoal quicker, beating the heavier boats. In those days most of the village men and many women were employed in the herring industry. Stephen was only 12 in 1977 when the nation-wide herring ban grounded the handful of active herring boats, including his father’s. Although the ban only lasted 7 years, during that time, his father and two other traditional herring men died and the industry never recovered.

Before you join the throng, check the boats and look for the traditional Clovelly herring boat –the Picarooner. Built by students at Falmouth marine college -with its simple graceful lines and two red sails - it is beautiful. Stephen Perham harbour master and herring fisherman had her built because he is determine to catch herrings in the traditional way - using oars or sail. And for out seventh film Boat Stories has just been out in the picarooner herring fishing - with Stephen and Peter Braund doing all the hard work.

with Stephen Perham in his Dad's old boat Neptune

When the ban was lifted, Stephen attempted to fish, joining Barry his older half-brother & today his other brother Tommy fishes for herring too. It’s a tough living, some of their friends from the old photographs are missing, drowned at sea. Today all three brothers switch jobs with the changing seasons. One sun-drenched winter’s day, I found Stephen cobbling, patching a chunk of wall washed away by a big tide, selecting the perfect size cobbles off the beach, like his ancestors did. He fishes for mackerel, pots lobsters and crabs, crews the lifeboat and in peak summer months takes tourists round the harbour in his father's old herring boat, Neptune.

The brothers may well be the last of Clovelly’s herring men. I asked them whether the herring themselves had recovered. “Yes, there’s big numbers now in the bay. But they’re still a notoriously fickle fish,” Stephen replied. “Sometimes I fill the boat in ten minutes. Other days we shoot away and catch nothing.” “They hide in the bottom,” adds Tommy, "then rise to the changing light, so the best time to catch them is dawn or dusk. They play for high water and the ebb and flow of the tide.” The brothers are keen to point out that they fish sustainably, using gill nets, drifting on the tide, with holes large enough for the smaller fish to slip through.

Tommy Perham hauling in lobster pots

Mike Smylie with his smoke house

“It’s not the fish that have dried up,” declares Tommy, “but the market. They’re seasonal, like strawberries or mackerel. Customers used to knock on the door asking whether they’d arrived. Now you can get fish 24/7 from supermarkets, ready gutted and prepared. A whole generation of local children has grown up without knowing the special taste of Clovelly herring.”

And that’s why the brothers are passionate about the herring festival – now an annual event. “Why are herring so special?” I ask. The herring swim down from the Irish Sea, arriving in the sheltered waters of Bideford Bay from September on, ready to spawn and lay their eggs. Ripe for breeding, Clovelly herring are in peak condition, rich with health-giving fish oils, succulent and sweet. Go to the festival and try them. Stephen and his sister Rachel will be pan fry fresh herring –simple and delicious. Joe Rossi (Stephen’s nephew) will show you how to cook herring roe –male and female. Roberta will offer marinated herring with a selection of sauces on wild yeast blinis. Jim and Beth from Seadog will be cooking their trademark exotic, world-inspired, street food. And of course there are kippers! Mike Smylie’s smokehouse reminds me of the compost loos found at festivals. I’m allowed a quick peep at the racks of herring smoking inside. I wasn’t sure I liked kippers, until I tasted these, moist, yet sweet and mild, not over-powerful in taste or colour unlike the bright orange supermarket kippers.

I took fresh herrings home and Mike grilled them on our wood-burning stove. Scrumptious and dripping, they make the simplest of suppers with a wedge of lemon, some capers and mayo to dunk the fish, and a hunk of bread to mop up the rich, oily sauce. I’m hooked. SUNDAY 16TH NOVEMBER. Go on have a winter's day out!

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SOME BOATS ARE BACK ON DRY LAND BUT WE'RE STILL BUSY!

5/11/2014

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Ben Bengey & the Silver Sprite being lifted out for winter

Compass Rose being lifted out to spend winter safely on Ilfracombe harbour

On the 4th April, I wrote about the boats being lifted over Ilfracombe harbour wall and into the water and now seven months on, they’ve been lifted back to their winter home in the pier car park. Thanks Ben Bengey for sending us the photos of his boat the Silver Spirit and others hitching a ride!

It was a memorable summer and Boat Stories was lucky enough to go out in at least fifteen different boats along the coast, up river and out to Lundy! Hopefully many of you got out on a boat – if you didn’t, you missed a treat – I’m leaving all the boat trip pages up so you can start thinking about your boat trip next year.

The passenger boats and yachts may be out of the water – but many fishermen have to keep working throughout the winter. And so Boat Stories is still busy. Our film following Paul Stone and the crew of the Sparking Star fishing in the Bristol Channel is now up on the films page of the website. Filmed before the recent ban on ray fishing, it was never meant to be as someone put it – ‘a history film.’ Don’t forget to watch it and share it in support of our local fishermen.

Our next port of call is Clovelly where we hope to film the Clovelly herring story. Follow us on twitter @boat_stories or like our facebook page boat stories north devon for updates through the winter.

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CLOVELLY HERRINGS ARE BACK!

25/10/2014

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I bought my first herrings of the season off Dan the Fishman’s colourful barrow at South Molton Market on Thursday, seven largish ones for under a tenner. Several people were buying and discussing their favourite Clovelly herring recipes. Dan recommended rolling them in oatmeal and putting in the fridge for half an hour, so the oats stick, before pan frying in a mix of butter and olive oil. My herrings were going – on the wood burning stove! “What about the bones?” someone asked. “They’re not bones,” Dan replied – “they’re sea whiskers”. “Guts?” chimed another sceptic. “Herring don’t eat while they’re in the bay – so they’re clean as a whistle,” Dan replied, “all you need to do is chop the head off and pull out the red line”.

Dan with Boat Stories at Foodfest

Clovelly herrings on the woodburner

skins seared and dripping juices

You could do the same on an open fire if you're lucky enough to have one - just keep watch because they cook quickly. Other wise simply roasted or pan fried they're delicious.

Dan can be very persuasive – but Mike, my husband agrees, “it’s got to be one of the easiest and quickest meals to prepare,” he says, very happy that supper is sorted. And because they start to arrive in numbers around mid October and last through to December or January, they’re a great winter warmer. So we light the wood burner. Mike slices the herring deftly right down to the tail, removes the roe (recipes another day!) and opens the fish out flat. ‘Spatchcocking,’ he calls it – what a great word - but apparently with fish it’s known as butterflying or kiting. Then he lays (one per person) on an old Aga toaster – and adds nothing – not even pepper, salt, garlic or oil which is unusual for us. He rakes the embers out flat and the fish go on for less than two minutes each side. They’re full of their own oils, which spit and spatter and as the wood smoke and flames chars the flesh, a delicious, sensual, mouth-watering aroma pervades the house, calling everyone to watch. We eat them with a slice of lemon and a crust of nutty bread from Red Dog bakery to wipe up the juices. And demand seconds. Each year I forget quite how succulent and sweet they are – and the kids all love them! Apart from a quick scrub of the toaster, there’s not even any cooking utensils to wash up!

I check with Stephen Perham, who caught the herrings we’ve just eaten. “I’ve had one or two good hauls now and the numbers should pick up”, he says promisingly. Our next film to go into production will, with a fair wind, be about Clovelly herrings. Meanwhile support your local fishermen by buying herrings from Clovelly, from Dan the Fishman, Passmores in Butcher’s Row or other local fishmongers: contacts on our fish page. The Clovelly herring festival is on Sunday 16th November this year. It’s a great day out, tickets on the day from the visitor centre. I’ll write about it soon as a reminder.

Gossiping fishwives at Clovelly Herring Festival

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Salar the salmon exhibition & event

17/9/2014

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Salar the salmon exhibition at Barnstaple Museum

Turn off the lights & you see the film!

STOP PRESS. Salar the Salmon exhibition has been extended to Nov 8th!

I popped into see the Salar the Salmon exhibition at the Barnstaple museum this week. It’s a lovely, intimate exhibition with a lot of different artefacts from ancient netting tools to rare salmon netting licenses, old photographs and artwork by Jon Lincoln Gordon and Suzanne Hobbs. Our film salmon netting on the Taw & Torridge is playing on a constant loop, projected on to one of the walls. You can hear Stephen’s voice calling you from the landing! I suggest, if you’re not disturbing anyone else reading plaques, turning off the lights for five minutes so you can see the film better! Another highlight of the exhibition is the newly restored wooden salmon netting boat. It’s running until October 18th.

On Thursday 18th September there’s a free open event – a chance to watch the film and chat to the stars Sheila & Stephen Taylor, the boat restorer, the artists and the Boat Stories team. See invite below.

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A busy weekend for our films

3/9/2014

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Clovelly crab & lobster festival

It may be nearing the end of the summer season but there's lots going on this weekend. On Sunday 7th head to the crab & lobster festival at Clovelly harbour. Boat Stories went last year & highly recommends it. We hear the lobster hatchery will be there again and so will a highly colourful lobster on stilts - or two. And if you have to queue for your ticket you can watch Boat Stories lobster film playing in the visitor centre.

This weekend you can also watch our salmon film on the big screen! Showing at Bideford Cinema on Friday and Saturday night ahead of the main feature 'Boyhood.' Doors open at 7pm. Our salmon film is also on show at Barnstaple museum's 'Salar the Salmon' event due to open any day now and on show at Braunton museum. On Thursday 18th September you can come to the museum and meet Stephen & Sheila - stars of our salmon film in person & ask questions. Details to follow.

And finally - our river film is finished -hurrah. So sometime over this weekend hopefully 'Life's Journey on the Torridge' will be available for viewing on our film page!

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Three things to celebrate

5/8/2014

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Boat Stories has three pieces of good news this week.

Our film about an inspirational couple salmon netting has just been released: salmon netting in the Taw & Torridge – watch it on our films page on this website. There’s also a behind the scenes video blog.

Secondly our first film Lobster Potting & the Berried Hens is on the big screen at Bideford cinema at Kingsley school this week – showing ahead of the main feature. On Friday 8th August & Sat 9th it’s on with Belle : An illegitimate mixed race woman is raised by aristocrats. (12A)

Doors open 7pm film starts 7.30pm

And on Sat 9th (doors open 4.30pm) & Sunday 10th (doors open 5pm) we’re on with How to Train Your Dragon 2 (PG) Thank you to William Isaac for making this possible.

Thirdly, Northern Devon FLAG (our main funders) have confirmed funding to make four more Boat Stories films – totalling ten in all. Once again thank you to FLAG and all our funders - listed at the bottom of each webpage.

William Isaac behind the scenes at Bideford Cinema, Kingsley School

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Ideas for a picnic and a seafood feast.

17/7/2014

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To celebrate the success of our lobster film we decided to have a seafood picnic at Morte Point, the place where Geoff’s father began lobster potting in a wooden boat many years ago. It wasn’t quite like that – it was Mike’s birthday and we’d persuaded him out for a coastal walk and a picnic – which I was probably supposed to prepare. But the forecast was rain showers and although we were determined to walk we agreed we should probably go to a pub instead.

seafood picnic by the sea

We dithered because we wanted a long walk and Mike wanted to fish. I should have made that picnic! Then I remembered Mor Shellfish T –Eat, in the square at Mortehoe, run by Geoff’s sisters (selling Geoff’s lobsters and crabs of course) who feature in our film. I rang them on 01271 870633 and Cath said she could have a seafood platter ready in minutes.

So mad dogs and English families (I think Cath and Sally thought us a bit mad) we headed out to the coastal path in the rain, carrying our seafood platter and a bottle of chilled white (not on Boat Stories budget I promise you.) As we walked along, I wondered if we were following the same route the Huelin children took when they went to help their father haul his wooden potting boat out of reach of the tide. Mike climbed down the rocky shore to fish and we girls sat out of reach of the salt spray, watching the world go by. Amazingly, although we could see beyond Barricane Beach to the lighthouse on Bull Point in one direction and over to Baggy in the other (Woolacombe beach was hidden by the headland) the only human life we saw was a potting boat – possibly the Compass Rose, heading home to Ilfracombe.

curious seal watching us

OK so it was drizzling – the rain had blotted out Lundy Island. But it was still a glorious experience feasting on lobster and crab and salad with the swell crashing against the rocks and the odd gannet and two curious seals watching us watching them. I don’t think we disturbed the seals – the tide was rising, the rocks not particularly comfortable - it didn’t look like a good spot to haul out. Between four of us we couldn't manage the seafood platter for two (though we added a French baguette and the wine) we had it for lunch the next day too.

If instead of a picnic you’d rather have your seafood Mediterranean-style, sitting out under a brightly coloured umbrella watching the fishing boats coming in and out of the harbour then head to Ilfracombe.

S&P café and fish shop

Every time Boat Stories has been busy slaving away in the harbour she has looked longingly at the punters sitting outside S & P’s café enjoying their seafood platters or crab sandwiches (lobsters and crabs landed by Lady of Lundy) and their wine. To be fair - Boat Stories has been known to hold the occasional meeting at the café... after all it’s only a stone’s throw from where the trawlers tie up. A reminder that S & P fish shop also sells wet fish which comes directly from their trawlers. 01271 865923 see our fish page or scroll down to find an earlier blog on S&P.

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A Day out on the dive boat Obsession 11 (& how she came to Boat Stories rescue thrice)

OUR FIRST NINE MONTHS

Latest Film Released: Fishing for Clovelly Herring with Stephen Perham

Clovelly Herring Festival diary date Sunday 16th November

SOME BOATS ARE BACK ON DRY LAND BUT WE'RE STILL BUSY!

CLOVELLY HERRINGS ARE BACK!

Salar the salmon exhibition & event

A busy weekend for our films

Three things to celebrate

Ideas for a picnic and a seafood feast.

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