FALMOUTH scenes:
We sailed out of Falmouth in company with a variety of superyachts who were preparing for racing in Falmouth Bay in an event called The Pendennis Cup - it was quite a sight seeing them raise their many sails and begin zigzaging around. One of them had a man 40' up a mast, though whether they had a problem or it was his normal station was not clear.
SUPERYACHTS: |
| The Lizard, with a yacht our size for scale (that yacht is now moored next to us in Newlyn) |
We sailed down to and around the Lizard, keeping a respectable 3nm off as per the Pilot advice to avoid tide rips and races (although other, no doubt local, yachts went closer in). We had a pleasant F3 from the NE so on our quarter, and we ambled along with blue skies and sparkling seas. Eventually in Mounts Bay the wind died away and so reluctantly it was engine on for the last 2 hrs into Newlyn.
Newlyn is a very commercial fishing port, quite rufty tufty with huge trawlers all the way down to tiny fishing smacks. We were very lucky to get one of the 9 places available to visiting yachts - there are 9 of us squeezed in with the trawlers growling past our stern as they come and go. The people who run the harbour are very friendly, but the facilities are somewhat basic (Lesley says that's an understatement - for instance there's a gents toilet and no ladies, and the gents is clearly used by everyone who works in and around the harbour). We didn't even inspect the shower ... better not to know. The town is nice, quiet (even on a Friday night) and feels very authentic - not a tourist attraction in sight.
Test comment from Nic
ReplyDeleteHi, Nic and Lesley,
ReplyDeleteYou're clearly having a good time!
Great blog and photos, as ever.
My limited knowledge tells me the creatures you saw were dolphins rather than porpoises, but who knows??
Try to get onto Portland on your way back - we spent some of our happiest days running our dogs on the headland at Portland Bill in earlier years. Portland is very run down, but Weymouth is not far away. And Portland has many interesting features... Chesil or "Cheswill" suffered enormous damage during this year's storms, and the gabions are interesting. There is an interesting WW2 history. A prison on the island. Portland stone (St. Paul's Cathedral) is still viable, I think. There used to be a great Indian takeaway in Chesil, though this could now be a Lidl, or similar, I guess.
Laura sends her love.
See you soon. Love, Gareth