A Spanish galleon, sea shanties and storm showers!

26th September 2023

The newly named Seafest Plymouth two-day event, which culminated on Sunday afternoon with the ever-popular fish auction held on West Quay, has been branded ‘a huge success’ by the CEO of the Plymouth Waterfront Bid, despite the weather.

Unable to dampen the spirits of the thousands that turned out for Seafest Plymouth, which this year was held right across the waterfront from Sutton Harbour to Royal William Yard, visitors were treated to entertainers, sea shanty bands, cookery demonstrations and were also able to step onboard El Galeon, a full-scale replica of a 17^th Spanish Galleon.

Brought together by the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, this year Seafest Plymouth was a larger event for Britain’s Ocean City, than seen in previous years, and embraced not only the traditional seafood stalls, cookery demonstrations and family run fishing businesses but also included stand-up paddleboarding sessions, a marine themed trail and even a doggy paddle in Tinside Lido.

Jon Walton CEO of Plymouth Waterfront Partnership said:“What a weekend!

"Despite all that Mother Nature threw at us, especially on Sunday, everyone I spoke to on both days was having a whale of a time.

"I can’t thank the Plymouth Waterfront Partnership businesses, sponsors and partners, and the marketing and events team at Plymouth City Council enough for all their support for Seafest Plymouth.

"When we started planning this event earlier this year, I explained to the team that I really wanted to ‘cast the net’ wider to have more businesses, entertainment and activities for visitors to enjoy and to really make the most of our beautiful waterfront and we did just that.

"Many of our bands had to perform indoors or undercover on the Sunday, which added to the wonderful atmosphere, thank you to all those customers that did come out and brave the weather!”

This year Seafest Plymouth was sponsored by Eco-Plug Ltd. a renewable energy company based in Plymouth specialising in domestic installations including solar PV, battery storage systems and EV chargers. Other sponsors and partners included Sound Seafood, Venton’s Devon Cyder and The Early Bird.