Praa Sands area - advice please!!!

[bigfatfool]

Helloooo all.

Its my lady's birthday this weekend.... and having just spent most of two days cleaning idiots 'graffiti' off of my van I think we're campsite friendly once again :-)

So - we're going to Praa sands / Lizard area....

We would like to spend at least one day on BigRed bay hopping and exploring, but having never done this area I'm not sure on launching spots and sea safety!

All recommendations gladly accepted.

I guess if the sea isn't looking so friendly we can always fall back to Falmouth estuary.

If so, recommendations again please.

Just to let you know, she's a 4.5m al floor with a 40hp on the back - so quite capable, but ideally nice to get the van close enough to the shore for a reasonable launch. By the end of today the new transom wheels will be attached.....

Thanks!

[simonl]

Penzance is probably your best bet. Easy launch plus pontoon & parking. With your boat you should be good to launch at anything other than a low spring, which will only ever be around lunchtime.
Going round the Lizard can get wild at times so I wouldn't rely on launching at Falmouth for Mounts bay.
South Easterlies trash the water & it lingers for days - in which case head to Hayle on the North coast for a St Ives trip. Hayle bar can be nasty, but it's pretty obvious to spot when it's ugly.
Praa (pronounced Pray) Sands gets some surf & has a small reef offshore
Porthleven is a great lunch stop - loads of choice of food. Dries at low water though. Heading the other way you can go round to Newlyn, Mousehole, Lamorna, Porthcurno, Lands end.

[bigfatfool]

Thanks muchly simonl!

So many choices.... wish we had a far longer trip!! I've made note of your suggestions and options.

Praa sands - the swell looks very small for the weekend - do you think a beach launch might be possible?

Lunch at Porthleven - which would be your tip to make a birthday girl happy?!

And it actually looks like we've lunchtime high tides!!!

[simonl]

I've never tried launching at Praa Sands. Very soft sand. Marazion is okay for hard sand, but it's so flat you need to go out tens of yards to get off the trailer.

I've not eaten in Porthleven for a couple of years. Perranuthanoe beach has the Victoria Inn 50 yards away. I've had several good meals there recently. Also the Godolphin Arms in MArazion, which overlooks the beach.

[bigfatfool]

Nothing like a bit of local knowledge! Its the first time we're taking the boat somewhere we don't already know.... so thanks for making the unknown a little less so!

If you're out and about we'll be in a 4.5 m red sib, I'm Nic the tall one and Katie is the short pretty one - do say hi!

[Mac50]

Have a look at Amelie on the harbour side in Porthleven. Always been excellent when we’ve eaten there.