With Christmas over and the weather taking a turn for the wet, we’re all willing away the time until we can get back onto the water. This January however, there’s a chance to fulfil your sailing needs in other ways - because if we can’t enjoy being out on the water, we can at least enjoy watching others out on the seas!
The Woolverstone Project and the Woodbridge Riverside Trust are here to give your sailing fix for the winter. They’ve organised a Maritime Film Festival, running from 17th-19th January, celebrating the cream of the crop of yachting and maritime films across the decades. You can expect Hollywood blockbusters such as Adrift, tried and tested classics such as Riddle of the Sands and Swallows and Amazons. You can expect showings of many others, including The Mercy, Maiden, Life on the Deben, Turning Tide and Deep Water. Every showing will begin with a short talk, with some films prefaced by speeches from notable people in the industry. Expect to see renowned yachtsman and broadcaster Paul Heiney, original producer of Riddle of the Sands Drummond Challis, one of the original Maiden crew, the Nancy Blackett Trust’s Peter Willis and Rear Admiral Roy Clare, a Commodore of Dartmouth Naval Training College and Head of the National Maritime Museum.
The festival will not only offer a plethora of maritime movies, there will also be a collection of workshops to encourage you to start filming. Join the fun on Saturday and Sunday to learn how to put yourself on Youtube and begin editing your videos.
Interested? The festival is set to take place later this month in Woodbridge, Suffolk (near Ipswich). The films will be shown in the Long Shed, a beautiful boat shed adjacent to the famous Woodbridge Tide Mill where a replica of the Sutton Hoo Burial Ship is being constructed.
The schedule
Friday January 17th
1.30pm Opening ceremony
1.45pm Opening talk and film - The Yangtse Incident
5pm Talk and film - The Riddle of the Sands
8pm Film - Adrift
Saturday January 18th
11am Workshop - Putting yourself on Youtube
1.30pm Talk and film - Swallows and Amazons
5pm Talk and film - Deep Water
8pm Film - The Mercy
Sunday January 19th
11am Workshop - Video editing and software
1.30pm Talk and film - Life on the Deben
4.30pm Film - Turning Tide
7.15pm Closing ceremony, film awards and final film - Maiden
Full details and tickets are available from www.maritimefilmfestival.co.uk or you can ring the booking line on 01394 610983 and leave a message. Tickets range from £8 for a film to £40 for passes to the full festival.
Ticket money from the event will go towards the two organising charities, the Woolverstone Project and the Woodbridge Riverside Trust. The Woolverstone Project provides accessibility to sailing to those with disabilities, running sailing opportunities and tuition on their 23 accessible dinghies and 2 boats. The Woodbridge Riverside Trust is a community organisation working from the Longshed to run a maritime heritage initiative on Woodbridge waterfront.
