Despite the weather forcing half a dozen boats due to sail from Falmouth having to turn back on Thursday this year's Sea Salt and Sail festival played host to a big turn out of classic sailing and working boats...
the harbour lends itself so well to recalling what it must have been like back in the days of sail when Mousehole, like eery other harbour around the coast, would have been home to dozens, even hundreds of fishing and working sailing vessels of all shapes and sizes...
represented today by the biggest visitor, the incredible Swallow, whose largely French crew spent the weekend wowing the crowd with their display of seamanship - manoeuvring the engineless boat in and out of the crowded harbour with ease...
to one of the smallest...
during Saturday's race, a stiff breeze grew in strength kept the flags flying...
and capsized one of the boats...
things were a little quieter in the harbour at the end of the day...
as the Swallow was brought in...
trippers on the Scillonian III were treated to the spectacular spectacle as they headed to the Scillys...
made all the better by a sparkling sea...
with sights like the fleet at anchor in the Bay...
decorated masts...
or just a classic view through the gaps...
sailing boats like the local lugger Barnabas sporting her brand new Scots pine masts fitted by the boys at Ullapool boatyard...
or rowing tender, Dreckly provided endless subjects subjects to enjoy - not a boat to hitch a lift on for anyone wanting to get anywhere quickly...
the smallest boats with...
their red...
and tan sails
like those on the Barnabas and the Gladys would have been a familiar sight years ago...
originally built as a Nobby over 100 years ago, the Gladys had a standing lug when fishing as a herring boat out of the Isle of man...
these was more than enough breeze to power the boats like Radiance at speed between the quays and St Clement's Isle...
each time she passed...
Guide Me gave a perfect demonstration of how a dipping lugger changes tack...
here the local Porthleven built lugger Happy Return tries to fend of the fully restored Maggie Helen, now owned by Benoit Cayla who also owns the Rose d'Argyle and Swallow...
a fleet of luggers heading away from the harbour, what would have been the daily diet of Mousehole life in the past...
some, took it all in their stride...
while the Maggie Helen made the most of the breeze to sail past the anchored Swallow...
the 1911 built Guide Me, a legend in lugger circles, in her time has been the engineless home of the Brickhill family in which time they sailed her to South Africa via Brazil, over the years she has won countless races, especially in light winds, when she seems possessed...
Gladys goes for it...
at the closing award ceremony and auction, a special moment for the crew of Swallow, and not hard to guess from where most of them hail, as they receive the award for the winning Class 1 boats...
and, after a special mention for Leon and Sylvia Pezzack who were the inspiration and driving force of Sea Salt and Sail from day one, the auction saw local artist Lizzie Black's painting reach a magnificent £2,750 - the biennial festival continues to be a huge success for all concerned!
