In this week's Pendennis Point of View Mike Truscott looks back at the booming trade when the 'Klondykers' invaded Falmouth.

Last month (May) was apparently the busiest of the year for cruise calls at Falmouth, with no doubt a healthy boost for the local economy, writes Mike Truscott.

The economic impact pales, though, alongside a spectacular feature of port operations some 30 years ago. This was the annual invasion of the “Klondykers” - giant fish factory ships and trawlers from Eastern Europe.

For nearly ten years, peaking in 1979-80, the winter months saw dozens of these vessels packing into the bay and Carrick Roads for mackerel processing and transhipment operations.

Thousands of foreign workers, their pockets stuffed with cash, would swarm ashore. With the Cold War still alive and well, the smell of Russian tobacco would follow them as they hit Falmouth's streets. Many had been at sea for months.

As well as that tobacco, their operations offshore caused a stink of a different kind when the wind was in the “wrong” direction for Falmouth's residents.

But the shopkeepers didn't worry too much about that. As one of them, recently retired, told me: “We made a lot of money from them. They would come in and buy things two- or threefold - taking them back home to sell on.

“Word quickly spread when they were coming in on pay day. We would call in extra staff, who would be with us in no time. We would even lay on free taxis to help our big-spending customers on the way back to their ships. It was well worth it!”

And my man is adamant on one thing: “Contrary to what some people would like you to believe, we do not enjoy boom trade whenever a cruise ship comes in. As for the Klondykers . . . well, that WAS a boom!”