HMS Sentinel Plus.

Patrolling the English/French Channel.

We have a problem that has mushroomed and will continue to exist wither we Brexit or not, that of smuggling people from France to the southern-England. The English Channel is one of the busiest in the world, with one ship every eleven miles apart east to west and mostly Ferries every five miles north to south, this does not include fishing boats, yachts and other military vessels.

One only has to go to Marine traffic to see the complexities and congestion of this sea!  Meanwhile the French navy has dedicated 30-40 ships to patrol their waters and the British Royal Navy 3-4 of the HMS Sentinel type cutters.

We have not heard much in relation to France intercepting these migrant smuggling boats? But it has mostly been the general public on this side of the Channel who see these flimsy craft sinking, if not the smugglers themselves.

Serious cut backs in the armed forces have over the last few years been pointed out by the U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama, as having a potential on N.A.T.O. deployment capability of lack.

These boats are fast and very manoeuvrable at sea and they are effective in use as Customs Cutters, the problem of just twelve for the U.K.'s waters is a serious lack and by the time more vessels are built and commissioned we may be swamped, as Nigel Farage is pointing out to the E.U. open borders policy?

Hunters of the Sea. Part-One.

Fishing Industry.

Have you seen the two recent programmes on television in relation to what fishermen get up to at sea? The Catch and Trawler Wars open to the general public where our hake and cod today comes from and the risk endured daily by crews in all weathers at sea.

Fishing vessels come in all sizes from small one man and his fishing rod to factory ships, but generally they are in the Trawler class. These classes of vessels vary from nation to nation in how they are built and laid out, but they basically all try to do the same thing.

These two programmes and I am sure their are many other, reveal that the fishing industry is surviving on the edge. European quota's and many other International agreements do not benefit fishermen from individual nations, because it now allows others to fish in their waters and vise versa.

Pleasure Boats.

From the Sea to Rivers.

No matter where you go around the world, you will see pleasure craft they are usually small and can navigate between rivers and the sea, lakes and some large canals.

People like to be their own Captains of the water world, but they are a relaxing form of transport. The pleasure boat industry is big business, after Yachting and Speed boats. 

These boats still can be turned into profitable money making ventures, such as line fishing at sea.

Trawlers. Part-Three.

Varied Kinds.

Every part of the globe has different types of fishing boats both new and old. It would seem that everyone has adapted their boats to deal with their local sea conditions. My book may be a bit out of date now, but it records that there are of twenty-eight different types of Trawlers, Seiner and Stern trawlers.

From inshore boats to deep water and various types of Lobster and speciality fishing.boats, these vessels use a variety of mechanics to lift a choice of five types of nets Trawling, Seining, Purse Seining, Long lining and Drifting.

Most deep water boats are designed to roll with the waves and this may help them not to capsize?

Bigger fishing vessels are known as Factory ships and Whalers, there is a huge demand in the worlds supermarkets and wholesalers for processed fish and tined varieties to.

Trawlers. Part-One.

Reapers of the Seas.

Many people today are against the idea of mass fishing and the work of the Trawler men, they have accused them of 'Raping the Oceans of fish and destroying natural habitat and fish stocks. In this three part series we will look at the machine that was created to use trawler netting, the international laws being implemented on net sizes and fish quotas and then move on to look at the counter debate and their ideas.

The Trawler began life in the Bristol Channel, off the North-Coast of Devon, U.K. These wooden boats used larger nets and weights to keep them being dragged along the sea bottom. Prior to this it was a process of hit and miss. There reason for being created, was the demand in fresh fish.

Today with the invention of the engine and many new designs of hulls, these boats are able to handle most difficult conditions at sea.

Fishermen or Fisherfolk have gone to sea for generations and this applies across the globe. The knowledge of knowing where the shoals of fish are, at certain times of the year has been traditionally handed down from Father to son. Whole communities have suffered severe tragedy over the centuries with losses to the cruel sea's.