Flotilla tribute on the Nene for Peterborough boat lover Colin

The 13 boats were a spectacular way for the club to pay tribute

Colin Langley was a popular face on and around the water in Peterborough for most of his life,

He died earlier this year - but on what would have been his 89th birthday on Saturday, the boating community came out in force to remember Colin, with more than a dozen boats of all shapes and sizes sailing down the River Nene to Colin’s favourite spot at Milton Ferry.

The memorial was organised by Dean Chapman, commodore at the Peterborough Yacht Club.

He said: “Colin had been down by the river since he was a young boy.

“He liked people on an individual basis, but he had a lot of friends. He was always around on the river, and he had a lot of stories.

“He was a great artist, and would paint pictures of people’s boats.

“He also raised a lot of money for a range of charities - but he really used to like raising money for animal charities.

“If you ever needed help, he knew the answers.

“He was not mechanically minded, but he had a lot of experience, especially with The Wash area.”

While Colin never served on the committee of the Peterborough Yacht Club, he was one of the longest serving members.

Dean said: “We all really wanted to do something. He didn’t have much family. I think he thought of the boat club as being like a family.

“We had 13 boats out with about 42 people to give him a proper send off.

“He always used to like Milton Ferry. He used to sail out there to eat his sandwiches, and he said that was his favourite spot.

“We decided to sail out there, then have a bit of a barbecue when we read a few things out for him, and raised a glass.

“We just wanted to do something nice, a nice gesture for him. He will be missed by a lot of people.”