Visitors to Bridlington's Seafest are being urged to remain vigilant around open water as the town celebrates its rich maritime heritage on Saturday.
Bridlington is preparing to celebrate its rich maritime heritage at Seafest 2026 this Saturday, offering a vibrant day that showcases everything that makes the coastline special.
The event will take place down at the Bridlington RNLI Lifeboat Station between 10am and 4pm. Visitors can expect to discover traditional maritime skills, coastal traditions, and enjoy delicious local seafood alongside community partners.
Ahead of the festival, Chief Safety Officer Bob Taylor has warned the public of the dangers of open water swimming.
Organisers have issued a safety reminder for those heading near the water to keep a close eye on children and stick to safe areas. In an emergency, the public is advised to call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.
Around 17 young people have died this summer around the country.
Mr Taylor said:
"It's a tragedy. There's simple things that people can do to stop that kind of thing happening. It's cold water shock that really hits them. People think, "I'm so hot, I'm just going to cool down and I'm going to jump in" and jumping in is probably the worst thing you can do because it's just going to take your breath away, your heart rate is going to speed up, you're going to breathe faster, you're going to take a mouthful of water, you're going to start panicking, and that's the drowning process already started. So if you do find yourself in difficulty, you're given the message about floating, floating to live, laying on your back, starfishing, ears under the water to clear your airway and getting back in control of your breathing so that you can either get back into an upright position and swim away, or even get in to an upright position and call for help."
Seafest will offer attendees the chance to meet local organisations, including the RNLI crew, and experience the sights and sounds of a working harbour.
The Marine Mammal Rescue Team will also host a display, teaching visitors how seals and other sea mammals are looked after when they find themselves in trouble.
Speaking about the return of the event and the activities on offer, Bob said:
"It's just something that we wanted to bring back, and we're directing people to seafood vendors. We've got like a little map where people can go and enjoy really good seafood, in the old lifeboat station and on the harbour and things like that. But, we've got some fantastic exhibitions going on with fishing skills- some of our crew were bringing their stuff along that are fishermen as well. And they're going to be doing things like net repairing, lobster pot making, things like that, to show people how they do it, alongside other things like the marine mammal rescue team and the sea cadets coming along. They're bringing some of their dinghies and getting some young people involved in that. And then all our usual water safety communication that we do, about safety at sea."
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