Helford River - anchoring

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

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www.keepturningleft.co.uk
I spent Sunday up the Helford River

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helford_River

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I wanted to drop the hook but was really confused by the signage

does anyone have any local knowledge about where I can anchor without being told to move along there by a man in a skiff

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There has been quite a bit of annoyance over the signs which were introduced a few years ago. However anchoring downstream of those signs, between them and the moorings, is common and many people anchor off Tremayne Quay, there is a deep pool opposite for those of us who can't take the ground. The notes on the Admirarlty Chart say avoid the beds marked on the chart, which is fair enough but they are not actually marked by buoys. So if you can avoid those bits you are playing the game. I've not heard of anyone being moved on for anchoring up the river, perhaps others can add to this?
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http://www.helfordrivermoorings.co.uk/general.htm
 
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foeu said:
There has been quite a bit of annoyance over the signs which were introduced a few years ago. However anchoring downstream of those signs, between them and the moorings, is common and many people anchor off Tremayne Quay, there is a deep pool opposite for those of us who can't take the ground. The notes on the Admirarlty Chart say avoid the beds marked on the chart, which is fair enough but they are not actually marked by buoys. So if you can avoid those bits you are playing the game. I've not heard of anyone being moved on for anchoring up the river, perhaps others can add to this?
88bf64f516f146831c7f3ef18422d18a_zpsuglh0dqy.jpg

a43a4622761a88da15361a8c0ac3a796_zpscvdsljte.jpg

http://www.helfordrivermoorings.co.uk/general.htm
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I did notice a big yacht peacefully at anchor

the signage is awful

however, if it is all unenforced and no-one cares then I will just drop the hook in the nicest places and risk being told off by a man in a skiff

D
 
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dylanwinter said:
I did notice a big yacht peacefully at anchor

the signage is awful

however, if it is all unenforced and no-one cares then I will just drop the hook in the nicest places and risk being told off by a man in a skiff

D
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We've been visiting the Helford on an off for many years. Contributing to the local economy by buying Vicky's (lovely) bread from the old post office shop, occasionally eating out at the Shipwrights Arms, having coffee at the converted chapel on the way to the yacht club (sadly closed, last year) and dropping the occasional pound or three in the honesty box on the South Bank (private pontoon, visitors' dinghies welcome as long as you pay and keep quiet to respect the house's privacy).

We like anchoring, and I am a bit p-eed off that the space between the moorings and the "no anchoring/oyster beds" bouts has shrunk. Last Easter we stayed there: plenty of space (no one out there yet) and the signs had not gone up on the buoys. This is more or less opposite the private Slip marked on the admiralty chart. On occasion (emergency when our O/B failed mid-blow) we actually left the dinghy by that slip and creeped our way up the private path (amazing vegetation on the bank)... I know this may have been trespassing (thanks Mr Owner for letting us through) but it was an emergency and we tried to be quiet and discreet (:o)...On that occasion we had done what Foeu suggests: and left Tigger at anchor off Tremayne quay.

Fisherman (on these pages) recommends anchoring at the mouth of Porth Navas (east of Calamansack Wood (Admiralty)) but I never dared doing that because I thought there were oyster beds there.

Sometimes, we have anchored off Durgan or just close to the south bank opposite Durgan. These places are great, in the right conditions.

In any case, I would have thought that with LilyM you could go right up to Gweek. That is a magical sort of place with a boatyard that would suit your tastes. (Maybe I am teaching Grandpa to suck eggs??) If so: I would really like to see your film. We went once with the dinghy - and ended up visiting the seal sanctuary place. Had to wait for the water to return, though, as it dries. Really dry.

I'd be grateful to hear from you about your experiences, once you have any.
 
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I asked this question a few years ago and nobody seems to have an answer. Though I have not been for some time, I agree, the buoys and charts were always confusing.

The first Oyster Bed note in the main river is well inside the pecked line on the Harbourmaster's chart and my suspicion is that there has never been anything connected with oysters in that prime piece of deep water.
Anyway I thought oysters were intertidal creatures? You don't seem to be troubled in Brittany, where the beds are generally well marked and in shallow margins.

Anyways, I shall be sniffing out the area to the East of Oyster buoy shown on the chart above for my next visit.
 
dylanwinter said:
All good stuff

so am I allowed to go aground in frenchman's creek for instance or is that verboten

D
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There is no signage stating anything to the contrary. But it is seriously muddy. On the west-facing shore, there is a NT path. If you follow that up to its end, you will end up at a barn converted into an art gallery. The art at the mo is not the best I have seen (understatement). It is a sort of installation about a fantasy in which The Lizard becomes an isolated utopia, and the calculations of what it would take to make it sustainable. It did not catch my fancy. But there is a great do-it-yourself coffee (and sometimes cake) in the gallery garden, which is worth partaking of , if you are that way inclined. Muddy boots and dogs are welcome, allegedly. I have only tried the former. The garden was great a couple of years ago, slightly later in the season. Now it is still too early.

On the paths going up/coming down from the farm, there is oodles of wild garlic. Collecting this for an impromptu omelette, or (last year) mussels with garlic has become some of a tradition with us. Obviously, you need to like garlic.
 
TiggerToo said:
There is no signage stating anything to the contrary. But it is seriously muddy. On the west-facing shore, there is a NT path. If you follow that up to its end, you will end up at a barn converted into an art gallery. The art at the mo is not the best I have seen (understatement). It is a sort of installation about a fantasy in which The Lizard becomes an isolated utopia, and the calculations of what it would take to make it sustainable. It did not catch my fancy. But there is a great do-it-yourself coffee (and sometimes cake) in the gallery garden, which is worth partaking of , if you are that way inclined. Muddy boots and dogs are welcome, allegedly. I have only tried the former. The garden was great a couple of years ago, slightly later in the season. Now it is still too early.

On the paths going up/coming down from the farm, there is oodles of wild garlic. Collecting this for an impromptu omelette, or (last year) mussels with garlic has become some of a tradition with us. Obviously, you need to like garlic.
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marvelous peregrination there

I am from Essex so any mud less than 10 feet deep is a mere surface skin as far as I am concerned

muscles - pah!

D
 
dylanwinter said:
marvelous peregrination there

I am from Essex so any mud less than 10 feet deep is a mere surface skin as far as I am concerned

muscles - pah!

D
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well, if you disdain mussels (not muscles - I bet you LIKE your topside/rump/fillet...), you can just wilt the garlic leaves in a spot of butte and spread the whole lot on top of freshly toasted bread.... wonderful "apero"... washed down with cool white.
 
Admittedly, about ten years ago, we anchored our beautiful old gaffer (why did we sell her?) in Frenchman's Creek.

It was a magical night.....full moon, absolutely still, dried upright in lovely soft mud.

A true night to remember.
 
NealB said:
Admittedly, about ten years ago, we anchored our beautiful old gaffer (why did we sell her?) in Frenchman's Creek.

It was a magical night.....full moon, absolutely still, dried upright in lovely soft mud.

A true night to remember.
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Perfecto

I shall record the experience

D

PS - how steep are the edges of the channels?
 
dylanwinter said:
Perfecto

I shall record the experience

D

PS - how steep are the edges of the channels?
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close to the eastern shore, I remember it being pretty flat. HOWEVER the creek does meander quite a bit, and I would advise a careful poke with a stick... again: I am teaching grandpa to suck eggs here.
 
As stated, there is a deep pool off Tremayne quay, and I already detailed mooring at the quay, hard ground SE, soft mud at the steps. Further up at Cockle point, the rounded point looking N here: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.0895471,-5.17656,312m/data=!3m1!1e3 on the east side is a hard shingle beach where a small yacht was kept on legs, and the track to Tremayne passes nearby. NT property, but had no problems, used to camp there. Between there and Tremayne boathouse is a sweep of soft mud on the S side. All too soft to walk on. Opposite Tremayne Boathouse is Merthen Quay, mud/hard beach either side. All best inspected beforehand, but Tremayne quay is no problem.
 
fisherman said:
As stated, there is a deep pool off Tremayne quay, and I already detailed mooring at the quay, hard ground SE, soft mud at the steps. Further up at Cockle point, the rounded point looking N here: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@50.0895471,-5.17656,312m/data=!3m1!1e3 on the east side is a hard shingle beach where a small yacht was kept on legs, and the track to Tremayne passes nearby. NT property, but had no problems, used to camp there. Between there and Tremayne boathouse is a sweep of soft mud on the S side. All too soft to walk on. Opposite Tremayne Boathouse is Merthen Quay, mud/hard beach either side. All best inspected beforehand, but Tremayne quay is no problem.
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Marvelous

thanks for that

I shall start out at Tremayne and work my way outwards

D
 
By the way, Cockle point is as far as you can get at low water, you can walk ashore from mid river (at LW springs!)
Don't miss the delights of Polwheveral creek, N from the Groyne. Don't think there's any oysters there.
 
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