PIRATES AND PAGEANTRY
HOLYHEAD FESTIVAL OF TRADITIONAL SAIL
... or the fightin’ and the fundin’ that goes into making a traditional boat festival a hit, by Claudia Myatt
“I
blame Johnny Depp,” said the skipper of the smart Sigma 38 in Holyhead marina. He stood on the foredeck with his family, watching as brigantine Zebu was attacked by schooner
Vilma and a horde of cutlass-waving pirates spilled over onto the pontoon, engaged in mortal combat. The theme music of Pirates of the Caribbean formed the continuous background to commentary from a loudspeaker. There was more than pirate pageantry to please the crowds who turned out for Holyhead’s Festival of Traditional Sail last August Bank Holiday weekend. On the water a parade of sail, led by the lifeboat, circled the harbour within cannon range of the promenade. RAF Valley’s Sea King helicopter graced the occasion two days running with a flypast – and later confirmed that, yes, it was Prince William we were all waving at. On shore, the old Trinity Marine building housed nautical craftsmen including many familiar to CB readers – coracles by Peter Faulkner, ropemaking with Des and Liz Pawson, rigging demonstrations by Nigel Gray, kipper smoking by Mike Smylie and more. Holyhead Festival began in 2007 as a modest event run by the North Wales branch of the Old Gaffers Association. Since that first gathering of 22 boats, the event has quietly grown into one of the most popular and enjoyable festivals in the traditional boat calendar. So what’s the secret of its success? Holyhead is not the name on everyone’s lips as the automatic choice for a fabulous weekend afloat. It suffers from a ferry port’s inferiority complex; a place that everyone goes through on the way to somewhere else. As a result, it desperately wants to be liked – and there is plenty to like. Holyhead is proud of its harbour and loves to see it full of sail. It has a spacious marina, sheltered water for the small boats to race, wide open spaces for the big boat races and deep water close to shore for the Parade of Sail. Holyhead Sailing Club
38 CLASSIC BOAT APRIL 2012
Above right: Some of the ships – small, medium and tall – that make the festival such a popular spectacle
opens its doors to all visiting crews and provides a hospitable base for organisers and crew. The trailer- sailors of the OGA will travel long distances to festivals, and the good road links to Anglesey attract boats from all over the UK. Boats come by sea from Ireland, the Isle of Man, Wales, Liverpool and the north-west, and if the weather is too bad to sail home after the event, the ferry is conveniently to hand to get crews home.
REGENERATION Anglesey’s identity is closely bound up with the the sea. Cuts to the Coastguard service are an issue close to the community’s heart. Anything that helps to make Anglesey’s voice heard is welcomed – and an event that shows off Holyhead’s fine harbour to advantage is embraced with enthusiasm. As far as the town council is concerned, the Festival of Sail is not seen as a load of old
RICHARD BURNELL
JOHN CAVE
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