The classic French fishing vessel Nebuleuse has paid a fleeting visit to Falmouth’s Custom House Quay ahead of what is set to be an exciting year for the vessel.

The former tuna boat, which is based in Paimpol but registered in Camaret, is expected back here next week with more passengers enjoying weeklong trips from Brittany.

On May 12, 2018, this unique vessel will transport a 3.2 metre high, seven-ton granite statue of St Piran, currently being sculptured in Mabe, from Falmouth to Brittany.

Cornishman David Paton and Breton Stéphane Rouget have been commissioned to create a sculpture for a project which aims to bring together statues of 1,000 Breton saints while showing off and encouraging traditional granite working techniques.

As part of the project’s tenth anniversary, the founders are aiming to forge closer ties with other Celtic nations by having sculptors from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall create pieces which will be shipped across the Channel aboard La Nébuleuse, before being mounted on a Breton granite base at the park in the Vallée des Saints.