MINEHEAD celebrated its seafaring heritage when the town hosted its annual harbour festival last weekend. Held for only the second time, the event featured swashbuckling pirates and sea shanties against a backdrop of a visit by the historic West Country trading ketch, the Irene of Bridgwater. The boat, built in 1907, was moored in the town for the festival and gave local people the chance to sample the sailing experience. The maritime theme was launched last Friday with the official unveiling of seven plaques on the quayside, depicting Minehead's seafaring past. Pupils from Minehead first and middle schools joined local singers to provide a musical backdrop of sea songs and shanties for the ceremony, which was carried out by town mayor Cllr Les Smith. Sea shanty specialists Tom and Barbara Brown and storyteller Alex Simson, with the help of Halsway Manor folk centre near Crowcombe ran a series of workshops with the schools and local community groups to research and rediscover the maritime history. The results of the work formed the basis of community design briefs given to Bridgwater-based artist Sue Webber, who in turn collaborated with maritime author John Gilman to produce the finished plaques. Minehead vision manager Stephen Hooper, who helped steer the project, said the unveiling had been well attended. And he said the local youngsters had played a key role in the design of the plaques, through the recording of their songs at the workshops. Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for the Bridgwater and West Somerset constituency Justine Baker was among the guests at the unveiling. She praised the effort put in by everyone involved but said she, like some others attending the ceremony, was disappointed that there were no interpretation panels detailing what each of the plaques represented. "Also, sadly, there is no mention of the artist," said Mrs Baker. "Apparently, this is because the money for the project ran out but I would appeal for there to be an information plaque and for it to be done quickly. "At the moment, for both tourists and residents alike, there is nothing to explain what this brilliant work depicts." Mr Hooper told the Free Press that plans for interpretation panels were in the pipeline. "The timescale to finish the plaques in time for the harbour festival was very tight," he said. "We will now start to work on phase two, which is to create some panels which give more information about the stories illustrated." The festival itself featured members of the Pirates of Piran, a group of buccaneers who brought a touch of nautical drama to the event. The event was co-ordinated by a sub-group of the Minehead Vision Group and a spokesman said the event, which also featured a variety of stalls on the quayside, had attracted visitors and residents alike to the harbour. Harbourmaster Adam James said having the Irene operating from the harbour had generated a lot of interest and excitement. "We saw a big increase in footfall from the event," he said. "The new plaques are a welcome addition and a lot of people are coming to see them." Julian Abraham, landlord of the Old Ship Aground, said the festival had been a positive event for the harbour community. "Anything that raises the profile is good for us all and we look forward to developing it further next year." Among those taking a trip on the Irene - it sailed only on the Sunday because of lack of demand the previous day - was Minehead resident Paul Davies, who won his voyage in a competition run by the community group Revive Minehead. He said it had undeniably been a memorable experience. And also out on the water were members of the Watchet Sea Scouts - but they were rowing the currach Mynydd, which was built last year in Minehead. The festival also featured an open day at the town's RNLI lifeboat station, with a lifeboat launch, barbecue and live music. * Photos by Paul Scullion unless stated. More photos in the Free Press