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Either sailing or motoring around the bay from Trevissome is
quite straightforward
You don't
really need charts for navigation just a tide timetable as some areas up the
rivers will dry out at low tides. A cheap local chart will show you where
to avoid during low tides and will be a guide to where the oyster beds and small
fisheries are, so that you can avoid disturbing them. It will also show you the
areas that are designated for water-skiing, tyre pulling etc.
The channel is clearly marked from the moorings out through the river past
Flushing to the bay itself. The town harbour offers 'visitors' mooring, all year
round. The Royal Cornwall yacht club is close by, as is the Green Bank Hotel pub
with good meals and the Marina bar offers both food and drink with a view of the
river.
You can access about 20 cafes and restaurants from the visitor's pontoons in
town and there is a good café at the Water Sports Centre, close to the maritime
museum, which has its own pontoon.
There are pubs at Restronguet and Percuil that serve meals and have their own
pontoons and you can also eat at Flushing and St Mawes villages. There is now a
drop off pontoon at the famous Trellissick Gardens (National Trust) and if you
get the tides right, you can moor at the pub at Malpas and even get into Truro
city.
There are beaches only accessible by boat around St Anthony's Lighthouse
(Lighthouse Beach even has a little mooring pontoon) and many more around the
headland and in the Helford River. There are pubs and pontoons at Helford and
Helford Passage. Fowey is also very popular with good access from the water.
There are slips at Falmouth, Mylor, Flushing and just about every village next
to the water. The fishing is quite easy, offering about 20-30 species from
Mackerel and Pollack to Bass and Wrasse.
Although you would prefer a calm day to get out past St Anthony's Lighthouse or
round to the Helford River, the rest of the bay, Truro river and Penryn river
are very sheltered and offer good cruising on even quite windy days. Up the
Truro River by Trellissick is the second deepest natural harbour in Europe and
it is navigable even by large tankers, some are laid up in the river whilst
awaiting refitting or new contracts
Its not as simple as navigating inland waterways, being tidal and having
access to the open sea but its very sheltered and calm most of the year.( if
you've got the range, you can even venture out to the famous Manacles and the
many , many historical wrecks for both fishing and diving and the possibility of
a trip to the Scilly Isles is also realistic for the experienced sailor).
There are so many places to visit and so many places to moor your boat that it's
hard to make any recommendations. St Mawes and Flushing are lovely if you want
extremely up market and pricey, and Falmouth centrally has so much to offer
visitors, including a leisure centre and the National Maritime Museum. Places on
the Helford are popular with fishermen and divers, though a bit further from the
calm inner waters of the Marina and Harbour.
There are places tucked away up the rivers where you can just moor and chill.
Bob Black

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