After a successful 2022 Porthkerris trip the stalwarts of Pete, Karen and Andy proposed another trip for May 2023, in honour of the coronation and most importantly the plethora of Bank Holidays! Being on a very basic campsite with no power, limited mobile reception and tucked away at the tip of the Lizard peninsular was an excellent way of avoiding all coronation celebrations, Bah Humbug!
The stalwarts plus Luka, Steve and Ian had set everything up on 29 April and got the boat, boat 1 the Humber, moored in the bay for easy access. It helps that Porthkerris has the world’s largest tractor to launch and recover the boat as that beach could be fatal for cars and vans trying to launch. The beach can also be fatal to unfit divers taking gear over the pebbles to the boat so several trips taking gear down in bite size chunks is highly recommended. That’s my technique at least.
Down in Cornwall the weather and viz gods had got their acts together and all was looking good. Calm seas, no wind, sunshine, good viz, outstandingly good company, Five Pilchards Pub in the next bay (easy to walk down hill to in daylight, less easy to walk back up hill in darkness), but overall, King Charles had arranged our trip well.
I (Dave) joined the trip on 30 April and Xanthe, Laura and Graham joined in the week.
All was good until the weather gods lost their rag on the Wednesday and strong winds from the east meant that all boats had to be out of the bay and Wednesday and Thursday were walking and pub days. Wednesday’s walk along part of the South West coastal path was good until the route was closed for bridge repairs. We then found ourselves looking for non-existant stepping stones across an estuary, and ended up doing jungle exploration a la Attenborough. We persisted and found ourselves in a very affable New Inn in Manaccan. This was a stroke of luck as King Charles had picked the very same pub for a pre-Coronation jolly and was happy to share a pint and some salacious stories about Camilla. He was happy for us to take photos to prove it.
Wednesday also saw the introduction of sunroofs for tents as the high winds ripped a roof section out of Andy’s smart “Air” tent. I thought the “Air” tag meant it was supported by air filled “poles” not that it had a very airy hole in the roof.
Thursday was also blown out and became a Falmouth exploration day, sourcing trailer U bolts and exploring cafes. King Charles had run off back to London – wimp!
Weather improved for the end of the week and more wrecks were dived and octopi spotted.
Wrecks done included The Mohegan, Volnay, Spyridon and Carmarthen. All good stuff
The stalwarts brought the boat back at the end of the trip in torrential rain and are to be applauded for their dedication to the cause.
All in all another excellent trip!
