Classic Boat Festival returns to London this September

St. Katharine Docks will host its 13th Classic Boat Festival on 9-11 September, with visitors invited to enjoy three days of preserved vessels, with a wide array of activities available for the whole family.  

This year’s festival will run from 3pm to 5.30pm on Friday 9 September (plus VIP evening), 11am to 6pm on Saturday 10 September, and 11am to 5pm on Sunday 11 September. On display will be around 40 well-preserved vintage boats including several of the surviving war hero Dunkirk Little Ships, which rescued 336,000 trapped soldiers on the beaches at Dunkirk in 1940, and the Bates Star Craft. 

Visitors will be able to chat to the ship owners and step aboard some of the boats. Also on offer will be live music, talks and kids’ activities, plus each day will be marked with an opening and closing salute of horns.

A programme of talks have also been confirmed for the festival. Attendees will be able to hear from Tom Cunliffe, the owner of traditional gaff-rigged boats for 40 years, sailing them to places such as South America, Greenland, North Africa and Communist Russia. Cunliffe has most recently acquired a 44ft Bermudan cutter from America. On Saturday and Sunday, the custodians of HM The Queen’s Row Barge Gloriana will be giving a talk, as well as photographer Jonathon Goldberg. More talks are expected to be announced.

The final day will offer visitors the chance to listen to the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships, founded in 1966 by the late radio and TV presenter Raymond Baxter.