South West Sailing

I have always had faith in the Falmouth Oyster Festival as possibly one of the best food events to be found anywhere in Europe if not the World. It is such a unique event inextricably linked with the working boats and the oyster punts and of course our wonderful Fal estuary.

You begin to realize that organizers Carrick District Council and Falmouth Festivals have got the mix right when you can find the 2008 edition of the event recommended on the British Airways and the Hilton Hotel web sites.

2008 can I think be declared as the year the Festival came of age and emerged as a genuine contender as one of the best Oyster events to be held in Europe and able to rival the old established Oyster Festivals in Ireland such as Galway, Clarenbridge or Hillsborough.

Mike Rangecroft admitted being exhausted at the end of the four day event but exhilarated by the tremendous support shown by the local community and creating a fantastic atmosphere throughout the duration of the Festival.

The Marquee was bigger, the layout improved and some 27,000 people came and ate some 15,000 oysters, browsed local produce stalls and drank the odd pint or three. Old friends meeting, new acquaintances made the buzz in the Marquee was constant and everyone enjoyed themselves and the fine weather enabled the event to fill Events Square.

Sophie Grigson launched the proceedings with style and aplomb on Thursday and was possibly the first celebrity chef to cook at the Festival a couple of cakes as well as the traditional one or two oyster recipes.

Media interest was intense with the local news teams from ITV and the Beeb being joined by two other TV companies featuring the Festival in forthcoming programmes.

Griff Rhys Jones, Rory McGrath and Dara O’Briain materialized to shoot scenes for the next series of Three Men in a Boat and were taken dredging by Ranger in the Alf Smithers and then introduced to the art of oyster shucking by Johnny Ball from the Seafood Restaurant.

Not to be outdone Tiger Aspect another TV production company went out with the Oyster Fleet on the Friday to shoot scenes for a series called the Four Seasons featuring Alan Titchmarsh.

Andy Campbell and his crew on board Lindy Lou his old beam trawler had picked up Sophie Grigson from St Mawes on the Thursday and also visited the Fleet dredging off Mylor so the dredgermen will probably be glad of a break this week!

In truth though the Fleet makes the Oyster Fishery so special and it is something that no other Festival can incorporate and as such gives Falmouth its undeniable unique quality.

Making it a truly star studded event was the unscheduled visit of Rick Stein on Saturday in Falmouth for a book signing exercise but equally interested to see how the Festival had moved on since his official visit in 1998.

Highlights on Saturday included a magical performance from the Pearl of Africa choir from Uganda, a group of Aids Victims orphans aged from 7-17 and an informal talk by Pete Goss on his forthcoming voyage to Australia on his replica 37ft sailing lugger Spirit of Mystery.

Sunday and a steady breeze enabled a competitive harbour race to take place with Abigail Rose (Norman Bowers) winning in B Class and Sapphire (Chris Symonds) winning in C Class.

It was Norman’s partner Gaye Shone’s twenty-something birthday and at the prize giving in the Marquee Happy Birthday was sung by the Falmouth Marine Band and the Falmouth Shout.

That summed up the weekend and the Festival – warm and friendly and definitely a must visit event for 2009 with it scheduled for 15th – 18th October.

The only danger must be for it to become overrun with celebrities and paparazzi.

As a child fishing and fishermen always fascinated me and one of the first fishermen I encountered was Teddy Harris down at Percuil. At the end of the beach at Percuil was a small shed, which housed the local branch of the Duchy of Cornwall Oyster Farm and Teddy worked on the fishery cleaning and relaying young oysters.

I was learning to sail and generally messing about in boats during the summer months down at Percuil and watching Teddy handle a boat was an education for a young enthusiastic amateur. Seamanship is acquired over years via experience and practice and making the simple tasks like rowing look simple and effortless.

Oysters were unknown to me and I never actually tried to eat one until a sailing trip to France aged 15 and in the company of three younger children who would eat all the gastronomic minefields on offer over the Channel. My diet of fish fingers and beans was soon replaced by frog’s legs, snails and of course oysters.

If these three precocious brats would tackle French cuisine with gusto then I would not flinch and equally take on the challenges on offer after all I was 15 and seriously cool.

That 4-week holiday literally changed my diet and made my mum’s task of cooking tea a lot easier than it had been prior to the trip abroad. I confess that not all the food sampled became standard items on my daily menu thereafter notably frogs’ legs but I did become slightly more adventurous in my outlook and was definitely easier to feed when out and about.

As I grew older I became more aware of the importance of Oysters around the Carrick Roads and the fact that at one time it was the staple food for a large proportion of the population. In the 18th century millions of oysters were consumed in the UK and oyster beds were an important asset for landowners with oyster poaching a criminal offence.

The Helford Oyster beds came into the ownership of the Vyvyan family and in 1829 the upper reaches of the river were leased to a certain John Tyacke and the rent included a clause that twice weekly 100 oysters were to be delivered to Trelowarren House throughout the year.

Given the vast quantities of oysters being consumed it was obvious that stocks around the coast could not survive and gradually the industry declined and the price of oysters rose. Until the advent of the railway and refrigeration the industry in Cornwall stagnated but crucially survived.

Ownership of the oyster beds passed over to the Duchy of Cornwall with activities centred on the Helford River at Port Navas. The “Original Helford Oysterage and Fishing Company” operated the beds from 1910 and the Duchy Oyster Farm was built in 1948 to pack and clean oysters.

When I first met Teddy Harris in the early 60’s the ownership of the oyster beds had passed to Macfisheries but a seemingly terminal decline had set in. Relaying oysters is a costly business with high fatalities and with dwindling stocks the beds on the Percuil River fell into disuse.

The Helford beds survived in no small part to the Hodges family who have been involved in the fishery for decades first as Oyster Bailiffs and then as employees of Macfisheries.

Leonard Hodges subsequently acquired the lease and ran the business for many years before handing over to his son Lindsey. The family involvement ceased after nearly 40 years in 2005 when the lease was sold to Ben Wright of Wright Brothers.

Wright Bros is owned by ex City lawyer Ben and his brother-in-law Robin Hancock a former record producer who has worked in the past with the likes of Madonna and Billy Idol.

The pair originally started business in 2002 as a result of Ben’s friendship with Jerome Miet one of the largest producers of oysters in France. France produces around 2 billion oysters annually and Jerome Miet produces around 10 million alone that equates to the entire production in the UK.

After a day on the Marennes Oleron in SW France fishing for oysters with Miet, Wright decided to rekindle the demand for oysters in the UK.

Given their background in London high society the pair aimed to supply the best restaurants and cafes in London and it worked with clients now including Bentley’s Oyster Bar, Scott’s, The Ivy, J Sheekey, the Rivington, The Wolseley, Automat, The Ebury, Racine and the Bibendum.

Starting with Marennes Oleron oysters the Company has branched out and in a refreshing change are importing razor clams, winkles, and whelks from Boulogne and mussels from La Rochelle.

The oysters from Marennes Oleron are grown in the sea for 3 years and then transferred to claires, clay bottomed lakes where without tides and with less salt, they are left to fatten. Quality varies with time and different grades are imported with the superior grades left in the claires for a longer time.

Indeed the Company has a stock of the “pousse en claire”, which are fattened for 6 months and spaced at 3 per square metre. Traditionally these plump little beauties “the Kobe beef of oysters” have been reserved for the producers and their families.

The success of the business encouraged the team to branch out into the restaurant game themselves and Wright Bros Oyster & Porter House in Borough Market soon opened to general acclaim from critics and public alike.

Seafood predominates and is sourced world wide but with particular emphasis on UK seafood from the finest locations. Cornwall is well represented with Helford crab and of course Helford oysters.

The restaurant stocks over 24 different types of oysters including British Columbia, Humbolt Bay, Kumamoto, Tsarskaya, West Mersea, Carlingford Loch and Papillon with pride of place going to Helford.

Given Ben Wright’s experiences with the French oyster industry there will be a major benefits to the Duchy Oyster Farm and already the company has invested in a new oyster barge, cages and racks with an upgrade of shore side facilities to improve product handling and quality.

An Objective One grant was obtained to help with these improvements and together with help from the Truro Oyster Fishery Management set up in 2003 the future is looking very rosy for the Ostrea edulis or Native oyster.

A trip last year to the Slow Food conference in Terra Madre in Italy by TOFMG with support from South West Rural Enterprise Gateway and Cornwall County Council put the spotlight firmly on the Helford and Fal oyster industry.

The Native oyster found down here is regarded by many gourmets as the best in the UK and the renaissance it has undergone over the last few years is staggering and no small part due to the Wright Bros, the TOFMG and of course the annual Oyster Festival.

Today of all days it is appropriate to praise their efforts and forgo the red roses and the champagne and just buy a dozen of Helford’s finest.

Despite the absence of Jonathon Money and Phil Badger two of the major protagonists in the Sunbeam fleet this year’s championship held last weekend proved to be close and exciting with a 3-way battle for 2007 title.

Slight favourite after a clean sweep of Falmouth was Caprice skippered by Lennie Trenoweth and last year’s winner after a thrilling tussle with Jonathon Money and Polly V18.

This year in the absence of Polly the challenge stemmed from Saucy Sally (Peter Crockford), Verity (Neil Andrew) and Phantasy (David Townrow).

Two races were scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday with competitors allowed 1 discard in the 6 race series. The Royal Cornwall received 13 entries and although there was little sunshine the breeze co-operated with the wind strengthening through the weekend for the full programme to be completed.

Race 1 went to Saucy Sally followed home by Caprice and Verity with Phantasy back in 5th place separated from the main contenders by Tantivy skippered by Richard Holt.

Tantivy and her skipper performed exceptionally well all weekend and as fairly new to the class can be regarded as a definite threat to the established order next season.

Race 2 and the results reversed with Caprice winning from Saucy Sally followed by Phantasy and Verity to leave the pair tied on points and the leadership overnight.

Saturday was equally close with Caprice taking first blood followed by Phantasy, Saucy Sally and Verity. Race 4 was won by Phantasy with Tantivy upsetting the order by taking a fine 2nd relegating Caprice to 3rd with Verity 4th and Saucy Sally 5th.

Come the annual dinner at the Club on Saturday night Caprice had established a 4 point lead over her rivals to just require a good opening race on the Sunday to retain her title.

It always looks simple in theory but of course it never is in practice and of course Caprice posts her discard in the opening race on Sunday to leave the door slightly open to her main challengers Phantasy and Saucy Sally.

Phantasy wins the opener from Tantivy, Saucy Sally and Verity to make the final race a shoot out between Phantasy and Caprice with Saucy Sally just 2 points behind and awaiting any slip up between the leading pair.

The most members of the Trenoweth family have been sailing almost since they can walk and Lennie Trenoweth is one of the best helmsmen in the Port and well use to pressure situations.

Caprice is always up with the leaders for the Final Race of the championship and takes the gun at the finish followed home by Saucy Sally, Verity and Phantasy back in 4th.

Caprice retains the title from Phantasy who finishes tied for 2nd place on points with Saucy Sally but finishes Runner-up on countback of race wins.

Gripping racing to the end and underlining the quality currently to be found within the Sunbeam class.

Friday sees the start of the Falmouth Sunbeam Championships hosted as usual by the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club.

I expect the entry to number around 12/14 boats with a wide-open championship in prospect.

Last year Lennie Trenoweth sailing Caprice won and so should start as favourite this year however assuming attendance Verity (Neil Andrew), Saucy Sally (Peter Crockford), Verony (Phil Badger) and Phantasy (David Townrow) could all mount a serious challenge.

First race is on Friday morning and full details can be obtained from the RCYC.