REBECCA LEADS MOON AND MILDRED AS THEY WEAVE THROUGH THE INNER HARBOUR
This year the Annual Oyster Festival was restored to its previous location in Falmouth’s Events Square in the big marquee. The festival is to celebrate the starting of the new Oyster season when fishing starts in the Carrick Roads. Just two square miles of the upper reaches of Carrick Roads supports the Oyster Fisheries. Local bylaws designate the permitted dredging periods and areas. They enforce the restriction on the boats that dredging can only be carried out by sail or manual hauling. Te size of the catch is monitored with the use of size gauges used onboard and all small’s returned to the seabed.These measures serve to prevent dredging in the breeding season,and, most of all preserve stocks, this makes the fishery one of the most sustainable and eco operations possible. The local fishermen are a hardy breed and are masters at boating and especially sailing. Rivalry between the dredging boats evolved into summer adhoc racing up until 1979 when The Falmouth working boat Association was formed to try and regulate the boats establish handicaps and divide the boats into two fleets.
COUPLE OF OYSTER GAUGES USED TO MEASURE THE LEGAL LANDING SIZE
The Oyster Festival Race is open to three categories B Class nominally 28ft, C Class boats up to 25ft. And commercial full time dredging boats, ( who normally have smaller working rigs and are not set up for racing) . In recent years unfortunately the dredging fleet has not put up any entries.
This year the weather was not good with a moderate S. to SSE. wind and drizzly rain which luckily, did clear as the race started. John Maunder and his race team laid the start line near the Vilt buoy with a beat to Governor buoy before turning in to do three laps of the inner harbour. Places changed due to flukey winds especially negotiating around a large jack-up rig moored on the end of the docks. It is a lovely sight to watch these iconic boats sailing in their home port.
We also had the pleasure of being joined in C Class by Dicken Rogers, sailing his own boat the beautiful gaff rigged ‘Kathleen’, although not competing in the race made up the numbers.
The final race results on corrected times:
C Class: 1st. Juanita, Jon Brunee. 2nd. Iris Elizabeth, Peter Cauldwell.
B Class: 1st. Rebecca, Verity Slater. 2nd. Mildred, Dave Cockwell. 3rd. Moon, Patrick Selman
The leading boats were presented with annual trophies and all competitors a bottle of wine and a set of beer tokens for the crew. The Marine Band were in attendance and the combined voices of the sailors, the Oggy Men and Band Members there was a rousing ‘shout’ of traditional songs just like the ‘ole times. That is what it is all about!!
At the conclusion of the prize giving a few words were said about the extremely sad news of the passing away of one of the harbours most renowned Oyster and racing sailors, Timmy Bailey RIP. See separate News section.