AN annual sailing festival has returned to Mersea Island.
Mersea Week, a sailing regatta organised by West Mersea Yacht Club and Dabchicks Sailing Club, is taking place until Friday.
The event, which started on Sunday and is now in its 49th year, features five days of races.
The yearly Round the Island race, however, will not take place during the celebratory week, as the tide will not offer the conditions for a successful event.
In addition to the competitions on the water, there will also be entertainment each evening, such as a quiz night and performances from the likes of DJ MRI, Better Than Your Boyfriend, Surfquake and Contraband.
A spokesman for the event said: "We welcome visiting yachts, yachtsmen and women, dinghies and crew and will provide yachts with a free mooring for the week.
"Those of you who have sailed with us before will know that the secluded waters around Mersea Island provide near perfect conditions for our expert race team to run this exciting and very popular event."
The festivities will finish off with the Mersea Town Regatta, a separate event taking place on Sunday, while windsurfers, rowing boats, dinghies and catamarans will have the chance to compete on September 2.
All prizegivings will take place on 7.30pm every day.
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