Paralympic Fever Takes Over Mylor!

Over the past month the Paralympic GB sailing team have been using Mylor as their training camp.

There are 3 classes for the sailing - the 3 person Sonar, the 2 person Skud and the single handed 2.4mR.

The Sonar crew, John Robertson, Hannah Stodel and Stephen Thomas will be competing together for their third consecutive games.  They have been together since 2003 and finished 6th in the last 2 Paralympics  but have also won 2 world titles in 05 and 06.  They finished 2nd at the World Championships in Weymouth last year.

In the Skud class, the current world champions Alex Rickham and Niki Birrell.  They started sailing together in 2008 and last year won the world championships in Weymouth for the 3rd time.  This will be their 2nd Paralympic appearance after their debut in Beijing.

Helena Lucas joined them in May in the single handed 2.4mR class after coming 7th in Beijing.

The team will be here until mid August, sailing most days in the Carrick Roads before the start of the Paralympic Games in Weymouth August 31st with the sailing events starting September 1st - 7th.

They chose Mylor as their training camp as the conditions are very similar to those they expect to see off Weymouth in September.

We wish them all the best and will be sending them off with the knowledge that the whole of Mylor will be backing them from their temporary home in the South West!

For more information about the athletes and the Paralympics visit the BBC Sport website

The London 2012 countdown has begun...

For the past few years all the news and talk has been about London 2012...it is now actually happening!

The torch has been lit in Athens and is due into Culdrose at the end of the week to start its relay through the UK.  Falmouth has one of the longest sections of that relay and quite possibly the biggest number of events and festivities to celebrate this historic happening-it is a real community pull-together!

Falmouth is currently hosting the Finn Festival which is the last Olympic qualifier before the big event in Weymouth.  But it is not all about Falmouth you know!  Mylor have been lucky enough to have Croatia and the Czech Republic sailing teams staying in the apartments for the past few weeks and in July we will be welcoming Team GB Paralympic sailing teams who will be using our fabulous sailing waters to train for the Paralympics.

We wish all the athletes the best of luck in their events and hope that Saturday 19th May, when the torch passes through Cornwall, the county will feel proud to be part of such an event.

Lady Hamilton Comes To Mylor!

The Helford based Lady Hamilton has returned to Mylor after 14 years, to give her a new lease of life with a new engine.

With a new engine last fitted by Marine Trak in 1998, the well-used Perkins-Sabre has finally given up the ghost after a hard life of fishing out of The Helford River. 

The engine had clocked over 15,000 hours of fishing in the Falmouth Bay and surrounding coast.  It has also been used for filming for various TV channels, most recently being featured on “Cornwall with Caroline Quentin” on ITV.

“We were out fishing and we noticed the engine had started to sound slightly different,” said Mr Bean - skipper and owner of the Lady Hamilton. “Luckily Peter John was nearby and took us under tow to Mylor Yacht Harbour where we thought that after 14 years, maybe it was time for a new engine!”

“It is nice to have returning customers,” said Nathan Percival - Manager of Marine Trak Engineering and Electrical, “although it has been a while for the Lady Hamilton.”

The new engine is exactly the same as the old, but with a few less hours on the clock.  Whilst she is at Mylor Yacht Harbour the Lady Hamilton is also having some repair work done on her hull.

“Marine Trak did such a good job on her last visit, it seemed right to have them do the work again on the new engine,” continued Mr Bean. “Also it is nice for the boat to have a little change of scenery!”

The Lady Hamilton has had a colourful life with many stories to tell, including being sunk after a possible collision with another vessel 3 years ago in Falmouth Bay – a story that could have easily turned into disaster had it not been for the quick thinking crew and Arrow, the pilot boat that came to the rescue.

Lady Hamilton left the harbour yesterday after her successful sea trial eager to get back fishing to appease the sushi restaurants in London who are missing their fresh fish supply.

Marine Trak Engineering and Electrical can undertake all kinds of engineering and electrical work, including retro fitting bow thrusters and installing new engines.  They are the south west dealers for Vetus, Perkins-Sabre, Yanmar Commercial inboards and Suzuki outboards.  

February in the harbour

Its on days like this I think everyone should have a bit of Mylor in their life.  Just had a wonder down to the boat to start her up, its been a while since the last time and bless her, she started with only a little splutter!

The boats around her are all still on their berths and the water is so quiet and still you can see to the bottom of the marina and see the Seaflex strands and starfish.  There is a small shoal of sand eel things swimming around and I saw three mullet which must mean one thing...SPRING IS HERE!!!

The only sounds are the drone of the pressure washer on D pontoon echoing through the marina, the irregular knocking from inside a hull as someone does that little bit of DIY repairs before the start of the season and some laughing coming from the Sailing School.

The boat owners who have pretty much been hibernating all winter are starting to appear and head up to their boats in the valley to get them ready for the imminent launches.  Its nice to see all those familiar faces again!

Mylor is starting to wake up and get ready for the season in the laid back way it usually does...something we missed last year with all the MYC and shower block work going on!

Happy Leap Year!

12 days of Christmas

To get us in the Christmassy mood here at Mylor, we have compiled a Mylor 12 days of Christmas!  If you are still stuck for ideas on Christmas presents, this may give you some ideas...if it does, give us a ring and speak to Martin!

12 keel bolts replacing - If you have had a knock to the keel this year it might be worth having it checked by a surveyor in case there have been any damage done to your keel bolts, keel or hull.

11 gallons of diesel - before fueling up for the season it would be wise to treat you diesel already in your tanks for diesel bug.  We have "Fuel Set" available from the main office shop, just come and see Steve.

10 metres of lines - always ensure you have adequate lines onboard for mooring the boat but also if you get caught out and need to be towed!

9 hours of polishing - yawn!  But to make the hull look good for the season and protect it, it does need to be done!  Don't panic though as we can do it for you, pop in and get a quote!

8 planks splitting - Have you started seeing daylight through your wooden hull?  It might be worth getting some planks replaced, or at least get our shipwrights to have a look at it for you and advise on what to do.

7 bottle screws...erm screwing, or at least keeping your rigging in place!  If you haven't had a rigging check done get the chandlery to do it.  It will give you piece of mind when out sailing next season.

6 seacocks serviced - it can be a time consuming and awkward job and one that a lot of people forget about. Our guys can service your seacocks for you so they are all fully functional.

5 speakers surrounding - Boating isn't always about peaceful calm waters especially if you have young people to bring with you!  Invest in some decent speakers in the cabin and the cockpit.  Our electricians can fit the for you but don't forget to link in the VHF so you maintain a constant radio vigil in case of emergencies.

4 cylinders pumping (or maybe less!) - A full engine service before the beginning of the summer will give your engine a great start to the season and give you chance to sort out any problems you may have had at the end of the season that time has slowly erased!

3 batteries charging - Make sure all your batteries are charged and ready to go!  We offer a battery charging service if required.

2 anodes replaced - if they are particularly eroded it might be worth booking in an electrician to have a look at your electrical circuit onboard to ensure it is all safe and working correctly.

1 HotVac treatment - osmosis will not just go away by itself but with the HotVac system at Mylor we can completely dry out the hull, strip it and cure the osmosis.  The HotVac dries the hull effectively in a relatively short time so the job does not have to take years and cost a small fortune like it used to!

I hope this has given you idea on what to get ME for Christmas!!  As a boat owner myself  I hope I speak on behalf of all boat owners-this is what we would like for Christmas, not socks, slippers or bath bubbles!

Falmouth Week 2011!

With Classics looming on the morn and the Mylor Open Event taking shape outside my very office, Falmouth Week 2011 is well and truly here!

The most anticipated week of the year in the sailing community and with the added rumours of a Hollywood celebrity in town, the town and local areas are buzzing!  Mylor is hosting its very own mini boatshow for the second year with discounts and bargains to be had in all of the services on site.

Raymarine have an exclusive pre public launch of their new equipment which is looking amazing-wireless, touch screens, i pod links...it has everything!  Its official public launch is due in September at the Southampton Boatshow but we have managed to get it here first for all you lovely Falmouth boaty people and visitors!

The beer tent is all set up and by tomorrow lunchtime there will be the delicious, mouth watering smells of freshly prepared curries coming from the Cornish Curry Company stand!  I'm getting hungry already!

All we need now is for Mr Pitt to pop in and say Hi!  If anyone knows where he is, please do tell him I will buy him a pint of Betty Stoggs if he comes over Sunday afternoon!!

Yacht Club - tick, Tarmac - tick,

The Mylor Yacht Club building is all up and running, cafe and Windsport have been open since Easter and everything is looking amazing-so crisp and clean!  The yacht club members had their party to celebrate the opening with an "official" opening in July. (Any excuse for another party!)

Yesterday the tarmac was finished and is so smooth and new looking, it'll be a shame to drive over it and muck it up!  The lines are to be drawn on soon and then everyone can park all over it!

No more noisy drilling during the day...now that will be nice!  Although the whole site is feeling somewhat empty now as all the workmen have left!