8 July 2016

Paddle Round the Pier is one of Brighton’s most popular events attracting thousands of people each year to take part in water based activities whilst fundraising for local charities. The activities are supported and surrounded by a ‘Paddle Village’ of retail, exhibition and entertainments.

The highlight of the weekend is the ‘Paddle Something Unusual Race’ where teams construct a raft made out of unusual materials and attempt to paddle round the pier. In previous years they have had everything from aeroplanes to cranes, from a bed to a shed – the only guidelines are to make it as ridiculous (but safe) as possible and raise plenty of money for charity.

Also included in the Paddle Village is a lecture theatre which was sponsored by Shoreham Port this year. Tim Hague, Property Manager at the Port gave a thirty minute talk about Shoreham Port, past and present. The talk continues to be a popular feature in the lecture theatre line up.

Tim commented “This was the second year that we have provided a lecture at Paddle Round the Pier and this year we were delighted to be the sponsor of the lecture theatre. This event raises considerable funds for charity and is a popular event for local communities. We were very happy to play a part in the festival.”

Paddle Director Dave Samuel added “I’m so pleased the Shoreham Port Lecture Theatre came into its own this year at Paddle with world renowned experts producing some highly entertaining mini-lecture-bites on a wide range of coastal subjects. These thirty minute nuggets of wisdom gave those lucky enough to take part a condensed introduction designed to entice and enthral the audience to find out more.”

In addition to sponsoring the lecture theatre, Shoreham Port assisted local homeless charity Emmaus with the loan of life jackets for their ‘Paddle Something Unusual’ team.

Andy Hobbs, Retail Operations Manager at Emmaus Brighton and Hove commented “Thank you to Shoreham Port for their kind loan of the life jackets for Paddle Round the Pier. Without these jackets we would have struggled to have met the basic requirements of entry and would have not been able to participate.

The idea behind our participation in this event is threefold; to increase our profile, to raise funds for the nominated charities and to get stuck into a project where we literally sink or swim depending on the quality of our build. Our team had a fantastic time and we look forward to taking part again in the future.”

The next Paddle Round the Pier Beach Festival will take place on the 1st and 2nd July 2017. To find out more please visit www.paddleroundthepier.com.