Festival of the Sea – 17th -20th June 2022

The event is jointly organised by both Essex and Suffolk counties to honour the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee by celebrating our maritime histories. Anyone can join in, you don’t have to be at the Parade of Boats; we are pleased to have heard from Marconi SC (River Blackwater) who are holding their East Coast Piers Race (for multihulls) and the Rowhedge Smack Race (River Colne) and the Colne Smack Preservation Society, who plan to join the celebrations on their respective rivers.

Those left onshore can simply visit the coast, walk to the end of a pier, take the air on the seafront or coastal footpath, enjoy some jellied eels, an ice cream or fish & chips or all of them (mind the seagulls). We recommend fancy dress both afloat and onshore, time to dust off that old crown in the fancy dress box.

Parade of Boats – 18th June 2022

For both fleets, there will be a 10 minute and start cannon.

The course will be announced at the briefing which is planned to be accessible online for both fleets.

The Parade

Plans for dinghies and gigs – the Harwich Town SC has kindly offered to host the parade for the small boat fleet. The plan is that visiting dinghies and gigs will be able to launch from the beach by the club; an online briefing must be watched by entrants before the parade; sign on for the parade and join in parade order (yet to be decided); boats must register online beforehand using the registration form on the website, where it asks for boat type please add the dinghy’s class and sail number. Vessels must be insured.

Plans for large boats (yachts, workboats, barges, smacks, tugs, HHA cutters, RNLI, Trinity House, HM Navy etc) – online registration is mandatory and insurance; the fleet will be split into squadrons and published beforehand. An online briefing must be watched by entrants beforehand. Entrants should marshal in their squadrons west of the Bristol buoy and move forward to join the course as their squadron flag is hoisted on the committee boat Off H’penny Peir.

Parade instructions and course will be elaborated in the briefing.

Registering a vessel – don’t forget you must enter your vessel on the website
(https://www.festivalofsuffolk.org/festival-of-the-sea), find the 18th June Parade of Boats in
pink text and click on it, go down through the text to the pink box Register Now and you’re in.

FESTIVAL OF THE SEA 2022
Celebrating the sea and coastlines of Essex and Suffolk
17-19 June 2022 – between Lowestoft & Leigh-on-Sea
‘Parade of Boats’ 18 June 2022 – off Shotley, Harwich & Felixstowe
Marking HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee
Organised as part of the Festival of Suffolk 2022
https://www.festivalofsuffolk.org/festival-of-the-sea