Windy weather hits Littlehampton’s Waterfront Festival

Sporadic showers and the threat of potentially gale-force conditions led to several attractions at this year’s event being cancelled at the last minute, including one of the day’s top spectacles – the landing of a sea plane on the River Arun.

Blustery conditions proved to be too dangerous for the much-anticipated arrival of the plane.

Windy weather also forced the Arun Youth Aqua Centre’s small flotilla of dinghies to cancel their appearance due to the tricky sailing conditions.

Littlehampton harbour master, Billy Johnson – who was one of the organisers of the waterfront events – said he was still pleased with the festival and its turn-out.

He said: “I think considering the conditions this year we managed to create a brilliant event which attracted a good number of people.

“We were truly in the lap of the gods. You can never predict how the weather will be. So it was disappointing that it was so windy.

“But harbour safety is always a priority. We had a south-west wind which would have made the sea plane’s landing very dangerous. It was disappointing we had to cancel but it was obviously the right decision.”

However, in spite of the challenging conditions, many people still turned out to take part in the remaining activities in and around the riverside over the weekend.

For the full report, pick up a copy of today’s Gazette (Thursday, June 27).