THE GROUP
News
Countdown to Sutton Harbour Classic Boat Rally
26 July 2010
More than 100 traditional boats are making their way to Plymouth this week in time for the Sutton Harbour Classic Boat Rally, which runs from Friday until Monday.
The rally, which is part of the Sutton Harbour Festival and is sponsored by the Sutton Harbour Group, also features a shoreside boatshow for the first time this year when more than 40 marine traders will be selling their wares on Saturday and Sunday.
There will be stalls from local boatyards and marine suppliers, marine artists, traditional crafts and marine book sellers, together with the RNLI and Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen. There will also be live music throughout the weekend, together with a range of shoreside displays.
Nigel Godefroy, chief executive of the Sutton Harbour Group, said: “This is a great event for all the family and the addition of the shoreside boatshow will add a new dimension to the Sutton Harbour Classic Boat Rally.”
Dorothy Merrett, from the rally organising committee and one of the driving forces behind the new boatshow, said: “Ever since the classic boat rally moved to Sutton Harbour five years ago it has grown in popularity so we’re delighted to be adding this major shoreside element this year.”
Among the first vessels to arrive this week will be the 96-foot two-masted topsail schooner Johanna Lucretia, built in Belgium on 1945, which is being sailed from Northern Ireland by her owner Rodger Barton.
The vessel is no stranger to Plymouth having been based here for most of the 1990s before falling into disrepair for six years and being rescued and restored by Rodger just two years ago.
Other highlights include a rare outing for the Tamar sailing barge Shamrock, usually resident at the National Trust’s Cotehele Estate in the heart of the Tamar Valley, and the replica Cornish lugger Spirit of Mystery in which Pete Goss completed a re-enactment of an 11,800-mile journey from Cornwall to Australia last year.
All the boats will be in Sutton Harbour throughout Saturday and Sunday, and there will be a Parade of Sail on the Monday.
For more information visit www.plymouthclassicboatrally.co.uk
SUH.L
