Whitstable Harbour Day

Whitstable Harbour Day is a mid summer event celebrating all things associated with this famous seaside town.

The Whitstable barge match is organised as part of this event, which is run by Whitstable Maritime and the Whitstable Harbour Board . There is a harbour full of activities on shore which include live music, along with 40 or so stalls that line the quay. Activities include ropework, creative marine art, and model boat building. There is plenty to keep all the family entertained.

The Whitstable Harbour Day is different to the other matches as the organisers are keen to keep the spectacle within sight of the shore. A course is usually set that does not send the barges out to sea, keeping the match limited to around 2 hours, depending on conditions.

This allows the barges to return to the harbour and take in the shoreside activities.

For this race, guests are usually picked up by the barge boat from the beach outside the Lobster Shack restaurant on the East Quay.

Following the race, the barge will return to the quayside and this is where guests will be able to disembark directly onto the harbour. Please note that, depending on the state of the tide, disembarkation may be by a vertical harbour ladder.