The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) is the regional film archive for the South West of England. Established in 1993, SWFTA's core collection comprises of the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and TSW (Television South West). The archive also cares for a significant number of donated film collections, both amateur and professional, dating back to the early 1900s.
This film is part of Free
Flashboat Race at Cawsand
Competitors take to flashboats and demonstrate speed and agility on the sea.
From the collection of:
Overview
TV reporter Del Cooper is at Regatta Day in Cawsand in Cornwall. Activities take place on and off the water in a carnival-type atmosphere. Flashboats were originally modified working boats of fifteen or eighteen feet when after World War One people sought leisure activities. The boats are built for speed and need to be rowed fast to prevent capsizing as they have a streamline shape. Flashboats became useful for training rowers but in recent years have lost out to gig racing.
Once renowed for smuggling and fishing, Cawsand overlooks Plymouth Sound on the Rame peninsula. Rame Gig Club is still based there. South East Cornwall is an area often overlooked by tourists leading it to have become known as the forgotten corner. Cawsand and its twin village of Kingsand are popular with locals and walkers and are situated within the Mount Edgcumbe Country Park. Kingsand was in Devon until boundary changes in 1844 put the Devon-Cornwall border in the River Tamar. Cawsand has always been in Cornwall and in the summer a ferry service drops people off on the beach and its three pubs are often brimming with punters.
Related
Watch for free
Maker Holiday Maker Holiday
Documentary 1959 10 mins Location: Cawsand
Children from East Ham pitch a tent and enjoy the sites in Cawsand, Cornwall.
Watch for free
Holidaying in the South West Holidaying in the South West
Home movie 1950 10 mins Silent Location: Cawsand
A whistlestop tour of Devon and Cornwall is filmed in this holiday home movie.
Watch for free
New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine
Short documentary 2025 4 mins
Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.
Watch for free
Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.
Watch for free
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 50 mins
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation at BFI Southbank, discussing the making of One Battle After Another.
Watch for free
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
Watch for free
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Watch for free
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.