ANOTHER FEATHER · PORTSCATHO IN THE 1960s
The Roseland Sub-Aqua & Water Ski Club
Memories of Portscatho’s waterfront, by John Peters
A little recent history of Portscatho…
In the mid nineteen sixties a large white american, Plymouth Barracuda, car cruised into Portscatho bringing John D. Foster (JDF) and his wife Gail to change the face of the Portscatho sleepy waterfront.
John D. Foster (JDF)
A new arrival on North Parade
They moved into number 16 a maisonette, a sea front property on North Parade which had a balcony /patio right over Tatams Beach. JDF soon befriended the locals, some of which were wary of this new ‘down-from-towner’.
JDF was a distinguished retired RAF test pilot and ran a successful Employment Agency based in Albemarle Street in the heart of London, JDF was ready for a change of lifestyle. His sister Joan Urwin, who also owned the agency, already had a house in Gerrans with a very useful garage/workshop which used to belong to fisherman Henry Craggs.
JDF had a vision to start up a sub-aqua club, being a qualified diver. and also indulge in his passion of water skiing. Initially he rented space in Highertown Garage, (I think then owned by Alvin Wright and Tom and Celia Smith). Gradually he accumulated equipment for diving , a wooden speedboat for skiing, and teamed up with local Terry Neal who gave him an insight into the workings of what was a quiet fishing village harbour.
The Club takes shape
It wasn’t long before he recruited local waterfront lads to help out, Gav Carter and myself John Peters, we were between A-levels and university and knew the area and how to handle boats,we also came with our own Enterprise sailing dinghies which were incorporated into the Club.
Two more speedboats, a Glastron dory and a Fletcher Arrow with fifty horsepower Mercury outboards were bought, sets of wetsuits, skis, lifejackets etc. everything necessary.
We had moorings in Portscatho and on the river at Percuil. It didn’t stop there, he provided a Ford Cortina Estate (reg GMK later to be replaced with LRL) which were the Clubs works trucks and to carry kit to Percuil when it was too rough on the sea.
We treated GMK as our own car for all sorts of escapades, we also had a couple of Raleigh Wisp mopeds to get to and fro and pick up petrol for the boats which came from Roseland Garage in Gerrans after Highertown stopped selling fuel. The wisps were lethal, you had to pedal to get up hills and we all came croppers several times.
We were soon joined by Brian Davis. He had been working in Hampshire in his uncle's Building company and saw his opportunity to return to the village. Brian joined us and became a full time employee working in the Club in the summer and carrying out all the winter maintenance whilst Gavin and myself were away at Uni/college.
Skiing from Tatum’s Beach
On calm summer days we ran two ski boats off Tatams Beach taking customers on water skiing lessons just off the village ( no speed restrictions in those days) . If there was a nice breeze, we ran sailing lessons in the Enterprise dinghies, JDF and Terry did a bit of subaqua lessons which we couldn’t do as we had no qualifications.
On rough days we would move the operation down to Percuil and carry out the skiing just up the river at high tide at Canavers. It was pretty shallow and very muddy, but the water was flat calm and perfect for skiing. We had worked out that the local speed limit on the river ended just above Percuil, I think it was deemed unnavigable above that, but we made the most of the large flood plain at the top of the tide.
We had to take all the customers around from Percuil in one go, we used a moored base boat to off load them until it was their turn to ski. This base boat was the redundant huge wood rowing boat, built like a tank, which was used to row passengers from Percuil beach out to the Steamer which used to plied regularly between Percuil, St.Mawes and Falmouth.
The ‘system’
In order to promote the business we had a ‘system’. (named after the 1964 film of the same name starring Oliver Reed.) The visitor changeover in the village was generally on a weekend. So on Saturday night, Sunday lunchtime, and best of all Sunday Evening, we hung around the Social Club main bar and ‘sussed’ out the incoming parents with teenage children who could be the coming week or two weeks’ customers. This taught us not to be shy, chat with Mum and Dad and they were glad to get their children involved for their holiday activities. It was even better for us if they were young ladies!!
After initial introductions we could retreat to the Bilges Bar under the Social Club for a ‘few’ pints of Devenish ‘Boys’ beer and a good ‘ole sing song till closing time. Then, we were thrown out to lean over the Lugger wall and assess how many people we would get the next day either skiing or sailing, or possible other summer activities!
Learning to water ski
JDF was a breath of fresh air, he encouraged us all to ski ourselves at the end of the day and basically show off in front of the village. We came pretty proficient, skiing on two skis to start, then mono skiing, even using my surf board to go even faster. JDF was very safety conscious and he had taught us to always have a driver of the boat , a rear lookout watching the skier and always rounding back if they fell off, keeping the engine prop well away from the skier.
Normally we would start the lessons in deep water in a sitting position with two skis. The instruction was always when starting to tow ‘ Keep your arms straight and don’t pull on the tow rope’’ but, normally it was the natural instinct as they came up out of the water and the pressure released was to find their feet going forward , they would then pull on the rope, pulling their feet even more forward, and go over backwards. The others got pulled forward over the top of the skis and kept holding on and not letting the rope go. All we could see was their astonished faces ploughing through the water, until we throttled back!! After a while as drivers we could watch the trainees and anticipate which way they were going and by quick careful engine revs counteract the skiers re-actions.
The Mums and Dads watching from the shore were so delighted if their offspring actually came up out of the water and skied, even a short distance, that evening we had free beer!
Brian Davis, John D. Foster (JDF), and Gavin Carter outside the Water Ski Base at North Parade.
Regatta day
One regatta day we were discussing the sailing races coming up and JDF waged a bet that Gavin or myself couldn’t win the Enterprise sailing Class. If we did he would buy us a barrel of beer….we did! We had first and second! That was a night to remember in the Bilges Bar. We obviously couldn’t drink nine gallons on our own so the whole bar joined in! I think that night Arthur Gearing was the barman. to the chorus of ‘’Arther, Arthur show us your leg’’.
A new life on the waterfront
JDF became very popular in the village bringing activity to the harbour, he loved the buss of us youngsters thrashing around, he cleverly constructed a car port in his garden backing on to North Parade which provided a car parking space on top and a base for all our gear underneath, It also provided a space for the customers to change into wetsuits and walk straight down to Tatum’s beach to be picked up by the ski boat.
All this activity always reminded me of the area where the house and store were built. When we were young the site was a green sloping field surrounded by a low stone wall, just like the Lugger wall. Originally it was the site of a rather prestigious house long since demolished. The main feature was a large gnarly tamarisk tree in the very bottom which overhung the stone walkway to the beach, it was always a ‘dare’ to see who was brave (foolish) enough to climb out on the branches over the beach and rocks below! Now we had a safe balcony to lean over, with a gin and tonic!
Times change
JDF’s wife Gail was really a’City Londoner’ at heart although they had a great party time in the village,especially with Barbara Walker at the end of Wellington Terrace. Gail’s heart was in the town and she drifted back to London. The busy summer Club activities continued with others, John Impey, his nephew from London, locals Rob Curtis,John Roberts, JDF’s nieces Judy and Sara Urwin and nephew John Urwin all helped out at various times.
JDF was still involved in the Employment Agency and went to London frequently, then eventually arrived with his second wife Katie also from London who was very enthusiastic about his maritime pursuits, especially sailing.
Time moved on and Gavin and I hatched a plan, fuelled by our love of surfing,to go to America. JDF encouraged us and lined us up with his relation in San Francisco to stay with, but that is a whole new story in itself. We left the Sub-Aqua Club in good hands and flew off.
Windwillow
On our return after seven months the Club had wound down and JDF and Kate were enjoying sailing in their Folkboat ‘Windwillow.’ Gav and I had to move ‘up country’ to find proper work.
JDF and Kate moved up to live in Admiralty Terrace with its panoramic views of the harbour and bay. He did manage to try and blow up the village when he caught fire to the garage on New Road containing acetylene gas bottles! The garage exploded like a bomb,fortunately nobody was hurt, even though bits of shrapnel were found near the Plume in the Square! ROSELAND SUB AQUA AND WATER SKI…
A Sunday sail to St Mawes
I came home from London one weekend and JDF plied me with beer on the Saturday night and suggested a sail on Winwillow on Sunday morning with Brian before I drove back to London. It was a lovely morning, down to Percuil, sailed out into the harbour and then back in, but on the way in JDF decided a pint in the Victory in St.Mawes was called for. We sailed in and moored up to the wall outside the Ship and Castle Hotel, and went up to The Victory for a pint, then , Oh, well we could have a quickie in the Rising Sun.
While we were at the bar at ‘The Riser’ someone came in and said ‘Is that your boat over there? One look across the harbour and we could see the mast leaning out towards the pier, the boat was aground. We rushed over and managed to winch the boat upright, but it then rocked over to lean against the wall, the mast across the road! Nothing could be done except wait for the tide to go out and come back in.
We then sat in what was then the bar under the St Mawes Hotel, discussing with the customers ‘those stupid visitors who can’t handle their boats’ and watching the large vehicles having to turn around and go back around the top road of St.Mawes,a bit embarrassing! That evening when the tide came back in and we quietly slipped away back to Percuil. I was a day late for work.
‘We certainly lived the Dream’
When JDF sadly died of a heart attack we ‘did him proud’, the boys and Kate sailed from Percuil in Windwillow, around to the village and scattered his ashes over the diving, skiing, sailing area and the vista that he loved.
Katie later moved to Treventon Road where she was very involved in local Clubs and Charities until she passed away in April 2021 and joined JDF in the bay they fell in love with. We all certainly ‘lived the Dream’!
Gavin Carter, Brian Davis, John Peters and John Impey at Kate's wake at The Standard in Gerrans.