Jubilee Party - Open Boat
Read about the activities that ran for Open Boats below.
Launching and Accommodation: The base for Open Boats was at Suffolk Yacht Harbour (Levington) throughout.
Open Boat Sailing Activities
- Thursday 3rd and Saturday 5th: Open Boat Cruises. The Rivers Orwell and Stour and the Walton Backwaters normally provide a rich cruising ground for small boats. The unkind weather kept those boats which sailed near Levington on the River Orwell.
- Friday 4th Sail to Royal Harwich Yacht Club and Parade of Sail: Open Boats sailed upriver to the Yacht Club for lunch. After lunch they joined the fleet from Ipswich in the Parade of Sail back to Levington/Suffolk Yacht Harbour. Everyone got absolutely soaked in the torrential rain which hit the Parade of Sail fleet!
- Saturday 5th Sail to Wrabness / Walton Backwaters: Saturday was an awful day weatherwise. Organised cruises and racing were cancelled and most stayed ashore. A few hardy souls sailed upriver to Pin Mill.
- Sunday 6th Jubilee Open Boat Race: Once again the weather was against the planned activities.
- Sunday 6th Teamac Gaffling International Championships. Sadly, these had to be postponed until 2024 due to the strong winds.
Other Activities
- Thursday 3rd Civic Reception Ipswich: Ipswich Borough Council and ABP hosted a Civic Reception in front of the Customs House to welcome the RBC60 fleet and kick off the Jubilee Party in style. Transport from Levington/Suffolk Yacht Harbour to Ipswich was provided for crews to attend both the Civic Reception and the dinner at St Clements Church.
- Thursday 3rd Evening Get Together: After the reception, we adjourned to our Ipswich Jubilee base in the St Clements medieval church (deconsecrated). There was a specially commissioned ‘OGA60 Jubilee’ beer and plenty of space to socialise. After dinner Charlie Haylock gave a talk about his work on the Netflix film "The Dig" abount the longboat excavations at Sutton Hoo.
- Friday 4th Dave Selby and Open Mic session: Suffolk Yacht Harbour. An al-fresco paella dinner was followed by entertainment from Dave Selby, impracticalboatowner.com, and then an 'Open Mic' session.
- Saturday 5th Trinity House talk. Suffolk Yacht Harbour.
- Saturday 5th Auction. The auction for donated, new, and secondhand items raised over £2500 for East Anglian Sailing Trust.
- Sunday 6th Prize Giving and entertainment: Everyone toasted the OGA’s sixty years and took part in the Jubilee Party Prize-Giving at Suffolk Yacht Harbour.