News
TRH visit The Scilly Isles
2nd July 2009
TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall arrived on the Isles of Scilly today for a tour of the island's boat club, horticultural centre and harbour.
The Prince and The Duchess travelled to St Mary's and visited the Gig Boat Club to be shown the Golden Eagle gig, a heavy rowing boat that was built in 1870 and refurbished using funds from The Duchy Benevolent Fund.
As she arrived The Duchess looked at a sale of urchins outside the club before walking barefoot on the beach to see the boats.
The Golden Eagle is around 32ft long and crewed by Selena Thomas, Karen Wright, Vicki Hitchens, Kristi Ashworth and Becky Campion.
Ms Thomas said The Prince was interested in the sport and it was a pleasure to meet him.
She said: "He was really interested in the racing, he was very friendly."
The Prince and The Duchess also met the owners of the Boat Shed restaurant, Charlie Carss, and her husband Pete.
Mrs Carss introduced her children Joshua, four, and Lara, two, to The Duchess and said they were too shy to speak to her.
She said: "It was lovely to meet them, we started the Boat Shed as somewhere for crabbing and then we applied for planning permission to turn it into a restaurant and The Duchy of Cornwall supported us.
"They were very easy to talk to, The Duchess asked Joshua how he was enjoying pre school but he was too shy to answer."
On leaving the gig club, The Duchess bought one of the displayed urchins and The Prince talked to dog walker Pete Flower, and his 11-year-old collie Tess.
Mr Flower, from Bath, said: "He really liked the dog and was very interested in her. She was completely relaxed, tractors and Land Rovers send her crazy but the Royal Family are all in a day's work."
The Prince and The Duchess then visited the Trenoweth Horticultural Centre, where they met staff and were given a short presentation about its history.
Afterwards, Their Royal Highnesses walked along St Mary's Harbour Quay meeting holidaymakers, the harbourmaster and schoolchildren. The Prince stopped to talk in French to a crew of sailors who had come across the English Channel and were moored alongside the jetty.