Successful Maritme Festivals

Roach1948

Roach1948

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www.dallimoredesigns.nl
I would be intertested to get people’s opinions on what makes a successful maritime festival. I have been recently been charged with the feasiblity study of holding one in 2009 and was curious to see what peoples thoughst was on the topic. I am interested from both people attending with boats and those without boats.

With boats:The on-the-water events, the culture, the tall ships/yachts that attend, the hospitality, berthing and on-shore events

Without boats: Activities, faboulous boats to look at, cultural activities, the food and shopping.

If you have been to super ace festival I would also like to know why you thought it was so good.
 
Having been to both Brest and all of the UK IFOS, I believe that the venue can make or break a festival. At the French festivals there are always boats moving around on the water for people to watch. This did occur at Bristol, but the floating harbor there is long and narrow, so not ideal, only small (single handed) dingies could really sail. At Portsmouth, you cannot see the boats moving for wall to wall painted grey steel, and any sailing events had to be well away from the spectators to avoid the ferry traffic, so no spectacle. Also the paid talking head burbled all over the performers on the sound stages, which was annoying and discourteous. Lieth could have been better, but the site was so strung out that it was almost three separate festivals, and most of the street theater stayed at the bigger eastern end, also the boats had no incentive to go sailing on the excellent enclosed dock.
Hope that this helps. If you wish to sent a personal email, and we can compare notes.
 
I think Portsmouth relies on it's historic element (Victory, Warrior, Navy etc.) And as you correctly point out it is difficult to see anything happening on the harbour. However I feel the historic element with the museums and ships more than makes up for this.

I think firstly you need to decide what you term as success. People through the door, retails sales, good atmosphere?

For me personally, I like it to be full of traditional things (shanty singers, practical demonstrations, good retail stands). For me what spoils them are an over abundance of items which are out of place, Music DJ's, 'street' dancing and stalls selling cheap tat at vast prices!
 
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I think firstly you need to decide what you term as success. People through the door, retails sales, good atmosphere?

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Well I think that atmospehere is essential and then the others will come naturally.

The proposed plan is a Festival in Enkhuizen in the Netherlands in the Summer of 2009. This is where the Dutch classic boat show is held anyway. The idea would be to build a festival with a distinct Anglo-Dutch flavour, trying to attract as many UK based classic yachts/sponsors as we can. The venue will obviously need to appeal to Dutch Visitors too. So looking at all sorts of ideas that help attract a good contingency of UK classics yachts to fill the old harbour.
 
The most enjoyable I have experienced is the Portsoy Traditional Boat Festival which despite is location attracts a wide range of small-ish boats and exhibitors. Portsoy is on the Moray Firth, Banffshire side. The nearest bigish town is Macduff.
Apart from the waterside stuff, rope and spar making etc there's a good show in the village itself, leaning toward the local produce more than overtly commercial tat. There may be burger stalls, but the most popular catering was the barbeque serving up locally smoked kippers. Ye canna whack the gourmet chips and bradan rost.
Its unlikely that you will see any tall ships, but the rally is interesting with mainly working boats or derivatives, Shetland yalls and the like.
Portsoy started a trend and traditional boat festivals have been fired up at Tarbert and Portpatrick without achieving the same atmosphere of Portsoy.
 
Old Gaffers at Yarmouth seems to go from strength to strength each year and always over subscribed. The racing providing a spectacular show from the pier.
 
Several things underly a successful festival. I agree that the venue is important, but there are other things as well. Firstly, enough funds for a really substantial advertising programme. Secondly, the local community has to be on side with your project, particularly the local municipality. The shopkeepers will love it, but will the ordinary folk who live there? The locals need to be "boat-minded", as are the Bretons. Here in Melbourne there have been several attempts to hold a trad boat festival, but the majority of the population are seriously football-crazy, so it is difficult to get any great support for it. In Hobart, there is a strong community identity with maritime issues, and their festival is a boomer, drawing visitors from all over south-eastern Australia. Many people use the occasion to have a week in Tasmania, visiting the other parts of this beautiful island. Thus, the State government can see the benefit, and they support it too. Once the thing is established, it gets a life of its own, but getting it up and running can be very hard work.
Peter.
 
Enkhiuzen holds a folk/shanty festival celebrating the old herring fishery etc which attracts a large number of traditional vessels. We sailed there in 2005 and were going again this year but its all change and not being held.

It's a great place for a festival of sail and IMHO it also needs loads of music, singing and dancing outside. There is guy called Hans who lives there and he has had a greatdeal to do with the past music festivals, and has a steel colin archer called Flying Cloud in the basin adjacent to the museum. Can't remember his surname and lave lost his email but if you are not already in touch with him you need to be.
Best of luck and more than likely see you there if it happens.
 
Taking up a bit on yours and Npm's experiences, I've found two very experiences helpful.

On being on a Boat at a fest, as crew is far more preferable to just being a visitor on the quayside. I've had a few visits to Peel over the years and always found the smallness, humour and "intimacy" (ok - stop squirming - you know what I mean) a lot more fun that being an outsider.

Larger festivals - I didn't like Brest on shore at all, but then I hate crowds, but the constant stream of craft round the harbour was spectacular. I found staying on a mooring in the harbour was best, just watching the ships pass and getting very sozzled.

Being a longstanding boat person, I've always found that hanging about on the quayside comes a very poor second, but that's understandable. It may be an idea (though an organisational and insurance minefield) to try and make a few of the larger boats open for public visits. This is probably only legal if they are coded for charter, though.

What I hate most, however is some festivals, usually organised by the local town councils rather than local sailors, charging large entry fee for boats and then using them as set dressing for a municipal marketing opportunity. Boats at any maritime fest are the main reason for the fest, and ought to be invited with a minimum fee.
 
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There is guy called Hans who lives there and he has had a great deal to do with the past music festivals, and has a steel colin archer called Flying Cloud

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Thanks for the heads up on that. Will try to track him down - but I am sure the Dutch organisers I am working with know about him.

The festival is going to be sposored by the Einkhuizen Zuiderzeee Museum . The idea is that Anglo-Dutch maritime exhibits will be held in conjuction with the festival. Although we will be looking at events in and around the town, much of what will go on will be within the museum. They have a replica 17C fishing dock where it is hoped we can get a few "Star" yachts.
Ofcourse we will try and initiate and support events outside the museum perimiter too - but my remit wont extend to that. I would be in any ideas or proposals - just PM me.

hetmuseum3.jpg
 
As one of the organisers of the Peel Traditional Boat Weekend I am pleased to hear that Seagreen enjoys our event.

I have also attended a number of other events around the country, including Brest and Duarnenez plus lots in Ireland.

The key in my opinion is the level of hospitality extended to crews, which translates into them feelig special when they visit these events.

At our Peel Traditional Boat Weekend for instance we charge no entry fee, each participant is given supper on the Friday and Saturday night of the event and the makings of breakfast delivered to their boat on Saturday and Sunday morning. Also each boat is given a gift of some sort as a mimento of the event.

All of the above helps us to convey to the participants that we truly value their presence and this in turn we hope makes them spread the word to others and for them to want to come back next year.

For your information the event will be held this year over the weekend of August 1st to 3rd and we would be delighted for any owner of a traditional boat to attend.

For more information have a look at our website http://www.peelsailingclub.com/tradboat/
 
Totally agree.

And if you can get a 'local food' festival going at the same time it involves local businesses, and there's nothing like a good feed to go with traditional boats.

And music as well of course.

Ron
 
Well hello Mike!

Definitely agree with all of that. I even took a half-box of smoked kippers back home in the bilges with me from Peel one year. The SWTSMBO was not very impressed. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif


Hope to be in Peel this August, but that's still in the lap of the gods.
 
We have been involved in festivals for a number of years,initially as entertainers ( shanties etc.) also as crew of visiting ships & for the past 7 years as part of the organising team of our local festival at Gt Yarmouth. A lot depends on what your reason for holding the festival is; at Yrmth it was a case of raising the profile of the towns maritime heritage & utilising our newly refurbished quay, it had to appeal to a wide range of mostly local people & not just "boaties". It has been a succes so far with over 50k people visiting over the weekend.Funding is essential, ours comes largely from local buisness & all members of the team spend a lot of time during the year druming up new support. We don't have a great facility for lots of vessels, tides & a high quay wall restict access to most smaller boats, so we need at least one large vessel with lots of " sticks & strings " on show. I could go on into great ( boring) detail but this is probably not the place for it, but if you'd like to contact me privately we can disscuss the whys & wherefores
 
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