The last two “thin” fingers have been widened to three planks. I was hoping to get this finished early on in the season, so am delighted that it has finally been done as we draw towards the end of the season. Almost “drectly”. For the observant amongst you, you might have noticed that there are three types of…
We have purchased a green marker (in place) and a red marker (to be placed) to make the channel to the Yacht Club more obvious. We have also added Max 6 Knots To Ferryboat just to re-emphasise the speed limits on the river. I think I ordered one size too big! When I measured it out it seemed to…
The moorings are full, the holiday cottages are all booked in the village and from this week the Bar and Restaurant is open from Friday and Saturday for the season from 4pm, while the take away service will run every Thursday – see below for more details. Not everyone has the same perspective on Covid so it is only fair that we all…
We have more new boats than ever before – at least under our stewardship. So welcome to the crews of Jeanie, Obi, Auriel, Idler, Seaskate Fourteenn Crevette, Coburg, Scruffy, Sea Spray, Wagtail and a number of un-named boats.
The trot and swing moorings have been serviced by Seawide Services. We have removed trots 1 & 2 to give more room to the boats on the pontoon by the Clubhouse and have replaced them with two new swing moorings. Not before time, we have also added boards and fenders to the landing pontoon and the pontoons…
At the end of June there was a “tense” rescue situation as Simon and Charlotte Boote were forced to head back to the landing pontoon after engine failure. Turned out the pipe inside the fuel tank had fallen off, preventing any fuel from getting to the engine. 15 tools later, the offending vessel (the fuel tank)…
Nare Point opened again on 25th May providing a watch keeping service 7 days a week from 09.00 to 17.00 covering the mouth of The Helford, Falmouth Bay and the Coastal Path. The 66 volunteer watch-keepers are now operating a full service inspite of having reduced volunteers and having to create a single-person watch rota due to Covid….
We have decided to serve twin markets as we go on to the next exciting stage of lockdown lottery. There are a good number of you who are tentative about going out to dine and there are some who cannot wait. We have therefore decided that we will continue to do a weekly takeaway, initially…
It’s been a frantic first week or so since the restrictions on boating were lifted. It’s been wonderful to see lots of people on their boats, kayaks and paddle boards enjoying the water and the amazing weather we have had. Please remember to keep your social distance from other people at the club. There seems to…
The pontoon and beach are completely full and for the first time since we took over, the trot moorings are full as well. Please be aware that there are pick up lines between Trots 1 to 8 and 9 to 15. We have put floats on all the lines to show you that they are there. Don’t…
We got a call from George’s son Russell on Wednesday to sadly let us know that, after quite a long illness, George died on Tuesday surrounded by his family. It was not Covid related. George was a charming, smiling Scouser who absolutely loved the Helford and all things boating. The picture here encapsulates this kind man. Our thoughts go…
The parking is reserved for people on the pontoon (who pay a premium), the holiday lets and for the bar and restaurant customers. Please please can you park in the village before going out on the water. Kayak, paddle board and dinghy owners might turn up when there is one inch of water, find an empty car…
One member looking for a small sailing dinghy to learn how to sail. One member looking for a dory type boat – 13 to 16 ft. And one member looking for a Shrimper 19ft or Cape Cutter 19ft or something similar.
Following Boris’ recent announcements, as from Wednesday 13th May, people are free to travel by car to the Club and use their boats provided that: They do so alone or are a family group living together And that everyone maintains social distancing of 2 metres According to the RYA website, from Wednesday 13th May “unlimited outdoor activity will be…
All the moorings are ready for use and have been since 1st April. However, on the pontoon there are a couple of boats that are on the wrong berths because owners have not been able to move them from Winter moorings out onto their moorings on The Helford. When you want to get your boat onto its place on…
The UG (Uncle Giles) is getting some well deserved TLC. Phil Clark is very kindly making a new hatch cover for the forward deck and she is going to get a wash, a good internal paint and some danish oil on the woodwork. To do this work I will put her on the slip for a few days….
Does anyone claim this inflatable? It’s been on the wall of the shed for almost year with no name. I have put a notice on it but no-one has called. If I hear nothing by return, I have a buyer who will make a contribution to HRCST.
We hope that you and your families are all coping with the current situation. Ant and I feel very lucky to be living in this beautiful place, especially at this time. Fingers crossed, we believe that we still might enjoy some part of the season as the Government amends its restrictions in the coming months. In…
We’re very sad to report the untimely passing of Alan Gardner. Many in Port Navas will know Alan as the always cheerful and generous former owner of Port Navas Yacht Club. Sandra, Alan’s wife, has said that their years owning PNYC and getting to know all the members were some of the happiest years of…
In the next few months we will be doing some work on our club tender, The UG (Uncle Giles). Phil Clarke has very kindly repaired the oars. She could do with a good clean, a lick of paint and some Danish Oil. We are also putting three kayak racks down on the pontoons below the…
Dear AllWe hope that you all ok. This is such an unprecedented event – unless perhaps you listened to Bill Gates in 2015: We are constantly looking at Government Sites for advice – Maritime Service, Coast Guard and other Helford River sites. At the moment all the advice is as follows: Keep your distance No…
Our kids have been told that they will not be returning to school until September….! This is going to create some interesting moments in The Ellemann household. Martha’s A-levels, end of school, summer jobs, working in a school in Zambia and then travelling have gone out of the window. So the girls have been dying…
The new Government guidelines regarding essential travel preclude us from progressing with the Friday Feast takeaway that we were planning for this week. We will instigate this scheme if and when we can. I imagine this will be a possibility before we are allowed to open fully again. I have been looking into the history…
Port Navas, alongside Constantine and Mawnan Smith, have put together a Volunteers List to provide assistance to PN residents who might need help. If you need help yourself details are on the Port Navas website: portnavas.com/ and for Constantine: constantinecornwall.com/
We were sad to learn of the death of David Burke in Port Navas last week. This followed on from a period in hospital at the start of this year. David was a charming and joyful man and will be sadly missed. Our thoughts go to Jane and the whole family. There is more about David on the PN…
Along with a friend from up-country, Tim Hunt, we have put new decking down on two more pontoons. We even had enough sun yesterday for T-shirts. The anti slip strips are to follow once it stops raining! There are a couple of cleats missing because we had to cut the bolts off. These will be put…
We have a Shrimper on the pontoon that a member is looking to sell. £5,950 or nearest offer. For full details contact Tom on 07798 824435 or admin@pnyc.co.uk
Work on the path beside the slipway leading on to the beach wall has been completed replacing the old, cracked surface that was there – thanks Tony, Pete and Mike.
Continuing my work as a slightly haphazard DIYer (probably with emphasis on the ‘hazard’), I have to report that while installing some insulation in the big corrugated shed, I managed to angle-grind my way through the mains supply. Amazingly, and much to the electrician’s surprise, there was no large bang or, more to the point, electric shock. So now…
In the next couple of weeks Tony and Mike Comyn will be re-concreting the path from the slipway to beach moorings 1-5, replacing the cracked and irregular surface. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.
We have undertaken some work on the wall in the bar area in an attempt to kill the draft monster that lurked in the corner. Having peeled away the thin garden cladding we have re-wired the interesting collection of wires that we found (a professional electrician not me!), put in insulation, sprayed insulation foam liberally around and…
We had a great evening on 14th November when nine teams of four competed in our second Quiz and Curry Night, this time in aid of The Village Hall. The competition was ferocious, some of the marking was fiendish and there was little to choose between the teams. In fact, we went to a tie break between…
The Committee is looking for some new volunteers to help organise next year’s regatta which in on Saturday 1st August 2020. This fabulous event, which is over 100 years old, relies on people from the community helping. As well as creating a fantastic day out, it also raises money for a number of charities ranging from…
From Friday morning to the end of Sunday we are predicted high winds up to 46 mph with gusts at greater speeds. We are well protected being out of the Helford River but nevertheless it might be worth checking moorings today to make sure that everything is in good condition. I will be going down during the…
The Ladies loo has had a complete make-over and all that remains is to find the brass “Ladies” sign that I carefully put away in the shed for future use and which is proving increasingly difficult to find. The unisex loo will now revert back to Men Only.
The Regatta was by all accounts a great success with lovely weather, very competitive racing (I believe there were 18 kayaks racing in one event) the beer tent was drunk dry and Brian Roper gave away the prizes with smiles all around. Thanks to all those who came and to all those who helped make…
It is with huge pride that we would like to congratulate the whole crew of Black Dog for coming first in The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s 2019 IRC National Championships. Flying their PNYC burgee, this was the first time this amateur Cornish team entered these Championships, taking on mostly professional or semi-professional crews. “We haven’t…
The Ladies Loo should be back up and working by the end of today I am told by the builders, ending our brief foray into a unisex environment. A number of people have requested that the ladies be re-opened, including Ant, and so this has been undertaken. I will need to change the signage on…
We have one beach mooring, one swing mooring and 6 trot moorings available. But all the pontoon spaces have now been taken. The trot and swing moorings have been serviced by Seawide Services. The lure of a drink after work proved too much so the crew parked up on the landing pontoon and they all adjourned to…
Peter and Margaret Goad, much loved and long standing managers of The Club, have sent us a picture of their boat Andante proudly flying the PNYC burgee on The Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. This joins a burgee from Guernsey from Daniel and Vicky Williams and a lost-at-sea burgee found off Penzance and returned to…
Ant and I attended the launch of the HRCST facilities at Travassack Lake last month. It was a great turnout on an overcast day. We were really impressed with the lake. Although an old quarry, it feels much more like a sheltered lake with a pretty island in the middle and wooded banks all around….
There have been two undramatic rescues so far this season. Steve and Mel pulled in The Boulton’s after engine failure a few weeks ago. And yesterday, Martha and Friends were rescued by mum and dad from The Helford after another engine failure. Hard to blame Martha since it was our faulty engine over heating…
Last year we installed a number of stainless steel shackles on eyebolts so that people could tie up their dogs. To our horror and disappointment we have noticed that all five shackles that where outside have been nicked. I can’t decide if I prefer the thought that it was just one person helping themselves to all five or…
Huge apologies to members and neighbours for the inconvenience caused by the extended works and the shear number of vehicles clogging up Quay Road. We had hoped to be finished by now and are pulling out all the stops to get the work finished.
Building work on the Old Kiln should be finished within the next 6-7 weeks. It will be available for week long lets from July. The house has two big double bedrooms, one smaller twin bedroom, three bathrooms and a massive open plan living room/dinning room/kitchen room plus a lovely garden that gets the afternoon and evening sun….
A new book on the colourful history of the Helford has been penned by one of PNYC’s very own members, Christian Boulton. Due to be published in May, Five Million Tides is described by Sir Tim Rice in his forward as having been written with “skill, panache, enthusiasm and authenticity”. Very different in tone to the…
Much to Ant’s satisfaction, we are going to re-decorate and then re-open the ladies loo by April – slightly hedging my bets by not saying whether the beginning or the end of April. Interestingly it has not just been the ladies asking for their own loo. Apparently a number of gentlemen don’t like enjoying the…
It’s a glorious Boxing Day morning with the Sun shinning and blue clouds. Ant and I hope that you all had a splendid Christmas. The plan was to get this off on Christmas Day but being my usual chaotic self, this was superseded by events including a much-longer-than-anticipated stay at The Trengilly Wartha Inn for a…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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!
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.
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
New members are welcomed and Social Membership is only £25 per year.
Visit our Members page to find out more.
