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19 to 25 August

Portland Week 2024

What's on!

Welcome to Portland Week 2024!

Seven days of family-friendly fun & frolics ashore & afloat at the (mermaid's) tail end of August. But behind the frivolities there's a serious message, we need to look after our marine environment and the stunning location along the Jurassic Coast that is our home & playground before it's too late.

For 2024, we've called in the big guns of the marine eco world. Seaweed. This unsung hero is a powerhouse able to capture carbon, clean our seas and provide solutions to single-use plastic, food shortages and more, but most people still think of it as that annoying stuff that squelches under your feet and wraps around your ankles when you go swimming in the sea... Our aim is simple. Introduce you to the superpowers of seaweed!

Featuring daily beach cleans, mermaids, pirates, wombles, Percy the Pleiosaur, Nurdle Nerd, quizzes, workshops, eco-coasteer, build-a-litter picker, mermaid spa, boatcare eco centre and, of course, the infamous Pirates vs Mermaids floating panto before melding into the boatfolk Big Weekend with live music, wacky races, Portland Paddle Parade and opportunities to get afloat with #boatgen.

Phew. there's a lot to fit in!

See what's on at Portland Week 2024

A cleaner and clearer coastline

The Portland Week Manifesto

Portland Week is a celebration of our shared commitment to preserving the natural beauty of our UNESCO World Heritage site coastline, both locally and further afield. Through collaboration and partnership we create a community of like-minded people who are willing to roll their sleeves up and get their hands dirty in order to protect our marine environment. Everybody brings different skills, approaches and ideas so by bringing everyone together we can reach a wider audience to educate the next (and current!) generation of beach clean warriors and stewards of the sea.

Our goal for Portland Week is simple. We want to inspire, educate and get others involved. The more, the merrier. Oh, and to have fun along the way!

proudly supporting

Clean Jurassic Coast

Beach clean warrior Roy Beal founded Clean Jurassic Coast at the beginning of 2020 as a way to bring individuals together and to create a community that could together cover more area and have a bigger voice. Roy and his growing team of volunteers are tireless and passionate about keeping our stunning coastline free from plastic pollution and clean and safe now and for future generations.

In 2021, Roy completed his epic solo paddle trip from John O'Groats to Lands End in his wooden sea kayak 'Just Add Water' whilst litter picking and beach cleaning along his 963 mile route and fundraising for Keep Britain Tidy and Plan B Charity.

We're proud to support Roy and his team, from raising awareness and funds at Portland Week, partnering on beach cleans with our local students and sourcing an engine for Clean Jurassic Coast's beach clean boat 'Sea-Rex'. We hope you'll join us in supporting them too!

Find out more

The Boon Boat

We're proud to announce the Boon Boat stage for Friday night's music at the boatfolk Big Weekend, part of Portland Week 2024. The Boon Boat is the UK's first electric motor boat powered entirely by transparent solar glass technology and the perfect platform to showcase the talents of several local musicians.

Merging AI-optimised power with integrated semi-transparent solar photovoltaics, designed for continuous motion use, the Boon Boat can glide endlessly across the water.

Fuelled by passion, the Boon Boat journey spans research, development, design, and prototype testing with the invaluable support provided by boatfolk which has propelled the project through the critical stages of development, design and testing, helping to support innovation and the green economy.

R&D Platform: A testament to versatility, the wide beam design and continuous motion capability is a beacon for research and development, with potential for low-cost, accessible aquaculture sensor testing, solar-powered underwater drones for coastal inspection. deep-sea exploration capabilities
AR Educational Platform: A net-zero development from inception to lifetime operation. Boon Boat is a portal to immersive educational journeys, developing Augmented Reality (AR) enhanced tours along the UNESCO World Heritage coastline.
High Stability Recreational Platform: Developed for calm leisure pursuits. At just 6m in length, the hybrid hull boasts a spacious 24sqm deck, designed for stability and serenity. The integrated semi-transparent photovoltaics not only power adventures but also illuminate them.

Find out more

Our sponsors for Portland Week 2024

We couldn't run the festival without our sponsors and are immensely grateful to Sippi, Pantaenius Insurance, Heli Operations and Jurassic Aquatics for coming aboard and jumping in with us this year!

If you would like to sponsor this year's festival or a future event, please contact Bee Woodland at beew@boatfolk.co.uk for a copy of the Portland Week Sponsorship Pack

Portland Week 2023 in numbers

Waterhaul helped build 43 litter pickers, some were put to use straight away on wombles and beach cleans during the week!
Our mermaids talked to over 100 children about keeping our seas and coastlines free of plastic pollution
Andrew Simpson Sailing Centre and Adventure 4 All took over 50 children afloat to try sailing or paddle sports for the first time
MV Freedom to over 70 people living with disabilities and their carers afloat on their dedicated power catamaran
The Trash to Treasure auction rasied £244 for Portland Bill NCI
In total, over 850 people from the local and boatfolk communities came down, had fun and got involved at Portland Week 2023!