THE future of a much-loved St Ives Easter tradition for sailing toy boats looks safe after Cornwall Council agreed to overhaul the weed-infested pond.

There was disappointment and anger in the town last Good Friday when the popular model yacht regatta at Consols Pool was cancelled for the first time in a century.

Funding to clear tonnes of thick weed was cut and a last-minute offer by an environmental group fell through after health and safety concerns.

But with a new action group formed and a five-year deal with the landowner on the table, the boating event looks set to return as a regular fixture.

Mandy Boyd, chairman of the Consols Pond Association, said she was cautiously optimistic but added that work could not begin until a new Environment Agency sluice gate was up and running.

"I am still hopeful but slightly worried that timescales are slipping and now it looks like January," she said.

"Cornwall Council will then spend a week clearing tonnes of silt and gravel and hopefully the pond will re-establish itself with wildlife returning."

The tradition began in the early 1900s, when fisherman and children sailed model boats in the town's harbour.

It is thought to be a gesture to the old seafaring communities which used to launch miniature boats in the hope of ensuring safe passage for mariners.

A five-year agreement has now been signed with land owner Simon Rogers and decking is planned to make it an all-year-round attraction.

http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/environment/Easter-traditional-saved-council/article-1528704-detail/article.html

Group to clean up pond for boats

A conservation group plans to revive a decades-old tradition of sailing model boats on a Cornish village pond which was halted because of overgrown weeds.

Generations of families in St Ives had spent nine decades sailing model boats at Consols Pool on Good Friday, but weeds stopped the 2009 event.

The new group has now pledged to look after the pool for five years.

Work to clear up the pond in conjunction with Cornwall Council, will start at the end of the month.

The pond clearing used to be sorted out by Penwith District Council but the authority was disbanded at the end of March to make way for Cornwall Council.

'Storm gods'

The Environment Agency is also set to fit a new sluice gate to help prevent weed build-up, although no date for that work has been arranged.

Mandy Boyd from the group, whose own family had been sailing boats for five generations, said members were determined to revive the tradition.

She said: "It's not just about sticking a boat in the water on Good Friday. It's about the community's social aspect."

The tradition began in the early 1900s when fisherman and children to sailed model boats in St Ives' harbour.

It is thought to be a gesture to the old seafaring communities which used to launch miniature boats before the arrival of summer in a bid to placate "storm gods" in the hope of ensuring safe passage on future sailing trips.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/8363806.stm