Whitstable Harbour Day 2026

Whitstable Harbour Day is a free, all-day celebration of the town's maritime heritage, run by the charity Whitstable Maritime. Boats, races, bands, stalls and family activities right across the harbour. Saturday 15 August 2026, 10.30am to 4.30pm. Free entry, disability friendly. Running all day: shipwrights and youth maritime displays in the East Yard; a Kids' Fun Cabin, miniature railway rides and a truck simulator on the East Quay; charity stalls, environmental groups, fire and rescue and model boats in the West Yard; open days at the RNLI lifeboat station and the National Coastwatch; and vintage lifeboat trips from the pontoon. On the stage through the day: the Herne Bay Community Singers open at 10.30, followed by the 2nd Whitstable Sea Scout Band at 11.40, Merlin and The Rockets at 12.10, the Useless Pluckers Ukulele Band at 1pm, and the 1st Whitstable Sea Scout Band at 2pm. There's a Punch & Judy show on the beach at 11.30 and again at 2.30, and the Horsebridge puts on a Children's Harbour Day Play at 11. The Barge and Smack Race is the centrepiece: boats leave the harbour at noon, racing starts in Whitstable Bay at 1pm, the fleet returns around 3.30, and the awards are at 4.15. The Whitstable Yacht Club Wanderer and Wayfarer races begin at 2pm. Programme provisional and may change.