Shepherd Neame Teams Up With Pub Licensee To Support Whitstable Yacht

nuse.

Independent family brewer Shepherd Neame has teamed up with the licensee of its Whitstable pub, The Old Neptune, to support a local yacht competing in an international race.

The Sailing Yacht Cormorant will take part in the 2026 Rolex Middle Sea Race, which starts in Malta on Saturday (October 17), becoming the first yacht from Whitstable to take part in the prestigious event.

Sponsored jointly by Shepherd Neame and The Old Neptune’s licensee Darren Wilton, the yacht will be sailed by Whitstable resident Patrick Maflin, Director and Founder of Marine Accounts, and members of his team. The Kent accountancy firm has spent the last 12 years working with crews, captains and marine professionals across the yachting industry.

Now in its 47th year, the race will start from Malta’s historic Grand Harbour, with the fleet setting off beneath the fortified walls of Valletta before racing out into the Mediterranean.

Affectionately known as ‘The Neppy’, The Old Neptune is one of the country’s most recognisable coastal pubs, thanks to its unique beachfront location. The logos of both the pub and Shepherd Neame’s Whitstable Bay range will be displayed on the yacht’s hull throughout the race.

The award-winning Whitstable Bay collection comprises Whitstable Bay Pale Ale, Whitstable Bay Lager and Whitstable Bay 0.5% Pale Ale. Inspired by the seaside town just a few miles from Shepherd Neame’s historic Faversham Brewery, the range celebrates the character and heritage of the Kent coast.

Licensee of The Old Neptune, Darren Wilton, said:

“Pat is a local at The Old Neptune, and I’ve known him for more than 20 years - we even call him Captain Pat! When he mentioned he would be showcasing Whitstable with a yacht race around Sicily, I really wanted the pub to get involved. You can’t showcase Whitstable without The Old Neptune! We hope the team do well and come back here for a celebratory drink after the race.”

Shepherd Neame Head of Brands Rose Davis said:

“We are thrilled to support the team aboard the Sailing Yacht Cormorant for this historic race. As the first yacht from Whitstable to take on the Rolex Middle Sea Race, this is a fantastic opportunity to introduce our Whitstable Bay range, The Old Neptune pub, and everything else the seaside town has to offer, to an international audience. We wish the team the best of luck!”

From Malta, the fleet heads north towards Sicily before passing through the Strait of Messina, a narrow stretch of water between Sicily and mainland Italy.

The yachts will then race around the volcanic island of Stromboli, along the northern coast of Sicily, and around the western islands of the course, before heading south past Pantelleria and Lampedusa.

The final stretch takes the boats back towards Malta and the finish line, covering approximately 606 nautical miles. The race attracts a diverse field of competitors, from some of the world’s fastest professional racing yachts to experienced amateur crews taking on a demanding offshore challenge. Conditions can include light winds, heavy seas and challenging currents, with crews spending long periods racing through the night. For some, completing the course takes several days at sea.

Patrick said:

“We started with an idea not just to sail a course, but to build a legacy. With the support of Shepherd Neame and The Old Neptune, that idea has become a reality.”

The race can be followed live on the Royal Malta Yacht Club and Rolex Middle Sea Race social media channels, with commentary in English.

Find out more here.

Categories

Oct 27, 2023

3 min read

More people will be able to see Smith Art Gallery’s distinctive art collection, thanks to a new digital guide.

Calderdale Council has recently launched the free guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app created by Bloomberg Philanthropies.

The app is available to download from Google Play or the App Store, making Smith Art Gallery accessible for people who are unable to visit in person. It can also be used to enrich onsite visits through insights into the current displays and exhibitions, alongside highlights from the extensive art collection that is not currently on public display.

Smith Art Gallery in Brighouse is currently displaying highlights from the Smith Collection. Alderman William Smith (1839-1922), Mayor of Brighouse from 1893-1895 and 1904-1907, and his wife Susannah (1838-1916) began collecting paintings in the 1870s from exhibitions around the UK. These paintings were representative of the time, and the couple bequeathed their collection, together with the Smith Art Gallery, to the people of Brighouse in 1907.

The Smith Collection mainly comprises landscapes and portraits, but there are also some scenes from stories and religious iconography. You may be able to spot some notable figures and places represented in the paintings on display, such as Queen Elizabeth I, Hampton Court and Greenwich Hospital, London.

The Council’s museums staff have also selected an artwork not on public display that they would like to highlight, in a demonstration of how the Bloomberg Connects app provides a deeper level of audience engagement with the Smith Art Gallery collection, both on and off-site.

Cllr Jenny Lynn, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, said: “We are delighted to have joined more than 200 cultural organisations around the world on the Bloomberg Connects app. Bringing Calderdale’s distinctive art and culture to more people is a key part of CultureDale and our Year of Culture in 2024."

“The free digital app is a great addition to our museums service, helping people to enjoy Smith Art Gallery’s collections even if they can’t visit in person, and giving people on-site a greater understanding of the artworks. This is part of our priority to reduce inequalities.”

Smith Art Gallery is also hosting the Calderdale Open Art exhibition, which showcases the winning entries from the Council’s recent Open Art competition for professional and amateur artists.

The Mayor of Calderdale, Cllr Ashley Evans, officially opened the exhibition at a special ceremony for participating artists, their families and local dignitaries.

The 87 works on display were selected from over 200 entered into the competition by more than 100 people from Calderdale and beyond.

To mark Calderdale’s Year of Culture in 2024, the theme of this year’s competition was the borough’s landscape, people, history and heritage. Entries included paintings, photographs, digital art and textiles, and subjects ranged from Stoodley Pike to Anne Lister.

The winner was William Morrison for his atmospheric oil painting, ‘Ovenden Moor, Halifax’. Catherine Hill was in second place with ‘Giant Cauliflower Harvest’ and third place went to Geraldine Smith with ‘Lumb Stone, Cragg Vale Coiners Walk’.

The exhibition is on display at Smith Art Gallery until Tuesday 9 April 2024.

Many of the works are available to buy, and visitors to Smith Art Gallery can also vote for their favourite artwork, which will be awarded the People’s Prize at the end of the exhibition.

Find out more about CultureDale and the Year of Culture 2024 here

n.

nuse.

Shepherd Neame Teams Up With Pub Licensee To Support Whitstable Yacht

nuse.

Most Read

Categories

Most Read

Categories

Recent Posts

Become a digital subscriber and support our publication enabling us to continue to share more news, each and every day.