Portheras Cove – sand returns and Alacrity shipwreck exhibition – ‘Folklore and Fact’.

2014 has been a busy year down at beautiful Portheras Cove, as we know, one of Cornwall’s finest beaches and best kept secrets. If you haven’t been for a while, why not get your bucket, spade and a picnic ready and go have some fun down on our local beach.

 Portheras Cove sand returns

The cove’s sand which was swept out to sea by the phenomenal winter storms of January and February, unearthing large sections of the Alacrity shipwreck, has now thankfully returned. This is as a result of the winds switching direction and going offshore. Sadly, that hasn’t been the case for other local beaches like Nanjizal which haven’t been so fortunate.

Alacrity shipwreck exhibition – “Folklore and Fact” – August 6^th to 12^th

The popular Alacrity shipwreck exhibition will return to the Centre of Pendeen in early August – 6^th to 12^th thanks to the Friends of Portheras Cove and a grant from St Just Town Council, which will allow the exhibition to be free of charge.

The exhibition may well be enhanced with a number of items from the shipwreck that were uncovered when the Portheras Cove sand retreated earlier this year. One really fabulous find was an inflation cylinder for a divers ‘Avon Dry Suit’ which is believed to have come from the Royal Engineers operation to blow up the wreck in 1981. Alarmingly this was still ‘charged’ and had to be safely de-pressurised by local expert David Weddle.

Marine wildlife monitoring at Portheras.

The Friends of Portheras Cove have been doing a great job in  many ways, one of which is to monitor marine wildlife for a number of conservation organisations, The Shark Trust, The Marine Conservation Society and the Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall. Among their finds have been the egg cases of the Small Lesser Spotted Catshark, Blonde Ray, and Cuckoo Ray as well as numerous jellyfish. They have also helped stranded and injured sea birds, one lucky Guillemot, covered in oil, was rescued and taken to the bird hospital in Mousehole.

Help keep Portheras Cove tidy and beautiful.

The Friends of Portheras Cove’s band of happy volunteers have estimated they have collected more than 150 bags of rubbish so far this year.  Items have included plastic bottles, toys, nylon rope, polystyrene, ghost netting, glass bottles, oil containers, barbeque grills, used nappies, balloons, lightbulbs, various cutlery, and various pieces of used underwear!  The Friends are in the process of associating with the St Just and District Trust and Keep Britain Tidy as this will give them access to support and potential funding to help with the valuable work that they do on our behalf.

Please help the Friends keep the cove tidy by taking any rubbish home with you.

Campers – stay happy – beware the unstable cliffs!

Delia Webb has reported that a number of overnight campers have been pitching their tents directly below the unstable cliffs, clearly ignoring the warning signs.

This may not be the safest way to stay a happy camper – be warned!

Get involved with the Friends of Portheras Cove

If you have some spare time, why not consider getting involved with the Friends of Portheras Cove and helping with their activities. Delia Webb can be contacted at deliawebb@btinternet.com or visit them on Facebook.

Thanks to Delia Webb from the Friends of Portheras Cove for the update on happenings at the cove.