As I sit writing this at home, the sparrows in the garden don’t know whether they are coming or going! In and out of my neighbours eaves, they seem to be nesting again in the warmer weather, presumably convinced that spring has arrived again. Oh well, they will need to start looking for an ark…
The weekend just gone was very quiet, our quietest since we opened in January, so we are guessing everyone is saving for Christmas! Talking of Christmas, the entire Maguire family are decamping to Bristol next weekend for their annual “Christmas Shopping” trip, and we are generally short of staff, so we will be offering limited…
Having been basking in temperatures around the mid twenties in Rome, it was a bit of a shock coming back to Port Navas last week. Mind you, looking at the local reservoirs, we need the water. It is nice to get back into the swing of things. Having put my boat away last Monday in…
Mike is away on leave for a couple of weeks so the team will be running the kitchen without him. There will a reduced and simplified menu during this period and we would ask for patience if things are a little slower than usual. PNYC Wine Tasting evening: Wednesday 21st November 7pm Don’t miss it!…
With the pressure of summer behind us, it is now easier to get a table at the yacht club, so not always necessary to book ages in advance. We have plenty of space on Friday evening (12th October) and a couple of tables free on Saturday (13th October) On Sunday, we are pretty full for…
We have now reverted to off-season opening hours – open from 6pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Mike is still tweaking the menu with a couple of changes this week. Chicken liver parfait, a smooth pate flavoured with port. This is served with a soft black grape chutney. The grapes, muscat, were grown just up…
It is with great sadness that we are reporting the tragic loss of Richard Winfrey who was laid to rest at Mawnan Church on Saturday. Richard was a huge character who will leave an indelible mark on this community – in Mawnan Smith, within the shooting fraternity and on the Helford as a rower, sailor and drinker….
It is with great sadness that we are writing about the tragic loss of Richard Winfrey who was laid to rest at Mawnan Church on Saturday. Richard was a huge character who will leave an indelible mark on this community – in Mawnan Smith, within the shooting fraternity and on The Helford as a rower,…
He didn’t have to fly. Or twit or twoo. Or even move. The ONLY thing this owl had to do was frighten away the gulls. And I am afraid to say that he has been ruddy useless. As reported in the last newsletter, it took less than 20 minutes from his arrival on our boat…
10ft Anarth tender for sale – navy blue exterior, white interior. £450 ono. Please contact John Blatter on 01326 341066.
A child’s life jacket and a small pair of shoes have been left at the Club for a number of weeks. Does anyone know who they belong to? Call Tom on 01326 340525.
We have now reverted to off-season opening hours – open from 6pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. After 8 months of hard work, we are now priviledged to become unofficial tax collectors! We have reached the VAT tax threshold, so, unfortunately, from the beginning of November we will have to start charging VAT. With liquor…
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…
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…
We have three boats racing under the PNYC burgee – Black Dog, Rebecca of Helford and Juno. Black Dog came first in the IRC Class 1at the Dartmouth Royal Regatta last weekend – see this link for results: dartmouthsailingweek.com/single/latest-results
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…
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…
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…
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…
A few photos from this year’s Regatta. If anyone has more photos we’d love to show them here. Just email jeff@mdws.net.
Just a gentle reminder about parking. We are, as we all know, extremely limited with the parking. The Upper and Lower Deck flats are rented all the way through to the middle of September and they take up two spaces. In addition, the bar and restaurant needs spaces for their customers from 3pm Tuesday through…
Thanks to Richard Butler for helping me repair the pontoon. One of the metal connections holding a pontoon had sheared off but that has now been replaced thanks to some on-the-spot welding.
One of our burgees has very kindly been picked out of the water by a passing yachtsman, Robin Chiffers, just off Penzer Point between Mousehole and Lamorna. Robin is posting it to me at the end of his sailing trip. Do let me know if you have lost your burgee!
A gorgeous evening in Port Navas for the private view of the exhibition of Helford River sketches by the late Tom Cross. Unfortunately your photographer only managed to take a handful of photos before he became distracted by the art on display and the art lovers in attendance!
From Tuesday 3rd July until Saturday 25th August the bar and restaurant will be open from 3pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (closed Sundays and Mondays). From 3pm you’ll be able to get drinks and teas and coffees and from 6pm food. Tuesdays will have a shortened bar snacks menu, while Wednesday to Saturday will…
If anyone wishes to organise a private party of 12 or more for lunch (for instance if you have family down to stay), Nigel and Mike would be happy to open for you. Don Garman recently had a private lunch for members of the National Coast Watch.
Member Robert Reid has a lovely Silhouette Mark 3 plus a tender for sale – £600. 17ft, fibre glass hull with a Lloyds Certificate. Good sails, new skeg and moored on the trots at PNYC just behind the big trimaran. Price includes a 2 metre fibreglass tender. Call Robert on 07815 324342. In addition, if the purchaser wishes to take over the mooring that can be arranged as well.
The shower is really for visiting yatchs using the visitor moorings. Unfortunately we have had two “incidents” in a week. First someone used it to clean off their mud, probably after wading around in the creek. Fine to do this but they left the shower in a terrible state. And then at the beginning of this…
In the spirit of the on-going trials and tribulations of a surprise yacht club manager, let me tell you about the club burgees. We have now sold all 20 of the hand stitched club burgees and I have ordered another 20. Having talked to the manufacturer, he confirmed that the cost price would be the same as…
The Helford River Children’s Sailing Trust are running a full programme of courses throughout the summer. Our three kids have all gone through the various RYA and Power Boat courses and they are brilliant. The kids seem to have a great time, whatever the weather, and the parents get time off !!! There’s more information…
There have been a few queries about the membership structure so I thought I would lay out our thinking.
Please see the Members page…
Tom
Apologies for this late up-date but we are pleased to announce that PNYC’s Juno won the first COGS Offshore race of the year to Roscoff with PNYC’s Black Dog in third place. The 100 mile Ancasta Roscoff Night Race took place on Friday 5th May with light breezes. We are setting up a PNYC Racing…
I was congratulating myself on the success of putting four new stones onto the beach chain to stop it moving as I drove into Tim Marsh’s granite quarry in Mabe to pay him. There was a handwritten sign saying “office” with an arrow pointing up a very narrow track lined with piles of granite. Naturally…
May 25th: It was a mild evening and a great turn-out of friends and neighbours for the private view of Tiffa’s exhibition: Botany and Boats. Mally Francis, Tiffa’s botanical tutor, and her husband Charles came all the way from Heligan. The paintings were much admired and lots of red dots were deployed!
Plans are coming together for summer activity in the bar and restaurant. Bearing in mind our advancing years, we are not going to work ourselves to the bone, so have decided that we will open from Tuesday through to Saturday evenings from the beginning of July. Lunchtime opening is still being debated! Tuesday evenings will…
We want to put up a page on the website with recommended people who can provide services for the members. If you would like to recommend people who service engines, clean boats, do covers and awnings, carry out boat maintenance including fibre glass and wood and anything else that might be useful, we will add…
The Club holds your name, address, email address and contact numbers so that we may keep in touch with you with regard to your boat, your moorings and more generally, to relay information to all members about The Club. We have added these details to the PNYC Mailchimp Account which allows us to send out this newsletter…
Last newsletter we offered to give away an undefined trolley which I, wrongly, assumed was a canoe trolley. Peter Goad, the creator of the said trolley, kindly contacted me from New Zealand to explain that it is in fact an inflatable trolley. Et viola ! We are trying to keep the Club tidy and uncluttered (although the current…
There’s a bit of a dog theme this week – hence the picture at the top. We have put a dog loo at the entrance to the Club. Last year we tried asking people not to leave their bags of dog poo in and on our bins, kindly suggesting that they use the dog bin at the…
Please could you name your engines, oars and lifejackets in the Engine Store. I have taken the liberty of adding a small sticker on each engine in the store so that you can add your name and contract number and have left a couple of permanent markers for you to use – one for the engine stickers and one…
Last year Black Dog registered under PNYC and had a cracking season. We are delighted to announce that two further boats are registering under the Club and are intending to take part in The COGS this year (Cornwall Offshore Group Series). We have Juno, a J109 with Johnny Walker and his crew. And Rebecca of Helford, a Rustler 42 with Charles Richardson,…
With help from my lovely friend Tim Hunt (PNYC Member for Hammersmith), we have re-planked the first pontoon as you come into the Club and put on anti-slip strips. We will remove all the remaining chicken wire this week, re-place any broken boards and put down a combination of stainless steel mesh and anti-slip strips….
There will be the inevitable “mooring madness” at the start of the new season as boats move from Winter moorings to Summer Moorings and new members arrive. We have 4 new pontoon members, 7 new trot & swing mooring members and 6 new boats on the beach – welcome to you all. If you have…
I have turned to youtube and my limited DIY skills to replace the wooden fencing in front of the staff car parking which Peter Goad put up. This fencing also had two canoe racks which have fallen apart over the years. With limited knowledge, I am a firm believer in having lots of tools to make up…
Two of the six gas burners weren’t working properly in the kitchen so we had a specialist come in to have a look. While looking at the burners, he noticed that we didn’t have an automatic shut-off system linked to the fans in case of a power cut which has become obligatory a long time…
Following the theft of two outboards from Annabelle Lucas’s shed (aka Decibel) some 10 days ago, we have changed the combination lock on the engine store which is the first shed on your left as you enter the club. It was pointed out to me that with a small amount of muscle you could wiggle the small…
I joined Brendan Rowe and his team of 4 from Seawide Services this morning as they serviced the trot and swinging moorings. They have all been checked and cleaned for the Spring. It involves lifting each buoy out of the water and then a driver going down in zero visibility to check on the connection to the…
Courtesy of Hannah Darling, Dilys Gardner, Natalie Tippett and Lisa Burke. Click to enlarge.
OK. This time we have snow. Quite a lot of snow. And very very icy roads. So much so that my planned trip down to The Club to take pictures had to be abandoned. I therefore don’t have any pictures of The Club in the snow for this newsletter so here’s a glimpse of the…
So 5 or 6 years ago we had a similar amount of snow. And the kids loved it. But we didn’t have, and couldn’t buy, any sledges. The snow lasted about 24 hours and then was gone but I cunningly bought three plastic sledges for the next time it snowed. Smart right? But it didn’t…
The latest batch of some 50 membership cards were posted today. Thanks to everyone who has signed up again. If you know of anyone who should be a member, do drop us an email with their details and we’ll get in touch! Many many thanks to all those with moorings who have, or who are,…
One canoe has been re-united with it’s owner. The second canoe, this one below, remains unclaimed and will be “re-cycled” to a member if still ownerless by the end of next week (I have 3 members interested on a first-come basis).
Thank you to all those who have already sent in forms or emails about membership. Your support to The Club is invaluable. There are forms available to download on the website and forms in The Club which Nigel is kindly handling for us when open and there are also forms available in the loo in…
Wonderful Peggy has died aged 101. She was with her son John and other family members. She moved to the village in 1956 with her husband Douglas and was very much part of the village. She wrote the definitive history of PN – The Story Of Port Navas – which is available at The Club…
There are two “traditional” sit-in canoes (see above) that have been lying around at The Club for at least 3 years. Would the owner/s like to claim them and the back payment in storage fees? If we don’t hear anything from the owners, would anyone like to have them since they have no known owner….
The Management must apologise for the ongoing works in the car park. After an initial promise that the main tank would be in not later than 18th January, we are now told that this will be completed on Friday 9th February or Monday 12th February. And just to add to the chaos (and contrary to…
After a heavy fall of less than an inch (at least near us), many of the local roads were turned into multiple pile-ups as drivers panicked and drove their cars into each other and into the surrounding countryside. Fortunately we can report that PNYC remained open throughout out the day and no-one was involved in…
Very sad news this morning: Peggy Shepperd, our village’s oldest resident, passed away peacefully at her son John’s.
Peggy had been at the centre of life in Port Navas since she and her husband Douglas moved here in 1956. Together they published the definitive history of the village in 1994. Peggy produced a much expanded 2nd edition of ‘The Story of Port Navas’ in 2016 just before her 100th birthday.
Peggy was a remarkable lady and we will all miss her greatly.
Unfortunately the hole remains a hole, albeit with a large tank inside. I am assured that it will be finished before next Thursday !
Letters or emails are going out this week to all those who had moorings last year. Everyone is of course able to secure the same moorings they had last year and the good news is that prices remain the same again this year. There are potentially a couple of pontoon berths available as well as…
It is with HUGE delight that the Bar and Restaurant will open this Thursday, Friday and Saturday under the new management team of Nigel Logan and Mike Maguire. The new menu will be more reasonably priced than last year. The Club will be open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 6pm going forward. Thursdays will have…
Ant has kindly taken over managing the Membership which is £15 per adult for the year. You can download a membership form here: Social Membership Application or email Ant at admin@pnyc.co.uk and she’ll send you a form. The form tells you what to do. You can pay online, or send a cheque to our home or you can pay by cheque,…
Thanks to all of you who came. It was great to have The Club literally bursting at the seams – one local (who shall remain nameless but who lost his plums last year) tried to get in but it was so full he went home! Thanks to Mellissa on keyboards and to all those who…
I promised to let you all know what Alex and Patrizia are doing next. They are moving across the river but only ten minutes away by boat as they take over the stewardship of The Helford River Sailing Club. They are starting on the 1st February but please look at the HRSC website for more details – helfordriversc.co.uk…
The new treatment plant is very much work in process. Unfortunately work has stared one week later than agreed but I am assured that The Club’s treatment plant will be in by Thursday !!!! The work has not been helped by the weather or the fabulous job the original Cornish builders did on building the…
Tony and Mike have made good progress on the wall along the beach, including putting in the footings for an additional set of steps to help with access on and off the beach.
19ft Orkney 590TT. Yamaha 50 petrol engine and Mercury auxiliary engine. GPS and Fish Finder. Trailer. Cover. Chemical loo. Available with pontoon mooring at PNYC if wanted. Perfect day boat for The Helford with cuddy. Price £10,750.
In a bid to defeat our sewage monster (which raises its unwelcome head after heavy rains) a new treatment plant is being installed between 4th and 16th January. This will mean some disruption to the car park, for which apologies in advance. At the same time we’ll also be replacing the ancient and ailing septic tank of Quay House. This…
This is a project. Needs work. 20 ft Colvic. Cabin with two berths, loo and cooker. Inboard diesel engine. A good home wanted. Price £500. SOLD
Nisse Men, the little guys who help Father Christmas sort the presents out (a Danish thing), were caught on CCTV this morning, the 1st December. It’s a very rare sight and an early sign of Christmas.
My brother-in-law Daniel won last week’s “spot-the-deliberate-newsletter-typo”. He pointed out that baby swans are “cygnets” not “signets”. Well done Dan! Actually I must apologise for a combination of appalling spelling and, I swear, the occasional auto spell-check correction when I press the publish button. Once I managed to send out a series of emails from Port Navas Watch…
Ant and I would like to invite you all to a Christmas glass of mulled wine and nibbles on Wednesday 20th December between 6pm and 7.30pm. It’s a chance to say goodbye to Alex and Patrizia, hello to Mike and Nigel, a happy Christmas to everyone at the club and maybe – just maybe –…
Nothing literary I’m afraid. Instead I’m owning up to scattering a number of empty polystyrene food boxes all over Port Navas on Monday night as I did a late evening run to the dump. As every box had our address on them, it wasn’t exactly an anonymous crime. Tuesday morning saw me rounding up 6 of…
DO YOU WANT TO TEST YOURSELF? Feeling brave and athletic? Sailors, runners and cyclists are being sought to take part in the 6th South West Peaks Yacht Race taking place between Friday 15th to Sunday 17th June next year. The race is for teams of 6 as you race from St Mawes to Plymouth and along…
Tony and Mike have started work on repairing the second part of the beach wall. We have moved a couple of boats from the beach to the empty pontoons while work goes on – I hope that’s ok with those concerned. The plan is to put another set of granite steps at the far end to…
A rather nice Suzuki 4 Stroke outboard has found it’s way into Alex’s food storage shed in the car park. It’s either been gifted to the club or put in the wrong shed (the engine store is immediately on your left as you enter The Club). If it’s your, please call Tom on 01326 340525…
The corrugated shed has a new exterior standard three pin double socket to the right of the door as you look at it, just above the post box hole – and not before time! We have also re-wired the marine three pin plug on the pontoon side of the shed. Next on the electrical list is fixing…
If you want to keep your boat at PNYC for the winter then do let me know. Pontoons are available for the whole or part of the Winter and cost less than parking it on the hard at Gweek for instance (£26 per foot from 1st November to 31st March for the whole of the Winter)….
It is with pleasure that we can announce that the mooring fees will not be going up next year. But – and here’s the inevitable sting-in-the-tail – to give you plenty of warning, we will be reviewing them for the 2019/2020 as they won’t have changed for over 5 years by then.
The Club dinghy is finally back on station after a well needed overhaul by Duncan Skingley from Gweek Boatyard (call Duncan on 07817 875706 if you need any boat work). At the suggestion of our children, she is to be renamed The UG – a nickname they had for Uncle Giles.
We lost two good friends of PNYC last week. John Toogood, an irrepressible and charming man. And Bernice who has graced the club for so many years. We send all our best wishes to their family and friends.
Port Navas is mourning the loss of one its most committed community members. Bernice Wickens died in St Julia’s Hospice on the evening of Friday September 8th. Bernice was involved in all aspects of village life – from the maintenance of Pope’s Garden to the management of the Village Hall. She and her husband Roger…
We celebrated Olly’s 8th and JC’s 58th birthdays in the club on Friday night. A great night had by all – thanks. Olly chose us because he loved Alex’s Tiger Prawns on his last visit.
The old 14ft club dinghy is currently being refurbished by Duncan Skingley at Gweek boatyard and will be back by the end of next week. New running strips and transom have been added and the lockers on the boat are being repaired. We’re also putting in floorboards. She should be back on station by the end…
“Rollock Gate” has been resolved. Lovely Nick Dalton, of impressive stature, explained that he and an equally statuesque friend, had borrowed the club dinghy but they couldn’t fit in the boat sitting side by side. So rowlocks were cut to allow them to row fore and aft – and in the process one retaining cord was…
We are launching the Big Fish Award (an annual trophy will be awarded) for the heaviest fish (unguided) bought back to the club by a member. Launched on Friday on the spur of the moment, so far we have two entries with Graham Newton in the lead with a 1.44 kilo bass and Nick Dalton in second place with…
It was the anniversary of Giles’ death on Saturday. Thanks for the many kind messages and words. We miss him terribly. On the same day Black Dog had her last serious COGS race and Stuart, Simon and team dedicated it to Giles with the PNYC burgee proudly flying. In spite of some hairy moments (including gybing downwind…
Someone has cut the cords attaching each rollock to the club boat. No doubt this was done in good faith but leaving the rollocks loose at the bottom of the boat is a sure way to lose them. I will restore the cords and ask that they are left as they are. Thanks! The club tender is…
We are talking to Penryn-based Seaware who are a well established chandlery business selling to trade. We are planning to create a small selection of items – sinking running line + shackles + blocks for the beach moorings, fenders, anti-fouling paint, oars etc – which we can offer members at trade price plus 15%. Once we have created…
Thanks to Mike and Jaquie Freeman of Aquila who have donated a wheelbarrow to the club – great for loading up your gear.
The Club was thrown into turmoil on Saturday morning when plums were found in the sink in the loos. But following an extensive investigation they were found to be Roger McDonald’s plums and they have been re-united with their owner.
The beach is quite full this year. Please could owners ensure that their lines are tied off relatively tightly against the wall (leaving only one of two feet of play) because some of the boats are swinging around and getting in the way of other boats. Secondly, could you make sure that you are using…
August 19th Photos by Jeff Meadows and Jinny Leybourne
Just to remind you – if it’s needed – that Alex and Patrizia are open for lunch (12-2pm) and dinner (6-8pm) EVERY Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We have added a nicely priced Kids Sausage and Chips to the menu as well. If you do want a table it is always best to call 01326 340065…
Thanks to everyone who helped organise and run the Regatta and thanks to everyone who came, helping it to be a great day. And even the sun shone! On a personal note, after 19 years trying and a number of seconds and thirds, my brother-in-law Daniel and myself finally won the adult Run and Row…
The new burgees have finally arrived and they are great. They are available to any member and at cost price which is £39.99. I have a number of people who have already expressed interest. Just let me know if you would like one and I will put them aside. They will be available for sale…
New members are welcomed and Social Membership is only £25 per year.
Visit our Members page to find out more.
