Traditional coble boats fill Bridlington Bay for sailing festival with sea shanties and song

A two-day festival, from the Bridlington Sailing Coble Preservation Society, was to prove the largest gathering of sailing cobles seen anywhere in Great Britain.

And with displays, stands and stalls for the first time filling the shoreside with sea shanties and more, the festival has only grown in strength.

Secretary Julie Coultas said: "We've had a really successful day, with interest and visitors from all over the country. It all promotes that interest in the coble and keeps them alive."

Traditional wooden cobbles such as these fishing vessels would once have been a familiar sight along Yorkshire's coastline. But with the arrival of more modern materials, which were easier to maintain, many were to fall into disrepair.

Ms Coultas said: "Over the years they fell out of fashion. They were harder to maintain, and by the 70s there weren't many left. In Bridlington, we've got a preservation society promoting the coble, and saving those that we can. We also sail whenever we can.

"A few years ago the founder members thought it would be good to organise a weekend in Bridlington so that people could get together to see the coble in action.

"That has built up over the years, and this year we've had a really good festival," she added. "We've had people visit from all over the country."

The festival is the only one of its kind staged in the country, hailing Bridlington as the sailing coble capital of Great Britain. Festivities, sponsored by Yorkshire Coast BID and the business community, with full support from the Bridlington Harbour Commissioners, also saw shoreside activities.

Historians the Filey Bay 1779 group shared the story of the Battle of Flamborough Head, while there were model boat displays, local folk performances and sea shanties, as well as stalls such as one with traditional ganseys.