Dartmouth was at her finest on Easter Saturday – with the town and river bathed in full sunshine as 12 Cornish Pilot Gig Clubs arrived for a superb afternoon’s racing. Clubs made the trip down in heavy Easter traffic from Appledore, Caradon, Cattewater, Paignton, Rame, Rock, Salcombe, Swanage, Tamar & Tavy, Teignmouth, Torridge and Weymouth.

Boats were welcomed and launched from the newly renovated Higher Ferry Slip without a hitch and then rowed down to moor off the Dartmouth Yacht Club. The 3,000 metre course runs from the Res Nova, down below the Lower Ferry leaving Admiralty buoys to port and over to the Dartmouth side, round a buoy and across to the Kingswear side and then back up past yachts on their mooring buoys to finish off at the Yacht Club.  The Embankment was packed with holiday makers as well as club members and spectators who thoroughly enjoyed the fabulous spectacle of these beautiful boats racing in such superb conditions.

The day finished in the Yacht Club with a grand raffle and prize giving which included new trophies by local artists in particular a superb glass one made by Nick Orsler from Blown for the Mens C, also a beaten copper gig logo for the Ladies C by club member Jane Naish. The club are fortunate to have the co-operation and help from the Harbour Authority, Ferries, Royal Dart and Dartmouth Yacht Clubs and all river users, for which we say a huge thank you. Our thanks also to everyone who helped by lending and donating essential equipment, kit, goodies and, of course, their time.


Why not come down and stay for the weekend?

2.   thebarandbistro

Jamie Waugh reports:  "We are delighted to announce that on Monday 30th March, our new contemporary and stylish 100-cover bar and bistro opened to members, residents and visitors. The results of the refurbishment are stunning and feedback received so far has been remarkable.

"Our ‘great value’ bar & bistro menu offers a range of rustic, delectable dishes, all cooked to perfection by our local head chef Rob Walsh, and his team. In addition we also offer a set menu, refreshed on a daily basis, which boasts a fantastic two course meal for just £9.95. This is available 7 days a week, at lunchtime (Noon until 2pm) and in the evening (6pm until 9pm. Please see our sample set menu by clicking here.

"We must also stress that as a green tourism business and members of Food & Drink Devon, we continue to commit to sourcing and cooking with superb local primary products wherever possible, and undoubtedly the delicious menus benefit from the freshness that this brings to the table."  Check out the Dartmouth Golf and Country Club's website by clicking here.

3.  The disappearing Mermaid

Seawood the Sea Dragon opened the Seascape Mirror Maze at Woodlands on Good Friday.  After cutting the blue ribbon the 8ft Dragon took the hands of the first two children to enter the underwater world, Nicholas Hayman and Ellie McMillan to find the mermaid. They journeyed past Polly porpoise and Colin the clown fish and in spite of the baffling illusions of arches stretching forever they inched past the scary shark to find the mermaid appearing by her treasure chest. “The mermaid was really magical” Ellie said, “she kept disappearing in a mysterious way”. “I loved the dark bit” said Nicholas “The monsters were quite scary but Seawood frightened them which was cool”.  The Seascape Mirror Maze was designed by Adrian Fisher the world famous maze maker. He came back from a multimillion pound project in Dubai to design the unique mirror maze costing £130,000.  Adrian said “The mermaid is a clever illusion called a Peppers Ghost. A Victorian Illusionist, Mr Pepper used it for magic tricks in his music hall show. The mermaid seems to appear and disappear by her treasure chest but it is all done by reflection. It is an old fashioned magic trick which still fascinates people a hundred years later.”

To complete the Sea Theme Woodlands designers appealed for sea faring artefacts on their website to create an old forgotten harbour at the end of the maze. Paul Hodge from Dartmouth turned up with a big trailer load of old dinghies, lobster pots, a ships wheel and stuff dredged up from the sea. One mum said “The old harbour at the end of the maze reminds me of Dittisham when I was a girl. It was all lovely, I think it will be very popular because it is different to anything else.”  Woodlands was busy over the Easter holiday with the caravan parks almost full and the attraction buzzing. It makes a positive start to the tourist season in Devon.  To see more click here.

4.    Small News

• Thursday 23rd April – Fish Night with Mark Lobb
  As many of you will know Mark is Dartmouth’s local fishmonger and can be found each Friday in the market. Mark is one of the very few remaining fishmongers who buys directly from the Brixham market. If you want to buy fresh and in season then he is your man.
  
  Mark is bringing his fish stall and fishy tales to Browns on the 23rd April. Mark will recreate his fish stall in the bar at Browns. You choose what you want to eat, how big a portion, or even whether you want several types of fish if you are a party and want to share.
  
  There will be a good selection of mussels, clams, squid, oysters, sardines, and prawns from which to choose starters. Mains will be chosen from the market that morning but should certainly include halibut, seabass, bream, mullet and maybe some turbot. We will try to ensure that the prices are keen to allow you to choose a selection of fish. All dishes will be accompanied by vegetables and sauces as appropriate.
  
  Off Sales @ Browns Many of you will know that we have been planning to makes our wines available through Off Sales. We have just taken delivery of our first retail wines and are going to launch our Off Sales business at the Fish Night. As a consequence all of our wines will be available at retail prices for the evening for those people who are eating. That means a bottle of wine from £4.99, Chablis at £9.99, Champagne @ £23, Deutz Champagne £12.99, Pinot Grigio £6.20, Sauvignon Blanc £8.66 and many more.
  
  Bookings are essential. Party sizes are limited to 6 people to help us with the cooking. This should be a unique evening. Call a friend and get booking! Browns Hotel Dartmouth,  27-29 Victoria Rd,  Dartmouth,  TQ6 9RT,  t 01803 832572
  
   
• Dartmouth and District Flower Club
  Dartmouth and District Flower Club was founded over 50 years ago with the aim of encouraging all aspects of floral art.   About every two years or so,  the club holds a show to which the public are invited. This year the show is on 23 April in the Flavel Centre, Dartmouth and will be opened by the Devon and Cornwall Area President at 10.30am. The show title is "By the  Dart" and includes classes for youngsters: up to 11 years the title is "a creature from the deep" and from 11 to 15 years "sea fever" an arrangement
  of flowers in a crab bucket. Come along and see the all spectacular floral creations.
  
  If you are interested in joining, the club meets on the first Thursday  nearly every month (August is the exception) in the Flavel main hall at 2.00 for 2.30pm; about 3 of the meetings are practical workshops, others provide  demonstrations for members. Contact: Vicky Pearce on 01803 833176 for more details.

• A Candlelit Concert for St George's Day
  Forget the credit crunch! Come along to Dittisham on Friday 24 April at 7.30pm for a varied programme of music, verse and song, celebrating all  things English, in the magical setting of St George's Church, for what is  promised to be a very special occasion. Tickets are £5.00 (including a glass of wine - Bar opens 6.30pm) available from John Wells on 01803 722 414 or The  Anchorstone Cafe on 01803 722 365. Profits from the concert will go to  Dartmouth Caring.
   

• Nice to see the latest Mercedes Magazine featuring South Devon and Dartmouth.  This will encourage quality tourism.
   

• Richard Webb publisher of so many  Dartmouth Books reports:  Today the Western Morning News ran an article about Dartmouth's Royal Avenue Gardens.  They called the gardens "outstanding" and we agree!

Why not come and visit Dartmouth?

• Self catering accommodation click here
   
• Dartmouth B and B  click here
   
• Dartmouth Hotels click here
   
• A Tourist Guide to Dartmouth click here