Carrick Roads

Carrick Roads (Cornish: Dowr Carrek, meaning "rock anchorage")[1] is the estuary of the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall in England.

Carrick Roads and the Fal Estuary are favoured by ornithologists for birdwatching, especially the waders and waterbirds that visit in autumn and winter.

[6] As a result Carrick Roads has always been an important anchorage especially given that it is at the gateway to the Western Approaches serving shipping arriving from the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.

[8][9] The waters of the fiord-like Carrick Roads are steep-sided and deep, with depths of 12–14 m (39–46 ft) in many places, and can allow large ships to anchor safely midstream.

It is a popular location for layup moorings for a wide variety of commercial vessels, during economic downturns, when changing owners or when being mothballed near the end of their careers.

In 1882, at a meeting of the seine owners at St Mawes, it was decided to place a huer (lookout) on a hill, for the first time in a few years, to look out for shoals.