Paddleboards and water sports banned at harbour
ONE of Cornwall’s largest fishing ports has resorted to banning water sports from launching in and around the harbour.
Mevagissey Harbour is the second largest fishing port in Cornwall and hosts a thriving fishing industry and the harbour team has decided to stop paddleboards, kayaks and other water sports from being launched or landed in and around the area.
The decision, criticised by some, is not a new rule but the harbour master explained that it has had to implement more strict measures and signage in order to keep those who live locally, and those who will be visiting this year, safe from harm.
Andrew Trevarton, the harbour master as of February this year, said the rule was in place under the previous harbour master, however, he says there was not sufficient signage up so not everyone was aware.
This would leave the harbour staff forced to shout out at people attempting to launch from the harbour in order to get them to stop, and that was only if they saw them.
He added: “It’s not just paddleboards and kayaks, it’s jet skis as well and we just can’t have a very busy commercial port mixing with people on paddleboards. We can’t have, in the harbour, things where people can fall off in the fairway with boats coming and going. From a health and safety point of view it is just not safe.”
He continued: “We’re not trying to poo-poo anybody’s enjoyment, and if they want to launch behind the harbour office, on the little beach, they are more than welcome to do so. But we can’t have them mixing with commercial traffic in and around the outer harbour and that is the problem. We are a very busy place and as I’m sure people will be aware we are a very busy town.
“I think everyone is expecting an extremely busy summer and we can’t have that activity going on in an extremely busy port. We have had accidents in different ports and we don’t want anything like that to happen here, so its purely about keeping people safe.”
While some criticised the decision online as “daft” and “silly”, most people were quick to defend the decision calling it “common sense” that a commercial site was not used for pleasure.
One said it was “better to nip it in the bud before something serious happens” and another said, “it’s a working harbour so I honestly thought this wasn’t allowed anyway”.
Last summer, terrified swimmers in Penzance were also highlighting the dangers of water sports, calling for a jet ski ban in the waters at Battery Rock.
Joanna Thomas, who is a teacher and ordained minister, said that she takes funerals and is fully aware of the pain of grieving families and fears for the consequences of accidents in the water.
She said: “Watching these jet skis is like watching the very worst horror movie unfold. The truly gruesome fact is that a family will not have a whole body to bury.
“Worse, their loved one may be lost at sea, as jet ski drivers are often looking at the inflatables behind them and may not even spot a swimmer’s head.”