Channel View Publishing Plymouth
The cost of printing two books between them containing a total of around 1,250 colour photographs of boats alone, presented a major problem. Channel View Plymouth Publishing was born of a need to keep the retail cost to affordable proportions.
A unique collection of colour photography was started as a fishing boat identification aid by Stewart Lenton who is a volunteer watch keeper at Rame Head NCI (National Coast Watch Institution) station Cornwall. All boats are logged as they pass National Coast Watch Stations, but the name and number of fishing boats are often obscured by nets etc. hence around the end of 2002 Stewart started making his photographic identification aid.
The photographs were admired and requested by other NCI stations, and Stewart soon found himself supplying his photography not only to them, but also to Harbour Masters, Coastguards, Lifeboat crews, boat owners, and the like. Thus he has attempted to photograph every registered fishing vessel of any size or type in Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly making this collection of photographs unique in its comprehensiveness, and a useful reference for anyone with a need to know about fishing boats in the South West peninsular.
Many who saw the collection, including commercial fishermen, expressed a wish not only to acquire particular photographs but to see or own the whole in book form. Thus it was decided to present the collection as two volumes of books (The Fishing Ports and Boats of Cornwall & The Fishing Ports & Boats of Devon).