2014 event programme

Details

This year's Southampton Maritime Festival is set to be bigger than ever. Our organisers are working round the clock pulling together the full programme of events but below you can find just a taste of what will be at the show. 

The festival is open 10:30 -18:00 on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd August. 

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MAIN ATTRACTIONS 

Get on board ships, boats and tugs 

HMS Medusa (WW Harbour defence ship)

Jubilee Sailing Trust – Tenacious (Wheelchair accessible sailing vessel)

ST Challenge (Dunkirk little ship)

SS Shieldhall

View vessels> 

Explore history with heritage organisation displays 

See hard hat divers, traditional boat-building skills, boating demonstrations and more at the Festival. Many of the charities involved in the Festival's organisation will also have stalls and displays here. Why not get involved or donate?

See the list of exhibitors> 

Discover, browse and shop

Outside we have a variety of stalls to browse. Also, inside the cruise ship terminal, you'll also find a special exhibition where you can see many more history displays, browse through maritime art and look at local arts and craft stalls.

View stalls, arts and craft exhibitors>

See heritage buses, trams, steam rollers and vehicles. Plus, NEW FOR 2014, you can take a FREE historical tour on an open top bus.  

We'll be joined by many touring heritage collections over the course of the two days. Plus, you can pre-book a FREE excursion around some of Southampton's historic sites on a vintage open top bus. 

Book your free open-top bus trip>

NEW for 2014: Talks, workshops and handling opportunities

New for 2014 is the Festival talk stage where you can hear from experts as they bring history to life. Around the festival you'll also get the chance to learn and handle many historical artefacts!

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Live entertainment!

We'll have entertainment around the site. Plus our main stage is packed with great entertainment throughout the festival. You can enjoy music from the 1900s through to today! Don't forget to catch X Factor's Kingsland Road on Friday 22nd August.

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Kid Zone

Our kid' zone is full of great activities for children. Your little ones can see some great entertainers, take part in maritime themed activities and get their face painted. 

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KEY EVENTS 

Friday 22^nd August

11.30 Opening by the Mayor of Southampton and ABP's Southampton Port Director

Throughout the morning: Arrival of vessels

All day - All attractions open

All day - Kids activities and entertainment

Come on down and get the kids active! 

On Friday 22nd August the Festival will feature many activities designed to beat those lsummer holiday blues. Being a Friday it gives you a chance to start the August Bank Holiday weekend early whilst keeping the kids entertained!

Performances by X Factor's Kingsland Road

Friday 2pm - Catch up with the 2013 TV boy band as they perform live on the main stage. 

Find out more

16:00 SS Shieldhall departs for a cruise of the Solent

As well as being open to the public for the Festival the SS Shieldhall will take a special trip around the Solent. This trip is run by the Shieldhall preservation society (The Solent Steam Packet Limited) and additional costs apply. Please visit the SS Sheildhall website for details. 

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Saturday 23^rd August

All day - All attractions open

All day - Main stage takes a war-time focus

16:00 Vessels depart to music

14:30 A Spitfire and Hurricane flyover 

Southampton has a long association with the Spitfire - the prototype Spitfire first flew from Southampton airport and production of the earliest models was based at the Supermarine factory in Woolston. What better way to celebrate Southampton's part in aviation history than with a spectacular flypast by two of Britain's most famous fighter planes! 

16:00 SS Shieldhall departs for a cruise of the Solent

As well as being open to the public for the Festival the SS Shieldhall will take a special trip around the Solent. This trip is run by the Shieldhall preservation society (The Solent Steam Packet Limited) and additional costs apply. Please visit the SS Sheildhall website for details. 

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Please note that the attractions and events displayed are subject to change. The promoter reserves the right to amend attractions without prior notice to the ticketholder. 

Exhibitors and Stalls

Details

Below is a list of the exhibitors and stalls that will be attending the festival. 

Arts and crafts market

• Association of Sail Training organisations (ASTO)
• Books for Free
• Costco
• Cosy Knits and Bits
• CRI Soton Alcohol Friend Intervention and Counselling
• Groundwork South
• Heartstrings jewellery
• HM Coastguard
• Ladies Handbags
• Lodestar Books
• Lucy's Farm
• Mainland and Maritime Books
• Marine Unit Hampshire Constabulary

  

• Mo Mo's Homemade Artisan Preserves
• Peieroth Ltd
• RNLI 
• Rotary Club of Southampton Claudium
• Sailors Society
• Sams Fudge
• Silk Dreamings
• Solent NHS Trust
• Sparkeys Vintage
• Sweet Treats
• The Book Man 
• The Collectable Gifts Cart
• The Daily Echo
• The Pink Party Company
• Usbourne Books
• Vicky Balloons
• Vintage Belles
• Wow Cupcakes

Refreshments

• 146 Cider Compnay
• Candy Corner
• Ceano's Café
• Dinner Jackets
• Ebbies Ice Creams
• Fat Sams Ice Creams
• Hop On Inn Beer Bus
• Hot and Tasty Burgers
• Jonny Dough's Pizza
• Krush Smoothies
• Little Barista Coffee
• Marina's Snacks
• Sweet Joe
• Sweet Way to Heaven

Entertainment

Details

The Festival has a great variety of musical and performing acts to keep you entertained over the weekend. Below is the full line up.

The Main Stage

Listen to a great range of artists performing modern hits to vintage classics. 

 

Around the event

Wailing Johnny!

Salty Songs and Sea Shanties from Wailing Johnny - the Jubilee Sailing Trust's very own Shantyman. Salty eye patches distributed to all who listen.

Long John Chubby - 12:00-14:00 Friday 22nd August (Kid's zone)

Come down to the Kid's Zone on Friday for a Special show. Join Chubby on a Pirate adventure; help him find his missing treasure.

Features a magic show, treasure hunt and pirate games.

Vessels

Details

Below are a list of the vessels that are confirmed as attending the Southampton Maritime Festival.

	TS Tenacious Designed by Tony Castro, Tenacious is the largest wooden tall ship of her kind in the world. Owned by the Southampton based charity – the Jubilee Sailing Trust, she was built in a ship yard in Woolston on the Itchen River.
	ST Challenge This ship is a 110ft Steam Tug built 1931. The last steam tug on the Thames, she took part in Operation Dynamo at Dunkirk, towed Maunsell forts and Mulberry Harbour parts, and was nearly sunk by a flying bomb. She was rescued by DLSRT in 1993 and is a member of the National Historic Fleet.
	SS Shieldhall Launched in 1955, and built by Lobnitz & Co., of Renfrew, she operated under the Glasgow Corportation to transport treated sewage sludge down the river Clyde to be dumped at sea. She was suddenly withdrawn from service in 1985 due to rising fuel prices, at which point she was purchased by in 1988 by a Southampton City Museum Service initiative. She is now the largest working steam ship in Northern Europe.
	Yacht Tahilla This 60ft. twin screw ketch was built 1922 by Thornycroft for a member of the Wills Tobacco Family to cruise from Bristol to Scotland. She was called up for Dunkirk and then served on harbour patrol and pilotage duties. After the war she went to the Mediterranean on charter work until 1969 when she was sold to the present owners and brought back to the UK in 1980. She is a member of the National Historic Fleet. Member of the ADLS.
	Caronia Built in 1927 at Newlyn Cornwall. One of the first of her line to be fitted with engines as her main form of power. In 1933 she was sailed to Littlehampton where she was raised and decked to turn her into a cruiser. 40 feet long and close on forty tons in weight. When war broke out she sailed with hundreds of other “Little Ships” to carry hundreds of thousands off the beaches of Dunkirk. Following a war spent at sea she made her home at Brightlingsea where she found herself in trouble for running supplies to Radio Caroline.   With the current owners for twelve years following restoration which has turned her from a floating home back into a sea going vessel, major woodwork, a new engine and a hundred other tasks to achieve a very capable vessel once again.   She has returned to the beaches of Dunkirk, participated in the Diamond Jubilee Pageant and attended the Oostende at Anchor festival in May this year. Many more adventures lay ahead including a round Britain voyage next year
	HMS Medusa A small motor launch used in the protection of harbors and estuaries. For D-Day she was fitted with the state of art guidance system and escorted a convoy to Juno beach in bad weather. Now restored by the Medusa Trust. Member of the ADLS.
	Oil Spill Response Vessel (Fri only) Ever wondered how organisations plan responses should a spill occur? Get on board to speak to crew and learn about the vessel and how the oil industry work in our area.
	Hampshire Police Marine Unit Launch (Sat only) As a department of Special Branch, the Marine Unit is heavily involved in daily tasks relating to the security of our coastal borders. Find out about the types of incidents the police need to respond to in and around Southampton Water.

Many of the vessels are part of the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships. This organisation keeps the spirit of Dunkirk alive by perpetuating for posterity the identity of those Little Ships that went to the aid of the British Expeditionary Force during Operation Dynamo (the evacuation of Dunkirk) in 1940 by forming a registered association of their present-day owners and of those closely associated. Over 100 Little Ships are presently represented by members of the Association. 

You can view one of the DLSRT's restoration projects - the Dorian - in the Heritage workshop on the festival site. The DLSRT is always keen to have volunteers to get involved with the workshop. If you are interested in getting involved, please see the page here.