WandererWest 24

Wanderer West: June 2024
by Andrew Powell (abridged)

Well, here I am again, writing about the fabulous time we had in Cornwall at Wanderer West. For three consecutive years we have stayed at Coastland’s campsite so I will start by listing all the reasons this site is the ideal place to base a dinghy event:

1. Coastland is a campsite dedicated to people who enjoy water sports. The simple fact that you can store, rig and launch your boat from the field adjacent to where you camp means my non-sailing wife can go off in the car with my crew’s non-sailing wife, and explore the lovely country-side, makes it a great holiday for all of us.
2. The campsite is lovely: you wake to look out on the beautiful River Fal, and the facilities are well-thought-out and beautifully maintained. The staff (Clair, Tom, Alex, Tilly, Charlie and Hobie the dog) are very helpful, and can provide a rib call-out service if needed (thankfully, not needed so far) and a tractor to pull boats up the beach after a day on the water. This service was very well-used.
3. There are lots of places to visit in your boat. To list just the most popular, up-stream, towards King Harry Ferry, one can explore Restronguet Creek, Loe Beach, and Trelissick House Bay. Down-stream you can land in St Mawes harbour, or go out to sea and land on Swanpool beach. Or you can just bimble around in the Carrick Roads, which are lovely and wide.
4. There are plenty of places to shop and eat near the campsite. We had a lovely evening together in the Lemon Arms pub, and this year we discovered Castaways, which is a short walk from Coastland, and also serves delicious food.
5. Falmouth, with its shops, restaurants and museums is a great place to visit when the weather is unsuitable for sailing.

There were 29 WCOA members at Wanderer West, along non-sailing partners. Between us we sailed in 13 Wanderers and one Gull. We are by no means the only sailing club to discover Coastland; this year we arrived as Sutton Bingham Sailing Club was finishing, and left just as the first car arrived towing a Tideway!

What We Did:
Wanderer West officially started on Tuesday 11th June, but there were four of us WCOA early-bird boats there ready to sail on Sunday, and we all made up the Fal to Loe Beach This is very popular with locals for swimming and all forms of watery family-fun with everything from crocodile-shaped inflatables to quite big power-boats. Timing is crucial for a successful landing on Loe beach: get the day wrong and you will find the café closed!

Tuesday had more moderate winds and part of the fleet fancied quite a long passage up to King Harry’s Ferry. Paul and I, in his Gull, opted for a more modest passage plan to the bay overlooked by Trellisick House, a lovely National Trust property visible from the campsite, and a very pleasant place to meet up with our wives.

Wednesday dawned fine and, with Wanderer West officially underway, a fleet of eleven Wanderers set off on what is my favourite trip: a passage to Black Rock and St Mawes. It was as we set off on this day that we all got “droned” so footage of this sail should be shown in future, especially at the Anniversary Dinner at the RNLI College next year. Black Rock is an isolated navigational hazard, but a very picturesque one, with attendant seals, situated in the mouth of the estuary. The faster boats spent time circling this feature and photographing themselves and each other. Slower boats, like my own Medusa, headed straight into St Mawes and had to forgo all the selfies. St Mawes is a tricky harbour to enter at times. One must be careful not to obstruct the very frequent ferries, and cope with winds which can be charitably described as “fickle”. As usual, we pulled up on the beach near the hotel in St Mawes. It was a great place to be as we sat facing our tethered boats, eating our sandwiches, and locally procured chips and ice-creams! It was a lovely cruise back as well.

Thursday was wet and windy and no one went out! In the evening we gathered in the Lemon Arms pub for a great evening meal.

In spite of mixed weather, Wanderer West 2024 was a great event! Thanks again to John Sharples and Martin Overton for organising it all.