A Timeless Cornish Gem set on the Helford River
Port Navas Yacht Club is a friendly members club that welcomes visitors.
Founded in 1958, the Club is part of the picturesque village of Port Navas, set on the beautiful Helford River. From the Club you have access onto The Helford river and out into Falmouth Bay. Or you can go inland down the river to Gweek passing ancient oak forests on the way – but make sure you get the tides right.
The Club welcomes visitors – by boat, by foot and by car.
We have 26 Pontoon berths, 18 creek moorings, 32 beach moorings and racks for small dinghies. Parking is, we are afraid, limited. Where possible, or when the car park is full, please could you park in the village and walk along the charming river front – it’s a three minute walk and good for you!
Visiting boats can use the pontoon, The Club, the shower and the loos.
Our small and quirky Club house serves great value food and drink.
PNYC is managed by Tom and Antonia (Ant) Ellemann.
- Moorings, Membership and Admin call Tom on 01326 340525 or email admin@pnyc.co.uk
- Restaurant Bookings call 01326 340065
Opening Hours for Autumn and Winter
Thursday – Saturday 6pm ’til close
Please call 01326 340065 to book your table
Sep
And breathe…….
The autumnal feel to the weather coincided perfectly with the end of the school holidays and suddenly our roads and beaches are half empty; time to take stock and breathe more easily. We have now reverted to off-season opening hours – open from 6pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
With the season change there will be gradual tweaks to Mike’s menu as time goes on, so keep an eye on the website for the latest incarnation. For example, there will be a new hake dish on the menu this week with braised lentils and a black olive crust, plum bread and butter pudding which was introduced last week and a new beetroot starter are all moving into the warmer and richer autumnal flavours and styles.
Nigel is on his holliers for the next ten days, so Helen and my girls, Grace and Amelia, will be looking after you out front along with Jess, Jake and Jules.
We are fullly booked on Saturday – sorry – but still have space on Thursday and Friday.
Hope to see you soon.
Mike & Nigel (in absentia!)
Sep
MOORING FEE CHANGES
As mentioned in earlier newsletters, after at least five years of no change, we have reluctantly and with much thought changed our mooring fees. One member cheerfully asked me whether they were going up or down and, sadly, I have to confirm that they have gone up. Over the last 18 months we have been working hard to improve the club; totally renovating the men’s loos and the shower; re-building the beach wall; putting in a fat trap and a new treatment plant (more on that below); putting additional anchoring on the beach chain; news buoys with top mounted rings for the trot moorings; and a start to improving the pontoons. Going forward we intend to do further work on the pontoons (particularly the floats), renovate and re-open the Ladies loo and generally paint everything.
In spite of the changes to the mooring fees, we believe that we are still incredibly competitive in terms of fees on The Helford River.
We have posted the new mooring fees on the website and I have sent a letter to every single mooring holder. The biggest change is to the beach where we have decided, after much thought, to create two types of fee. The first is a fixed price for keeping a small tender, i.e. 10ft and under, on the beach. And the second is a per foot or part thereof fee for boats between 11 to 17 ft, which is the same system used for calculating the fees for the pontoons, trots and swing moorings.
I am happy to talk anyone through the changes.
Sep
SMELLS
I have noticed an increasingly bad smell on the pontoon at low tide. This has been caused by the new treatment plant which seems to be expelling a layer of fat which you can see on the mud between the wall and pontoon. This should NOT be happening and I have contacted the company that installed the treatment plant to get it sorted as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we apologise for the unpleasant smell at low tide.
Sep
HRCST GOLF TOURNAMENT
Teams of 4 or individuals looking for a 4 are invited to an 18 hole Texas Scramble at Budock Vean Hotel on Friday 28th September in aid of The Helford River Children’s Sailing Trust. A pasty lunch + prizes + raffle + drinks and reshresments + a great cause. For information and entry forms contact rowan@hrcst.org.uk or call 07555 785102
Sep
ELLEMANN FAMILY SAILING
On a personal nautical front, I can confirm with great pleasure that our boat is finally working (mostly) and we have been on four trips. The last one, over to St Mawes, ended in an alarming moment as we were getting into the water taxi. As the weight came onto one side, suddenly the front two deck hatches in the cabin popped up and great swell of water came out of the bilges. The immediate thought was “!!!!!!! we’re sinking!” I admit to a moment of panic as I envisaged our new second-hand boat settling onto the St Mawes’ harbour bottom. But rather than a Titanic sized hole, it quickly turned out to be a hose from the cooling system which had popped off and was filling up the bilges.
My second report is the total and abject failure of Oscar the Owl and his ability to scare away the gulls which have been using our boat as a loo. Thanks to Iain McLaren for the photo which he sent me!
I was told at Macsalvors that I might have to move the owl around the boat occasionally as the seagulls get to learn that it’s not real. Well, it took the Port Navas gulls about 20 minutes to work out that Oscar was plastic.
BRIAN SPARGO’S NEW FRIEND
On a similar note, Brian has been spotted with a new friend called Nigel – an incredibly confident gull who’s taken to sitting on the boat until he get’s a fish from Brian. Perhaps it’s the same gull who’s become a mate of my not-scary-at-all-owl?
Sep
PNYC BURGEES
Thanks to Daniel Williams (brother-in-law) who has sent us a picture of his PNYC burgee on Sintra in Cherbourg. This is currently the furthest afield so far. Charles Richardson is running a close second on Juno with his PNYC Burgee being lost off Penzance and then kindly returned by Robin Chiffers who found the burgee floating in the sea.
Aug
A right pair of tarts!
That’s no way to talk about Mike and Nigel! Well, really it is about a pair of tarts not about a couple of dodgy old boys running the club!
Mike has tried, with some degree of success, to present pastry dishes using the limited equipment at hand. But try as he might, he has hankered after some decent tartlet tins, and they arrived this week. Coincidentally, our friends Kevin and Carolle presented us with a batch of delicious fresh figs from their garden in Seworgan, so this has given Mike the opportunity to introduce a new starter to the menu and to revise the presentation of the cherry tart on the desserts section.
The fig and onion tart above is in a savoury pastry case, topped with Boy Laity cheese.
The restaurant is pretty busy for the rest of the month, so it is advisable to check by phone for availability.
The summer season is coming to a close and Mike is looking forward to a bit of sailing on a Tuesday evening. Managed to do three days in Falmouth Week, but seems to have been pretty happy to get out of the windy conditions for a few days too!
We will no longer be open on Tuesdays after next week (21st August)
Hope to see you soon.
Mike & Nigel
Jul
BEACH MOORINGS
Please can I ask all users of the beach moorings to:
- Put a bucket over their outboard propeller
- Try to ensure that all the boats are pulled out alongside each other rather than some in front and some behind.
We have had one instance of a boat damaging another one with it’s un-covered outboard propeller digging into the bow of the boat as they sat one in front of the other.
I have, with the very kind permission of the owner, removed one boat from the end of the beach to make more room. That boat is now on a trot giving you all a bit more space. I am sorry that it has been so crowded this year in spite of removing two places from the wall.