Pescado report ready for the coroner

TESTS and surveys on the Pescado fishing vessel are complete and a report will shortly go to the coroner.

Mr John Evans, Chief Constable, told a police authority meeting that the final bill for salvaging the vessel off Falmouth was £20,000 less than the £250,000 allocated because of a special deal arranged with the salvors.

The Pescado, which sank with the loss of six lives more than two years ago after leaving Falmouth, was recovered and taken to Plymouth last month.

Since then it has undergone extensive tests. It had taken more than a year to get the Pescado up from the seabed after on-going problems with a previous salvage company.

When the Scottish firm of Stolt Comex came along the vessel was up within days.

Since the salvage, family members of those lost on the vessel have been allowed access along with owner Alan Ayres.

The Pescado is in dry dock at Devonport Dockyard. It will be up to the mid-Cornwall Coroner Dr Alan Bruce to hold an inquest once the reports have been submitted to him.

De Savary buys home at Helford

PETER de Savary is moving back to Cornwall. He has bought a house in Bar Road, Helford, where he is soon to move with his wife and children.

The children will attend local schools. Mr de Savary will move into offices at Port Pendennis and make them his main office, using his London office as a satellite in future.

Mr David Redfern, spokesman for the millionaire businessman, confirmed that the deal on the luxury home known as Bar House, overlooking the beautiful Helford River, was completed on Friday.

The house was reputed to be on the market for more than £700,000 and has splendid views over the river and down to the sea amid landscaped gardens and trees.

His local pub will be the popular Ferry Boat Inn where he has already been seen.

Asked if it meant a return in a big way to Falmouth for Mr de Savary, Mr Redfern said: "He has never left. But he will be spending more time there in future.

"He has bought the house and is making Falmouth his personal office with London a satellite in future," he added.

His office would be in Port Pendennis.

Mr Redfern said his boss had been looking for a new house in the area for some time, having kept a flat in port Pendennis, where he often stayed.

"He was there last week. But the house is perfect for him with a pier and boathouse," said Mr Redfern.

Rock band gets second London gig

A FALMOUTH rock band have been invited to back to play at a London venue noted for launching musicians into the big-time.

The return visit is a major boost for Inspirit, a four-piece group which specialises in performing their own songs.

The group has been asked to perform again at The Mean Fiddler in February. Last month they made their debut at the venue and scored an impressive hit. A group spokesman said: "We are really pleased. The Mean Fiddler is a prestige venue for groups like ours."

Inspirit has gained a big reputation locally over the past year, performing at venues like The Smugglers at St Erth and The Pirate in Falmouth.

The group consists of vocalist Christian Boulton, lead guitarist Steven Wyatt, his brother Matthew Lars Wyatt (bass guitarist) and drummer Gary Bettison.

Ex-cop returns from mission of mercy

RETIRED policeman turned ambassador of goodwill Graham Martin has returned from the new republic of Belarus in the former Soviet Union after taking medicines to a remote village.

Mr Martin, of Dracaena Avenue in Falmouth, found a community with a lifestyle reminiscent of 1930s Britain, whose values and community spirit made a great impact on him.

"We were smothered with kindness. Everyone looks after each other, and not just neighbours – from one end of the village to the other," he said. "Life might sound hard, but the people in the village and elsewhere come to that, have that something that we have lost. Pride, hospitality, thought for others, the ability to create enjoyment for themselves, their closeness within the community as a whole. How much might we have to envy? How much have we lost?"