Those mooring
at Mylor Yacht
Harbour have
access to a full
service boatyardT
he light coming through my companionway
hatch woke me. There was no sound, no
wind, just a gentle thud from the tiller.
I drew back the hatch and stepped into
the cockpit. Looking over the sprayhood,
I could see the white painted houses
of Malpas, at the junction of the Truro
and Tresillian rivers. The kettle’s whistle
broke the stillness; it was a good morning to be alive.
I’d had a lovely sail the evening before. The
day had been spent looking around the National
Maritime Museum Cornwall, a short walk from the
boat on a visitor’s berth at Falmouth Haven just off
Custom House Quay, the closest marina to the town.
Returning to the boat, I had to walk past the recently
refurbished Chain Locker pub – it would have been
rude not to stop off for Cornish pale ale and to take
in the eclectic mix of nautical knickknacks. Time
and tide wait for no man, so it was just the one pint.
I had a couple of hours to make it up the Fal
to Malpas and reacquaint myself with the cruising
ground of my youth. I waited for the racing fl eets
of the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club to set off before
heading across the harbour to Trefusis Point.
I hugged the coast up towards Penarrow Point, giving
myself plenty of clearance as the water shallows here.
From there, the sail towards the green Carrick buoy
was relaxing: the wind was light but warm and as
I approached the dogleg at Turnaware Point, I opted
for engine power. Although the westerly breeze would
follow the river for a while, the high surrounding
trees and bends in the river reduce its effect. Just
around the corner was the King Harry Ferry, and
I didn’t want any unexpected drama going up the
river. Past the ferry, the Fal turns east and then
north and occasionally, you’ll fi nd large ships
moored in the middle of the river.
Although the Smugglers Cottage Restaurant is
no longer open, it is still possible to use a visitor’s
mooring or tie up to the pontoons for a barbecue
ashore. The northern
branch of the river is
the Truro river and is
navigable on a rising
tide; the River Fal heads
east and shallows to a
muddy creek, although
it eventually dies out to
the north of St Austell’s
china clay pits.
Going north up theTruro, there’s a shoal on the inside as the river gently
curves to starboard; a starboard lateral mark helped
keep me check I was in safe water.
Once attached to the visitors’ buoys off Malpas,
I went ashore to the public slipway next to Malpas
Marine, now run by the Port of Truro. A walk up
the hill brought me to the Heron Inn where I ate
dinner and drank a pint while overlooking my boat.
Next morning, I retraced my route back downriver
with the ebb, the dinghy following obediently behind.
The sun was out and I was almost tempted to stop at
the National Trust’s Trelissick, and take in the view
from the imposing country house and gardens that
look south over Carrick Roads, the vast gaping mouth
of the River Fal, but it would have to wait for another
day; I was off to St Mawes. With very light winds
from the south, it was a straightforward motor
south towards St Mawes Castle, passing close to the
southerly cardinal mark to clear the shallow patch
between the buoy and the castle. I anchored just to
the north of Amsterdam Point in the outer harbour
and took the dinghy to the beach. I wandered along
the road to the 16th-Century castle and sat for a while
looking at this and her more impregnable bigger
sister, Pendennis Castle.
After motoring out of the harbour, I chose to
anchor off Great and Little Molunan beaches in
the shadow of St Anthony’s Lighthouse, the white
guardian that looks over the entrance to the Fal.
As the afternoon progressed, so did the breeze
from the south, which stirred my slumber and made
me haul up the anchor before I headed north for the
deep-water channel to take me up to Mylor and then
on to Restronguet Creek and the Pandora Inn.
I arrived slightly earlier than I expected and found
a spot on the Pandora Inn’s pontoon. My plan was to
leave the boat here and take the dinghy up the creek
to explore the River Kennall, but the smells from theAs the a ernoon progressed, so did the breeze
from the south, which stirred my slumber
A LONG WEEKENDMany a sailor has enjoyed
a pint in the 16th-Century
Chain Locker pub