Coastal events Nore Race

Benfleet Yacht Club once again hosts this year’s Nore Race – a combined open cruiser and dinghy event held over a 20-mile circuit of the Thames Estuary, starting and finishing at Southend Pier. The club has organised the Nore Race since the 1930s and it’s the only race that many of its skippers and crews compete in each year. Together with the Round Canvey Race (see p25), now in its 12th year, the Nore Race makes Benfleet Yacht Club a must-visit for sailors and watersports enthusiasts from as far away as Yorkshire and Devon, as well as clubs closer to home along the East Coast. The Nore Race includes all classes of sailing dinghies and cruising yachts, both multiand monohull. This year’s event takes place on June 11, when there’ll be split start times for the dinghy and cruiser classes, with the ‘fast multihull’ dinghies completing two laps. Prizegiving takes place at Benfleet Yacht Club on June 16.

•www.benfleetyachtclub.org

The Thames Traditional Boat Festival takes place on July 14-16, promising three days of family fun in the company of dozens of classic river craft and Dunkirk Little Ships. Taking place opposite the Royal Regatta course at Henley-on-Thames, this celebration of all that’s best in British boatbuilding and craftsmanship evokes the nostalgia of boating from a bygone era. The event owes its origins to concerns in the 1970s over the demise of many unpowered craft, seen neglected and rotting along the River Thames. The idea of a rally, to be held annually and open to anyone, was taken up by the River Thames Society which agreed to organise an event in 1978. Over the years the festival has welcomed the involvement of many boat clubs and societies, but the emphasis has always been on the preservation of beautiful craft, and its awards are still keenly fought for.

•www.tradboatfestival.com