Fishing trips from the harbour
The same working boats that land the catch will take you out when they're not fishing for a living — a couple of hours after mackerel with the children, or a full day offshore after something with teeth. Nothing here runs to a fixed timetable: the sea decides. A trip can be moved into the calmer water of the bay, or called off on the morning, and a good skipper will tell you straight. So this is what's on offer and how to find it — book direct with the boat, and check the day before you come.
Where they leave from
Trips board from the outer harbour — the steps on the outer arm, past the inner basin where the ferry and the day-boats tie up. The boat tells you exactly where and when to meet when you book; the Mevagissey Shark Angling Centre tackle shop on the harbour is the other place people are pointed to.
The kinds of trip
Mackerel trips — short, and the one for families
About 1½–2 hoursMackerel, close inshore in summer — you're all but guaranteed fish, which is why it's the trip for children. The easy first trip, and the gentlest on a queasy stomach.
From about £20 a head where it's published — confirm with the skipper, prices move.
Reef & wreck trips — half or full day
Commonly 4 to 8 hoursThe bigger bottom species over the reefs and wrecks offshore — pollack, ling, cod, conger. A proper day out for anglers; a long trip for small children. Tackle and bait are usually provided — confirm when you book.
From about £30 a head where it's published — confirm with the skipper.
Shark trips — full day, offshore
A full day, 8 hours or more, well out into the ChannelMostly blue shark — caught, photographed and released. For keen anglers, usually in small parties. Summer into autumn.
Ask the skipper for the price when you book.
Some boats also run private charters and wildlife trips out to see dolphins and seabirds, by arrangement with the skipper.
Before you book
Warm, waterproof layers even in summer (it's colder on the water), non-slip shoes, sun cream and a hat, something to eat and drink, and a bag for your catch. Most boats provide rod, tackle and bait — check.
If you're prone, take a remedy before you sail. The bay is far calmer than the open ground offshore, so a short mackerel trip is the gentler option.
Every trip is weather-dependent. Rough days are moved into the bay, rescheduled, or called off — confirm with the skipper the day before and the morning of, and don't book it as the only thing that has to happen on your trip.
The short mackerel trips are made for families; the full-day reef, wreck and shark trips are long and offshore — better for older children and adults. Check each boat's minimum age.
Direct with the operator (below), or through the harbour's tackle shop, which books several of the boats. There is no single central booking line — book direct with the boat rather than relying on a third-party price.
The harbour's boats
Listed neutrally, a line each — this is information, not a recommendation of one boat. Check each is still running before you plan around it.
Skipper Jamie. Mackerel, wreck & reef, shark, and private and wildlife trips; from about £20 a head. Berths at West Wharf on the harbour.
Skipper Chris. Mackerel, deep-sea wreck, reef and shark, on a 33ft MCA-certified boat with gear provided; from about £30 a head. Book direct.
Skipper Dave Hunkin, thirty-five years at it. Sea angling and sharking, licensed for eleven passengers up to sixty miles out; leaves from the outer harbour wall.
Private charters, shark, reef and wreck. Availability is not online, so contact the skipper direct.
The harbour tackle shop: bait, gear and advice, open all year, and it books charters for several of the harbour boats — a good first call if you're not sure which boat to take.
The boats here never once went out for the fun of it — they went because the family ate what came back in, pilchard on pilchard, and sold the rest. A trip 'for pleasure' would have had us in stitches. Mind you, we'd not have turned down the mackerel.
A self-catering cottage in St Austell Bay with sea views, a large garden and parking, close to the beach and the coast path. Book direct with the owner.
Book direct with the ownerMevagissey Harbour — a guide to the village, the bay and the people who worked it.