Following on from the page - How It Started...
I wanted to add to 'How it all started...' by adding an important story that has been retold many times recently, and although the concept started in the 2010s, and was finally supported in 2022, there is an important chapter that occurred in 2018...
The 'Alf Smythers' anchored of Douarnenez Temps Fete 2018
Feeling melancholic about the oyster industry on the Carrick Roads, Mylor, Falmouth, Ranger set sail for a maritime festival he first went to in 2006, where he said to himself "one day, if I own a boat, I want to sail her here"...
But, crossing the English Channel and navigating the notorious Chanel du Four down to the Bay du Douarnenez, about a 150nm, in an open boat, with no crew, a small 4hp outboard engine, about 20 litres of fuel, a few charts, a handheld GPS, about 10 litres of water, a few instant noodles and a few chocolate bars, is not for the faint hearted, in fact the two old fishermen, that welcomed him the day the festival opened, were to say the least, in awe of his "intrepid" passage, so much so that they took him around the harbourside bars and generously celebrated his achievement with him...
Douarnenez 2018 - The Tin That Started It...
It was at the 2018 event that Ranger was handed a skippers & crew bag of goodies, which included a tin of sardines, but not just any tin, a tin printed with the 2018 Temps Fete poster on it, and when Ranger asked Mael "where were these produced?", Mael replied "in Douarnenez"... and Ranger replied "not the product, but the tins..." and Mael again replied "in Douarnenez"... so at that moment Ranger realised the concept of Cornish Tinned Shellfish could actually happen, for without 'tins' there is no 'Tinned Fish'...
In July 2022 Ranger was crew on another vessel to visit the bi-annual maritime festival, but the Cornish cannery did not exist yet, despite being awarded some funding in May, he did find his lovely jacket here though! So it was not until July 2026 when Ranger could visit the Temps Fete, sadly due to health only by van and ferry, but that wasn't going to stop him...
And so the circle was complete, 8 years in the making, Ranger and Mael enjoying some Cornish Sardines, with tins made in Douarnenez, Cornish Sardines canned in Mylor at Ranger's Cornish Canning Co cannery, enjoyed in Douarnenez, and another interesting fact, Douarnenez is twinned with Falmouth, so long may the story continue...
Main image of Mael & Ranger in 2026 courtesy of: Le Télégramme/Vincent Le Guern
« J'ai dû commander 27 000 boîtes » : grâce aux Fêtes maritimes de Douarnenez, Chris Ranger a lancé une conserverie… d'huitres et de moules ! Pêcheur et ostréiculteur de 51 ans basé à Falmouth, dans les Cornouailles anglaises, avec son voilier Alf Smythers, Chris Ranger est présent aux Fêtes maritimes de Douarnenez, ce week-end. L’occasion pour lui de saluer ceux qui lui ont permis, lors de l’édition 2018, de lancer la seule conserverie de poisson des Cornouailles en activité. Le Britannique Chris Ranger (à droite) et Maël Terry (à gauche), membre de l’équipe des Fêtes maritimes. C’est lors d’un passage à Douarnenez en 2018 que Chris Ranger a eu l’idée de développer son activité de sardines en conserve, après avoir été mis en relation avec des professionnels locaux du secteur par Maël Terry. (Le Télégramme/Vincent Le Guern) Appuyé sur une canne pour soulager ses douleurs récurrentes à la hanche, Chris Ranger, casquette vissée sur la tête, déambule sur les quais du Rosmeur, en ce jeudi 23 juillet, jour d’ouverture des Fêtes maritimes de Douarnenez 2026. Pour cet ostréiculteur de 51 ans, basé à Falmouth, dans les Cornouailles anglaises, avec son voilier Alf Smythers, il aurait été impensable de ne pas être au rendez-vous cette année. « C’est ici que tout a commencé, grâce à Maël (Terry, coordinateur maritime de l’événement douarneniste) », affirme-t-il dans la langue de Shakespeare en montrant une conserve de poisson en métal vide, à l’effigie de Temps Fête 2018.
For those like me that are not fluent in French/Bretagne, here is a rough translation:
"I had to order 27,000 tins": thanks to the Douarnenez Maritime Festival, Chris Ranger launched a cannery—for oysters and mussels! A 51-year-old fisherman and oyster farmer based in Falmouth, Cornwall, with his sailing vessel *Alf Smythers*, Chris Ranger is attending the Douarnenez Maritime Festival this weekend. It is an opportunity for him to greet the people who helped him launch Cornwall’s only active fish cannery during the 2018 edition. British national Chris Ranger (right) and Maël Terry (left), a member of the Maritime Festival team. It was during a visit to Douarnenez in 2018 that Chris Ranger conceived the idea of developing his canned sardine business, after being introduced to local industry professionals by Maël Terry. (Le Télégramme/Vincent Le Guern) Leaning on a cane to ease recurring hip pain, Chris Ranger—cap pulled firmly down—strolls along the Rosmeur quays this Thursday, July 23, the opening day of the 2026 Douarnenez Maritime Festival. For this 51-year-old oyster farmer, based in Falmouth, Cornwall, with his sailboat *Alf Smythers*, missing this year’s event would have been unthinkable. "This is where it all began, thanks to Maël (Terry, the maritime coordinator for the Douarnenez event)," he says in English, holding up an empty metal fish tin bearing the *Temps Fête 2018* logo.
Article by: Par Dimitri L'hours -