Old Gaffers Festival

Yarmouth's picturesque harbour was filled with life and colour for the eleventh consecutive year this June all thanks to the presence of more than 100 visiting traditional sailing, steam and motor vessels, including the cream of the Old Gaffers fleet.

Over 25,000 people were said to have crammed into the tiny streets of the ancient West Wight village of Yarmouth between Friday 1st - Sunday 3rd of June, where free entertainment, a craft fair and market, live music, visiting classic vehicles, fresh produce, lifeboat demonstration were just a few of the attractions to feature as part of the busy weekend line-up. The Old Gaffers, so called because of the traditional gaff rig featured on coastal sailing vessels, travelled from all over the country to participate in these festivities. Visitors were able to witness spectacular classic and gaff-rigged boats in the harbour and exciting racing within sight of the shore.

The Treasures of the Isle of Wight

This year the Old Gaffers Festival chose to adhere to the theme 'The Treasures of the Isle of Wight,' celebrating the wealth of historic attractions that can be found here from Osborne House to Carisbrooke Castle. In addition to this it has to be said that the Island's largest free festival itself certainly gave its guests something to marvel at. Not only did the ghost of HRH Queen Victoria and the High Sheriff David Langford take responsibility for declaring the festival officially open on the Friday, but amidst the incredible spectacle of boats from a bygone age another surprise visitor emerged in the form of the huge boat La Recouvrance which travelled all the way from Brest in France, to support the Old Gaffers. For those who missed this awesome sight, it is worth noting that the 42ft schooner, built in 1992 as a replica of a 19th century French ship, is next scheduled to visit the Island in August during Cowes Week.

Further popular attractions which succeeded in drawing the crowds included the Isle of Wight Military History museum's display, a flower festival at St James' Church, beer tent supported by the Fat Cat at Freshwater Bay, a variety of food stalls plus special appearance by the hand-built Chitty Chitty Bang Bang car which is soon due to drive across Australia for Newport's Earl Mountbatten Hospice.

Musical entertainment onshore and exhilarating action offshore

During the course of the three-day event visitors were also treated to a range of musical accompaniments including 1920's cabaret, rock 'n' roll, sea shanties, Latin guitar, rhythm & blues, funk dance, jazz acoustic guitar, traditional Irish, Samba, Caribbean steel band, male voice choir and Dixieland. There were also mime artists, clowns, musicians, marching and strolling bands, historical costume displays, stunt theatre plus both Irish and Morris dancers. As if all of this wasn't enough additional live music continued on through the night in the ticketed marquee on the Quay.

With the incredible gathering of gaff-rigged sailing boats forming the ultimate centrepiece for the festival, one can just imagine what a magnificent sight it was when they took to the waves on the Saturday to compete within the Old Gaffers Race, which saw Kelpie claiming first prize. The Royal Solent Yacht Club later played host to the Queen's Jubilee Race on the Sunday morning, many of the crews from which were sporting colourful fancy-dress costumes, which helped to enhance the bright and breezy atmosphere of the day. A spot of poor navigating meant that an Old Gaffer hit a committee boat at one point, but fortunately no damage was done to either party!

With Yarmouth Common to the East, the beach to the West and not forgetting the Pier upfront, there were plenty of excellent vantage points for the events on the water. As well as the Gaffers themselves, races for X and Y class yachts also took place; plus Bermudan rigged sailboats, Scow and Optimist dinghies.

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