Newquay
May 13, 2019
The north coast of Cornwall throws up new challenges for sailing. No more deep anchorages or safe marinas. Instead a rocky coastline, sandy beaches and few safe harbours.
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Newquay is famous for its surfing beaches, but tucked in the southern corner is a tiny harbour looked after by Mike Ridgeway (who I met in St Ives) and his assistant Phil who was super-helpful in finding us a space on the wall amongst all the busy fishing boats.
Phil sees very few yachts venture into Newquay Harbour (last year he counted 4!), and as the tide retreated out of the harbour we found out why! We felt Good Dog's keel gently resting on the sand...so far so good, and Toby taught me how to "tip" her slightly into the harbour wall and after we tied off the top of the mast to a secure concrete bench...... we waited to see how she settled forward, with no water supporting her. Almost indecernably she tipped onto her bow which although looked a bit dramatic had no consequences other than leaving our cabin beds at a funny angle! Up at 4am as the tide rose, we moved her to be near the harbour entrance so we could catch the afternoon high tide to Padstow. Meanwhile we had a perfect opportunity to scrub her bottom and check her propeller. .
Phil runs a very calm harbour, but his patience was tested last year when the Padstow lifeboat brought in a limping motorboat. Newly purchased in Weymouth by two non-sailors, they planned to deliver the boat to Liverpool for a friend. 3 rescues later, £2,000 of fuel spent and a 999 call to the National Coastguard Institute (NCI) requesting a 4th rescue..... they ended up in Phil's harbour for 6 weeks!
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Who are the NCI? Well they are a wonderful body of volunteers who man the tiny huts on the cliff tops keeping a watchful eye on all shipping and assisting any rescues etc. As we sail past them, we call them up on the VHF channel 65 and thank them for what they do. Anthea, who we had spoken to earlier in the day came to visit us in Newquay and it was lovely to be able to thank her personally for the work she does.
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About the Harbour Master Sailing Challenge: I am circumnavigating the #UK attempting to visit every #harbour with a HM.
.
Newquay is famous for its surfing beaches, but tucked in the southern corner is a tiny harbour looked after by Mike Ridgeway (who I met in St Ives) and his assistant Phil who was super-helpful in finding us a space on the wall amongst all the busy fishing boats.
Phil sees very few yachts venture into Newquay Harbour (last year he counted 4!), and as the tide retreated out of the harbour we found out why! We felt Good Dog's keel gently resting on the sand...so far so good, and Toby taught me how to "tip" her slightly into the harbour wall and after we tied off the top of the mast to a secure concrete bench...... we waited to see how she settled forward, with no water supporting her. Almost indecernably she tipped onto her bow which although looked a bit dramatic had no consequences other than leaving our cabin beds at a funny angle! Up at 4am as the tide rose, we moved her to be near the harbour entrance so we could catch the afternoon high tide to Padstow. Meanwhile we had a perfect opportunity to scrub her bottom and check her propeller. .
Phil runs a very calm harbour, but his patience was tested last year when the Padstow lifeboat brought in a limping motorboat. Newly purchased in Weymouth by two non-sailors, they planned to deliver the boat to Liverpool for a friend. 3 rescues later, £2,000 of fuel spent and a 999 call to the National Coastguard Institute (NCI) requesting a 4th rescue..... they ended up in Phil's harbour for 6 weeks!
.
Who are the NCI? Well they are a wonderful body of volunteers who man the tiny huts on the cliff tops keeping a watchful eye on all shipping and assisting any rescues etc. As we sail past them, we call them up on the VHF channel 65 and thank them for what they do. Anthea, who we had spoken to earlier in the day came to visit us in Newquay and it was lovely to be able to thank her personally for the work she does.
.
About the Harbour Master Sailing Challenge: I am circumnavigating the #UK attempting to visit every #harbour with a HM.