Henley Festival

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spinreach

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Does anyone know what the "form" on the river is at the Henley Festival during the evenings. I've seen the detail about moorings and the restrictions and limitations to mooring alongside the actual festival area (only dropping off / picking up people for those with official paid moorings) but looking at past photos it seems really busy, a right melee but quite a bit of fun.

Are there any restrictions on the river for non festival traffic, or do people in the know just avoid it anyway? Is there any protocol for boats (other than to avoid others) about hanging around or even anchoring and is it a free for all for the fireworks?

As I'm moored at Harleyford, was planning on popping down to take in the atmoshere one night, so any advice much welcome.
 
There is paid for mooring on Fawley Meadow and further downstream, many boats just "do the circuit" a few times during the evening performances and do it more slowly at firework time, including the big Hobbs boats, they can be a pain and it gets quite dangerous when it comes to an almost standstill. This I never understand as fireworks generally look better from some distance away.

There is free mooring along the booms in the middle of the river and quite a festival atmosphere is the result. Some come along in tiny boats and listen to the music and watch the fireowrks before returning home in the dark. This is also a dodgy time when the idiots forget about their lights and forget they can't see very well in the dark.

There is definitely no anchoring as both channels are used by boats doing the circuit.

Final boats get away well after midnight, except those who stay on the booms of course.
 
Thanks Brayman, how many moorings are there on the booms? Presumably they get filled up pretty quickly. With all that movemnet and traffic, are there any accidents / collisions?
 
Mooring is only available on one side of the booms. Those nearest the floating stage get taken very early, eg as soon as the regatta is finished the Sunday before!

Further downstream from the stage, ie downstream of the end of the festival enclosure there is always room on the booms.

There have been accidents and collisions, even booms being pulled out from between the piles. You can only tie to a boom, you can't tie to a post/pile.

The EA generally have patrol boats going round, especially at the weekend. Detailed restrictions are published by the EA a few weeks beforehand and are given out at Marsh and Hambleden Locks during the Festival itself.
 
Open boats can tie to the booms in the small boat enclosure immediately adjacent to the floating stage, but the main booms down the centre of the river are available to anything.
 
Well let us know if you are, maybe I'll have my Forum burgee by then, but then you would have trouble picking it out with all the other flags around!

It's well worth the trip.
 
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It's well worth the trip.

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Absolutely; I lived in Henley for ten years, then nearby for 6, so am a pretty seasoned Festival goer /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Also done the river fest in a succession of boats, a floating Citroen 2CV, and a floating black-tie dinner party... ahhh, heady days!
 
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Also done the river fest in a succession of boats, a floating Citroen 2CV, and a floating black-tie dinner party... ahhh, heady days!

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The 2CV I have seen and the Dinner Party is still going strong every year.
 
Hmm, wonder if it is any of the original bunch! It was spectacular; we had full silver service, parlour palm, carpet everything to make the raft look like a 1920s dinner party. We got a big round of applause from the festival goers.

A gentleman in a slipper launch cruised over, told us that he thought the youth of today had no style, gave us a bottle of champagne, and thanked us for proving him wrong!!
 
Sounds more fun than the regatta (Saturday), which is a challenge to navigate - though a breeze last year as nobody went.

Classic FM style music is not for me, though.
 
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